5.6 Psychological Explanations Of Offending Behaviour: Eyzencks Theory Flashcards
According to Eysenck what is extraversion?
Outgoing people - may get bored easily
enjoy risk and danger due to under-aroused nervous systems
According to Eysenck what is neuroticism?
People with a negative outlook and get upset easily
From a biological basis what causes neuroticism?
Overactive fight or flight response
From a biological basis what causes extraversion?
Under aroused nervous systems so seek external stimulation
According to Eysenck what is psychoticism?
aggressive antisocial person who lacks empathy
From a biological basis what may cause psychotism?
Link found to higher levels of testosterone
How did Eysenck assess personality?
EPQ (eysenck’s personality questionnaire)
What three dimensions did Eysencks theory of personality identify?
Extraversion
Neuroticism
Psychotism
What is extraversions link to criminal behaviour?
seeks arousal in dangerous activities
What is neuroticisms link to criminal behaviour?
Neurotics over-react to threat
What is psychoticisms link to criminal behaviour?
Lack of empathy
What is research support for a genetic basis to personality?
Zuckerman found
+.52 correlation for identical twins on neuroticism
+.24 correlation for non-identical twins neuroticism
- suggests considerable genetic component
What is an issue with research support for a genetic basis to personality?
It’s high but not as high as Eysenck suggested
What is an issue with consistency and personality?
Personality may be more consistent to situations as opposed to traits - suggesting no criminal ‘personality’
What are issues with personality tests? What helps with this?
- forced choice answers and social desirability bias
- lie scale items help identify untruthful respondents
