Eysenck's theory

• the criminal personality -

  • 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
• personality theory -

  • Eysenck (1947) proposed behaviour could be represented along 2 dimensions: introversion-extraversion (E) + neuroticism-stability (N)
  • 2 dimension combine to form a variety of personality characteristics or traits
  • later added 3rd dimension: psychoticism-socialbility (P)
• biological basis -

  • Eysenck - personality traits are biological in origin and come about through type of nervous system we inherit
  • extraverts - under active nervous system - constantly seek excitement, stimulation and are likely to engage in risk-taking - don't condition easily so don't learn from miskakes
  • neurotic - high level of reactivity in SNS - respond quickly to situations of threat - nervous, jumpy and overanxious - unpredictable behaviour
  • psychotic - higher levels of testosterone - emotional and prone to aggression
• the criminal personality type -

  • neurotic-extravert-psychotic
  • neurotics are unstable and prone to overreact to situations of threat
  • extraverts seek more arousal and thus engage in dangerous activities
  • psychotics are aggressive and lack empathy
• role of socialisation -

  • Eysenck's theory - personality linked to offending behaviour via socialisation processes
  • saw offending behaviour as developmentally immature in that it is selfish and concerned with immediate gratification
  • process of socialisation is one in which children are taught to become more able to delay gratification and more socially oriented
  • people with high E and N scores had nervous systems that made them difficult to condition - less likely to learn anxiety responses to antisocial impulses - more likely to act antisocial
• measuring the criminal personality -

  • Eysenck personality questionnaire (EPQ) - form of psychological test
  • locates respondents along the E, N and P dimensions to determine their personality type
  • measurement of personality was a very important part of Eysenck's theory because it enabled him to conduct research relating personality variables to other behaviours - such as criminality