eysencks theory

• general personality theory

  • eysenck - 1950s and 60s
  • proposed behaviour can be presented along two dimensions: introversion/extraversion and neuroticism/stability
  • the two combine to form a variety of personalities
  • later added psychoticism
• bio basis

  • personality traits are bio in origin and come about through type of nervous system we inherit
  • extraverts - underactive nervous system meaning they constantly seek excitement/stimulation - tend not to condition easily or learn from mistakes
  • neurotic - tend to be nervous, jumpy and over-anxious - general instability means behaviour is hard to predict
• criminal personality

  • neurotic-extravert
  • will also score high on psychoticism - characterised as cold, unemotional and prone to aggression
• role of socialisation

  • saw criminal behaviour as developmentally immature in that it is selfish and concerned with immediate gratification - impatient and cant wait for things
  • socialisation is process in which children are taught to delay gratification and become more socially oriented
  • believed those with high E and N scores had nervous systems that made them hard to condition - as a result, dont easily learn to respond to antisocial impulses with anxiety - so will act more antisocially
• measuring the criminal personality

  • notion that personality can be measure is central to his theory
  • developed the Eysenck personality inventory - psychological test that locates respondents along the E and N dimensions to determine personality type
• W - cultural bias

  • study of hispanic and african-american offenders in maximum security prison
  • divided them into 6 groups based on nature of offence
  • revealed that all 6 groups were found to be less extravert than a non-criminal control group
  • suggested its because the sample was a very different cultural group, which questions the generalisability of the criminal personality
• S - supporting evidence

  • Eysenck compared 2070 male prisoners scores on the EPI with 2422 male controls
  • on measure of psychoticism, extraversion and neuroticism prisoners had higher scores than controls
  • supports the theory
  • however EEGs show that there is very little difference in cortical arousal between extraverts and introverts, which casts doubt on the psychological basis of his theory
• W - bio determinism

  • suggests criminal behaviour is not chosen but caused by factors outside an individual’s control - inherited nervous system governs personality type, and in some cases, is the cause of their criminal behaviour.
  • problematic, when it comes to explaining crime, as it ignores free will