eysenck’s theory

• eysenck proposed that behaviour could be represented through 2 dimensions

  1. introversion/extraversion
  2. neuroticism/stability
• all personality types are biological and innate
• extraverts have an underactive nervous system 


  they are constantly seeking excitement, stimulation and are likely to engage in risk taking behaviours

  they tend to not condition easily and don't learn from their mistakes
• neurotic individuals tend to be

  nervous, jumpy, overanxious and their general instability means their behaviour is often difficult to predict
• the criminal personality type is neurotic-extravert


  characteristics from neuroticism and extraverts are combined

  • seeking excitement and stimulation
  • engaging in risk taking behaviours
  • nervous
  • jumpy
  • overanxious
  • generally unstable
• eysenck suggested that the typical offender will score highly on measures of psychoticism - a personality type that is characterised as cold, unemotional and prone to aggression
• personality linked to criminal behaviour is caused by the socialisation process

  • usually the socialisation process teaches children to become more socially orientated and able to delay gratification
• eysenck saw criminal behaviour as developmentally immature and it is selfish and concerned with immediate gratification - they are impatient and can't wait for things
• eysenck believed people with high extraversion and neuroticism scores had nervous systems that made them difficult to condition


  results in them not easily learning how to respond to antisocial impulses with anxiety

  • consequently, they would be more likely to act antisocially in presented opportunities and situations
• measuring the criminal personality - eysenck personality inventory (EPI)

  eysenck developed 'eysenck personality inventory' (EPI) to measure by locating respondents along the extraversion and neuroticism dimensions to determine personality types
• cultural bias - bartol and holanchock studied hispanic and african american offenders in a maximum security prison in new york


  divided them into 6 groups based on their criminal history and nature of offence

  found all 6 groups were less extravert than a non criminal control group

  • bartol suggested this was because they studied a different cultural group - questions the generalisability of the criminal personality
• X outdated theory that all offending behaviour can be explained by a single personality type

  moffit - proposed several distinct types of adult male offender based on the timing of 1st offence and how long offending persists
• TICK eysenck and eysenck compared 2070 male prisooner scores on the EPI with 2422 male controls

  • groups divided into age groups - 16yrs - 69yrs
  • measure psychoticism, extraversion and neuroticism across the age groups
  • prisoners recorded higher scores than the controls - supports the predictions of the theory
• X mischel - no fixed and unchangeable 'true self' directing our behaviour, criminal or not


  our personality may always be changing depending on what situation we're in
• X personality types can't be reduced down to a 'scale'

  • EPI is reductionist
• X little evidence of consistent differences in EEG measures between extraverts and introverts

  • suggests that the nervous system activity doesn't determine personality type
  • challenges eysenck's theory by suggesting:

  1. criminal personality may not have a psychological basis
  2. challenges that there is a criminal personality at all