Psychological explanation - Eyesenck

• What did eyesenck believe ?

  • there are identifiable personality traits that have a genetic basis. he explained that character traits tends to cluster along three dimensions
• What are 3 parts ?

  Extroversion/introversion

  neuroticism/stability

  psychotic/normal
• How did eysenk believe personality could be measured ?

  • a questionaire
  • eyesenck personality questionnaire
  • 100 questions
• What was eyesencks theory ?

  • criminal personality is neurotic extrovert
  • scored highly on measures of neuroticism(unstable and over anxious + nervous)
  • and extroversion (sensation - seeking + outgoing)
  • offenders will score highly on measures of psychoticism - cold, prone to aggression
• What did eyesenck suggest ?

  • each trait has a biological basis with 67% being due to genetics
• Extroverts ?

  • chronically under- aroused nervous system
  • constantly seek excitement
  • engage in risk taking + dangerous behaviour
  • crime can be thrilling
• Neurotics ?

  • more reactive sympathetic nervous system
  • unable to react easily
  • get upset quickly
  • over react to situations or threat
  • crime is an emotionally charged response
• Psychotics ?

  • easily linked to offending behaviour
  • aggressive + lack empathy
  • crime is a result of minimal concern for others or a conscience
• What else does eyesenck suggest other than a biological responses ?

  • criminality is the outcome of our innate personality and our socialisation
  • viewed criminality as development immature, with crime providing instant gratification
  • delayed gratification is thank to children through conditioning
  • people with high extroversion and neuroticism had nervous system that made them difficult to condition
  • do not easily learn to respond to antisocial impulses with anxiety , more likwlt to act in antisocial ways
• Evaluation ?

  1. Eyesenck
  2. farrington
  3. mischel
• eysenck ?

  • compared 2070 male prisoners scores on epq with 2422 control
  • grouped by age
  • results found all age groups scores higher in the E,N,P dimensions
• Farrington ?


  reviewed several studies and reported that offenders score highly on p but not e/n.

  • little evidence of consistent differences in eeg scans between extraverts and introverts
• Mischel 


  Self reporting is unreliable and personality isn’t consistent

  • asked family, friends, and shat Vera to rate 63 students in various situations and found no correlation between traits displayed