Cognitive Explnation Of Offending Behaviour

Question 1

What is the mnemonic for these evaluation points?

Answer 1

. P-ersonality inconsistencies
. V-alidity problems
. C-ultural bias
. E-vidence

Question 2

Which study explored the cultural validity of Eysenck’s theory?

Answer 2

Bartol and Holanchock (1979)
- studied Hispanic and African-American offenders in a max security prison in New York
- six groups based on criminal history and nature of offences
- all six groups found to be less extrovert than a non-criminal control group

This sample was very culturally different to Eysenck’s research, questioning the generalisability of the criminal personality

Question 3

How did Eysenck’s research have imposed etic?

Answer 3

. Mainly studied white Western European participants, guilty of property crimes as this is the common crime in the culture
- however, for cultures where serious crimes are more common, the personality theory can’t be generalised

Question 4

Why is the notion of a criminal personality flawed?

Answer 4

. Personality isn’t just ‘one’ through your life, it is inconsistent
- someone may be relaxed at home but neurotic at work
- other factors such as stress can appear to alter your personality
- behaviour is situational rather than based on personality
- personality is not a stable entity as Eysenck suggests, we play different personalities based on our situations (Mischel 1998)