Eysencks theory

• What three dimensions did Eysenck say behaviour could be represented on?

  Introversion-Extraversion

  Neuroticism-Stability

  Psychoticism-Sociability
• What does introversion mean?

  Individual is inward-focused and thoughtful
• What does extroversion mean?

  Individual is outgoing and impulsive
• What does neuroticism mean?

  A tendency towards negative emotions
• What does stability mean?

  The opposite of neuroticism, tendency towards positivity or no emotion in stress
• What does psychoticism mean?

  Prone to take risks, impulsive
• What does sociability mean?


  Opposite to psychoticism, ability in social situations
• What does Eysenck say personality has a basis in?

  Biology

  The nervous system
• Three parts of a criminal personality - Eysenck


  Psychoticism

  Extraversion

  Neuroticism
• What did Eysenck say about extraverts?

  Have an underactive nervous system which means they constantly seek excitement and are likely to engage in risk-taking behaviour
• What did Eysenck say about neurotics?

  Have an high level of reactivity in the sympathetic nervous system meaning they respond quickly to situations of threat (fight or flight)

  This makes them nervous, jumpy and overanxious and this instability means they are difficult to predict
• What did Eysenck say about psychotics?

  Suggested to have higher levels of testosterone and are unemotional and prone to aggression
• How did Eysenck measure personality?

  Eysenck's Personality Questionnaire (EPQ)
• What did Eysenck see offenders as?

  Developmentally immature

  Selfish and concerned with immediate gratification
• According to Eysenck what does the process of socialisation teach children?

  Ability to delay gratification and become more socially orientated
• What did Eysenck believe about people with high E and N scores?

  Their nervous systems make them difficult to condition

  Less likely to learn anxiety responses to antisocial impulses and more likely to act antisocially when the opportunity presents itself
• Strength of Eysenck's theory of the criminal personality

  Evidence to support the criminal personality
• Why is "evidence to support the criminal personality" a strength of Eysenck's theory of the criminal personality?

  Eysenck and Eysenck compared 2070 prisoners' scores on the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire with 2422 controls On measures of extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism, across all age groups sampled, prisoners recorded higher average scores than controls

  This is a strength as it agrees with the predictions of the theory that offenders rate higher on these personality traits than the general population
• Counter point to "" as a strength of Eysenck's theory of the criminal personality

  Farrington et al conducted a meta-analysis of relevant studies and found contradictory results.

  He found that offenders tended to score highly on psychoticism but not extroversion and neuroticism

  This is a weakness of Eysenck's theory as it casts doubt over the central assumptions of his theory of the criminal personality
• Limitations of Eysenck's theory of the criminal personality

  Offending behaviour cannot be explained by personality traits alone

  Cultural factors are not taken into account
• Why is "offending behaviour cannot be explained by personality traits alone" a limitation of Eysenck's theory of the criminal personality?

  Moffit drew a distinction between offending behaviour that only occurs in adolescence and that which continues into adulthood

  She argued that personality traits alone were a poor predictor of how long offending behaviour would go on for, the sense of whether someone is likely to become a career offender

  She considered persistence in offending behaviour to be the result of a reciprocal process between individual personality traits on the one hand and environmental reactions to those traits on the other

  This presents a more complex picture than Eysenck suggested that the course of offending behaviour is determined by an interaction between personality and the environment
• Why is "cultural factors are not taken into account" a limitation of Eysenck's theory of the criminal personality?

  The criminal personality my vary according to culture

  Bartol and Holanchock studied Hispanic and African American offenders in a maximum security prison in New York

  The researchers divided these offenders onto six groups based on their offending history and the nature of their offences

  It was found that all six groups were less extravert than a non-offender control group whereas Eysenck would expect them to be more extravert

  They suggested this was because the sample was a very different cultural group from that investigated by Eysenck

  This questions how far the criminal personality can be generalised and suggests it may be a culturally relative concept