Eysenck criminal personality theory

Question 1

strength
Eysenck and Eysenck

Answer 1

compared 2070 male prisoners scores on the Eysenck’s personality questionnaire with 242-2 male controls. On measures of extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism- across all the age groups that were sampled- prisoners recorded higher average scores than controls. This agrees with the predictions of the theory that offenders rate higher than average across the three dimensions Eysenck identified.

Question 2

strength offers a measurement

Answer 2

Eysenck’s theory offers a way to measure personality through the use of a psychological test the EPQ. This means we can see how the criminal personality differs from the rest of the population across different cultures.

Question 3

weaknesses
Farrington et al.

Answer 3

conducted a meta analysis of relevant studies and reported that offenders tended to score high on measures of psychoticism, but not for extraversion and neuroticism. There is also inconsistent evidence of differences on EEG measures between extraverts and introverts which casts doubts the psychological basis of the theory. This means some of the central assumptions of the criminal personality have been challenged.

Question 4

weakness ethnocentrism
Bartol and Holanchock

Answer 4

The ery according to criminal personality may vary according to culture. Barton and Holancock studies hispanic and African-American offenders in a maximum security prison in new york. The researchers divided these offenders into 6 groups based on offending history and nature of offences. It was found that all six groups were less extravert than a non-offender control group whereas Eysenck would expect them to be more extravert. suggests its a culturally relative concept and can’t be generalised.