Eysenck's Theory

• The criminal personality – a feature of Eysenck’s theory of crime, an individual who scores highly on measures of extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism and cannot easily be conditioned, is cold and unfeeling and is likely to engage in offending behaviour.
• 3 personality dimensions

  Eysenck 1947 proposed that behaviour could be represented along 3 dimensions:

  •introversion-extraversion (E)•neuroticism-stability (N)•Psychoticism-sociability (P)

  The dimensions combine to form a variety of personality characteristics or traits/types.
• The criminal personality

  = neurotic extravert + high psychoticism

  The criminal personality is a type of combination

  Neurotics are unstable and therefore prone to overreact to situations of threat. Extraverts seek more arousal and therefore engage in dangerous activities. Psychotics are aggressive and lacking empathy
• Measuring the criminal personality

  Personality can be measured using the EPQ

  The theory that personality can be measured is one that is central to Eysenck's theory.

  He developed Eysenck’s personality questionnaire (EPQ) – a psychological test which locates respondents along the E, N and P dimensions to determine their personality type.

  The measurement of personality = very important part of Eysenck’s theory as it enabled him to conduct research relating personality variables to other behaviours e.g. criminality.
• Biological basis

  Innate biological basis for personality types

  Eysenck suggests our personality traits are biological in origin and are based on the type of nervous system we inherit.
• Biological basis - •Extraverts – have an underactive nervous system which means they constantly seek excitement, stimulation and are likely to engage in risk taking behaviours. Tend not to condition easily – therefore don’t learn from their mistakes.
• Biological basis - •Neurotic – have a high level of reactivity in the sympathetic nervous system – they respond quickly to situations of threat (fight or flight). Meaning they tend to be nervous, jumpy and overanxious, so their general instability means their behaviour is often difficult to predict.
• Biological basis - •Psychotic – suggested to have higher levels of testosterone – they are cold unemotional and prone to aggression
• The role of socialisation

  Criminal behaviour is concerned with immediate gratification

  In Eysenck’s theory personality is linked to offending behaviour via socialisation processes.

  Eysenck saw offending behaviour as developmentally immature in that it is selfish and concerned with immediate gratification.

  Criminals are often impatient and cannot wait for things.
• Role of socialisation - High E and high N scorers lack ability to learn (be conditioned)

  In the process of socialisation children are taught to become more able to delay gratification and more socially orientated.

  Eysenck believed that people with high E and N scores had nervous systems that made them difficult to condition/for them to learn

  As a result they are less likely to learn anxiety responses to antisocial impulses and consequently would be more likely to act antisocially where the opportunity presented itself.
• One limitation is the idea that there is one single criminal type.

  Moffit 1993 proposed several distinct types of adult male offender based on the timing of the 1st offence and how long offending persists. Eysenck's theory is out of step with modern personality theories. Digman’s (1990) five factor model suggests 3 additional dimensions of openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness. This suggests that many different types of criminal may exist because introversion-extraversion and neuroticism-stability are not the only factors that contribute.
• One strength = the evidence supporting Eysenck’s theory.

  Eysenck and Eysenck 1977 compared EPI scores of 2070 male prisoners with a control group of 2422 non criminal males. Prisoners scored higher on P,E and N, supporting predictions of the theory.
• COUNTERPOINT =  However, Farrington et al’s 1982 conducted a meta-analysis of relevant studied and reported that offenders scored high on psychoticism but not on extraversion or neuroticism.  There is also inconsistent evidence of differences on EEG measures (used to measure cortical arousal) between extraverts and introverts (Kussner 2017). This casts doubt on the physiological basis of Eysenck’s theory. This means some of the central assumptions of the criminal personality have been challenged.
• Another strength is that the theory fits other biological approaches.

  The theory recognises that personality may have a genetic basis. Raine suggested antisocial personality disorder (ADP) due to brain structure. Eysenck linked it to nervous system activity.

  COUNTERPOINT =  Because of its biological basis, Eysenck’s theory does suffer from some of the limitations of genetic and neural explanations. Therefore, Eysenck’s theory could be criticised as biologically reductionist and determinist.
• Another limitation is cultural bias

  Bartol and Holanchock (1979) studied Hispanic and African American offenders in a New York maximum security prison, dividing them into 6 groups based on criminal history and offence. All 6 groups were less extravert than a non-criminal control group. Bartol and Holanchock suggested this was because the sample was a different cultural group from that investigated by Eysenck. This questions the generalisability of the criminal personality to different cultures – therefore lacks external validity
• Another limitation is the mismeasurement of personality

  Eysenck’s theory assumes it is possible to measure personality. However, critics argue we cannot reduce personality type to a score from the EPI. Some even suggest there is no such thing as personality as a stable entity. We adopt different personalities in different contexts (Mischel 1988). This undermines the concept of a stable and measurable criminal personality.