[Eysenck] Psychological Explanations Of Offending Behaviour

Question 1

What type of explanation is Eysenck’s theory of the criminal personality?

Answer 1

Psychological (according to AQA), but also biological.

Question 2

What does Eysenck believe about personality?

Answer 2

Personality is genetic - we inherit a type of nervous system that predisposes us to offending.

Question 3

What does Eysenck’s theory of the criminal personality suggest?

Answer 3

Our personality is innate and has a biological basis.

Question 4

What are the three dimensions of personality according to Eysenck?

Answer 4

-Psychoticism.
-Extraversion (/introversion).
-Neuroticism (/stable).

Question 5

What dimensions of personality would most people fall under according to Eysenck?

Answer 5

-Low score on psychoticism (females even less P).
-Most people would fall in the middle of the E & N spectrum.

Question 6

How does the nervous system link with criminal personality?

Answer 6

The theory views criminal behaviour being due to the activity of the nervous system attributed to specific personalities.

Question 7

What are the characteristics for a criminal personality?

Answer 7

-High Psychoticism.
-High Extraversion.
-High Neuroticism.
(High PEN).

Question 8

Characteristics of extraversion:

Answer 8

-Socially Outgoing.
-Risk-Taking: chronically under-aroused nervous system which requires greater external stimulation (hence more risky behaviour).
-Impulsive: enjoys the thrill of committing crime and doesn’t learn from mistakes.

Question 9

Characteristics of introversion:

Answer 9

-Happy on their own.
-Reflective.
-Cautious: higher levels of cortical activity and more responsive CNS, so require less external stimulation.

Question 10

Characteristics of neuroticism:

Answer 10

-Irritable: more likely to commit a crime in an emotionally charged situation (e.g. assault after an argument).
-Nervousness: Over-aroused SNS (where emotional states - like fear - are regulated).
-Anxiety: greater activation and lower thresholds within the Limbic System.

Question 11

Characteristics of stable:

Answer 11

-Calm.
-Carefree attitude.
-Reliable.

Question 12

Characteristics of psychoticism:

Answer 12

-Insensitive.
-Aggressive.
-Anti-social behaviour.
-Unemotional.

Question 13

Why does a psychotic personality have their characteristics?

Answer 13

-Excess of dopamine neurones, causing overproduction of dopamine. Leads to inhibition of impulses during synaptic transmission (potentially causing aggressive behaviour).
-Increased testosterone levels.
-More likely to commit a crime as they are aggressive and lack conscience.

Question 14

What is socialisation?

Answer 14

Where children are taught to delay gratification and become more socially oriented.

Question 15

How does environmental influence play a role in Eysenck’s theory of the criminal personality?

Answer 15

-A person is born with certain personality traits, but interaction with the environment is key in the development of criminality.
-Criminal behaviour is associated with developmental immaturity, selfishness & immediate gratification.

Question 16

How should a child be conditioned for socialisation?

Answer 16

1. A child is conditioned.
2. Child learns sense of right and wrong.
3. Child avoids behaviours that lead to punishment.
4. Child controls own impulses.

Question 17

What is the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI)?

Answer 17

A questionnaire that determines personality type.
-‘E score’: out of 24, measures how much of an extrovert you are.
-‘N score’, out of 24, measures how neurotic you are.

Question 17

How does the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) filter out socially desirable responses?

Answer 17

Falsification scale (‘lie score’ out of 9).
-Measures how socially desirable you are trying to be in your answers.
-Score of 5+ = socially desirable responses.

Question 17

How did Farrington (1982) study Eysenck’s theory of the criminal personality?

Answer 17

Farrington (1982) reviewed 16 studies and found that offenders tend to score highly on P & N, but not always on E. These findings therefore do not fully support Eysenck’s theory for all three traits.

Question 18

How did Eysenck (1977) study Eysenck’s theory of the criminal personality?

Answer 18

Eysenck (1977) compared 2,000 male prisoners score on EPI and 2,500 male controls, all sub-divided into age groups (16-69 years).
* Across all age groups, prisoners recorded higher scores on EPI than controls.

Question 19

Evaluation points for Eysenck’s theory of the criminal personality:

Answer 19

*Cultural bias - Eysenck studied mainly white western European participants, guilty of property crimes (doesn’t measure personality for serious crimes). Researchers found that a group of Hispanic convicts were less extravert compared to non-criminals (a control group), which suggests that Eysenck’s theory is not universal and so lacks generalisability to all cultures.
*Social desirability - may lack validity.
*Oversimplification It is unlikely that there is only one criminal personality type, as suggested by Digman’s Five Factor Model which suggests that there are additional dimensions along which personality can be measured.