bio explanations of crime: personality

Question 1

what is meant by personality?

Answer 1

the relatively stable characteristics of a person which makes their behaviour consistent across situations

Question 2

what are some characteristic traits of a criminal?

Answer 2

aggressive
impulsive
extrovert
lacking empathy
cold and calculated

Question 3

summarise Eysenck’s personality theory of crime

Answer 3

combines biological and social factors
personality is determined by genes but the effects are exerted under the influence of social factors
criminal behaviour results from failure to learn that immature tendencies should be controlled

Question 4

what are the three concepts of Eysenck’s personality theory?

Answer 4

extroversion
neuroticism
psychoticism

Question 5

describe ‘introversion’

Answer 5

shy
reserved
pessimistic
reliable

Question 6

describe ‘extroversion’

Answer 6

outgoing
spontaneous
low arousal in cerebral cortex so need more stimulation
stronger dopamine reward system so respond more positively to things like money

Question 7

describe ‘neuroticism’

Answer 7

oversensitive
unstable
anxious

Question 8

describe ‘stability’

Answer 8

calm
level headed

Question 9

describe ‘psychoticism’

Answer 9

high testosterone
lack empathy
isolated
aggressive

Question 10

how did Eysenck measure personality?

Answer 10

personality questionnaire- Eysenck personality inventory with closed q
measures extroversion and neuroticism
high scores = hard to learn social behaviour

Question 11

what is the RAS?

Answer 11

reticular activating system
- maintains optimum arousal level
- excites or dampens sensory info

Question 12

what is the link between extroversion and ARAS?

Answer 12

extroverts are under aroused so ARAS inhibits impulses. therefore extroverts try to increase arousal levels so might be risk takers as the external stimulus arouses the ARAS

Question 13

what is the link between introversion and ARAS?

Answer 13

introverts are over aroused so there is a lack of inhibition from ARAS. when the brain receives too much stimulation, they prefer calm and quiet

Question 14

what is the ANS?

Answer 14

autonomic nervous system

Question 15

what is the role of the ANS?

Answer 15

maintains stability and mood
balances the parasympathetic and sympathetic divisions so response isn’t too fast or slow

Question 16

what are the two divisions of the ANS?

Answer 16

parasympathetic = calming
sympathetic = arousing

Question 17

what is the relationship between psychoticism and hormones?

Answer 17

men have high testosterone and low cortisol
therefore more aggressive

Question 18

define ‘delayer of gratification’

Answer 18

resisting the impulse to take the immediately available reward in the hope of obtaining a more valued reward in future

Question 19

what is Eysenck’s theory of socialisation, including how this impacts children?

Answer 19

-criminal behaviour is selfish and concerned with immediate gratification
-socialisation during childhood will determine whether someone abides law
-a child is conditioned (socialised) to learn the difference between right and wrong and to control impulses
-if successful, antisocial behaviour produces anxiety so it is avoided

Question 20

how do people with high E and N scores relate to criminal behaviour in terms of socialisation?

Answer 20

extraverts seek reward
less receptive to operant conditioning and less affected by punishment
more likely to behave antisocially

Question 21

why does a high extraversion score link to criminality?

Answer 21

drive for thrill enhancing behaviours, activity in ARAS which stimulates the cerebal cortex that produces cortisol is low so due to underactive ARAS req more external arousal

Question 22

why does high neuroticism link to criminality?

Answer 22

more likely to act emotionally and less able to learn the consequences
- fear conditioning and poor socialisation

Question 23

describe the sample of Eysenck’s study

Answer 23

156 prisoners
18-38
divided into 5 groups
violent, property, fraud, inadequate and residual crimes

Question 24

describe the procedure of Eysenck’s study

Answer 24

EPQ
psychological measures eg skin conductance, EEG, eye blink response

Question 25

describe the results of Eysenck’s study

Answer 25

-psychosis score low for fraud crimes
-neuroticism score low for property and violent crimes, high for inadequate and residual
-extroversion score low for inadequate and property, high for violent and residual

Question 26

what is a strength of Eysenck’s personality theory (PEE)?
- supporting evidence: Rushton and Christjohn

Answer 26

a strength is the study conducted by Boduszek et al investigated prevalence of Eysenck’s personality traits among recidivists looking at violent and non-violent criminals finding criminal thinking style is correlated to high levels of PEN. this means, Eysencks theory has validity as the personality types he identified are associated with repeat offedning

Question 27

weakness of Eysenck (PEE)

Answer 27

a weakness is the opposing study by Farrington et al who found E scores are less associated with criminal convictions. this showed that there was little evidence Eyesenck’s EPI was an adequate measure for predicting offending in juveniles or adults suggesting original ideas of the nature of criminal personality lack validity.

Question 28

weakness of Eysenck (PEE) g & e

Answer 28

a weakness is the opposing study by Gale and Edwards. they found no difference in EEG measures of cortical arousal between introverts and extroverts. therefore, this is not consistent with the prediction that extroverts are under aroused.

Question 29

what is a weakness of Eysenck’s personality theory (PEE)?
- opposing study: Hollin

Answer 29

a weakness is the study by Hollin. they found that offenders showed higher N and P but not necessarily E scores. therefore, the relationship between E and offending is unclear and inconsistent. additionally, E scales measure sociability and impulsiveness but criminality is only associated with impulsiveness.

Question 30

what is a strength of Eysenck’s personality (PEE)?
- supporting evidence: McGurk and McDougall

Answer 30

a strength is the supporting evidence from McGurk and McDougall. they used a personality questionnaire to compare students identified as ‘delinquent’ and ‘not delinquent.’ In the delinquent sample there was high PEN scores however in the non delinquent sample, the percentage of those with low NE scores was significant. therefore, these results align with Eysenck’s predictions that high PEN relates to aggression.

Question 31

what is a strength (PEECA)
- compliment and criticism of evidence

Answer 31

a strength is that the evidence for Eysenck’s theory makes the prediction that compared with non offenders, offender samples should have higher PEN scores which makes it easy to test. however, it is argued that data is flawed since the research relies heavily on self report measures of personality devised by Eysenck. a high PEN personality might lead to scapegoating or impact on parole. therefore, this scales are subject to response bias which can significantly reduce the internal validity and whether these changes to treatment should be made.

Question 32

what is a strength (PEE)?
- application

Answer 32

a strength is that the theory has applications which point in the direction of preventing crime. for example, pre screening can lead to early intervention, anger management programmes can be put in place and job interviews could use the questionnaire to identify suitable candidates. therefore, these factors can help to improve the quality of the persons life as well as make society safer.