EYSENCK'S THEORY Flashcards
What is Eysenck’s theory?
Personality is determined by a large extent to one’s genes
a theory of personality, but has now been applied to offending behaviour
what were the three personality types?
extroversion
neuroticism
psychoticism
What is neuroticism?
A trait measuring how anxious an individual is
What is psychoticism ?
A trait measuring how impulsive and aggressive an individual is.
According to Eysenck, what causes psychoticism?
suggest psychoticism is a result of an excess of dopaminergic neurones
Leads to inhibition of impulses during synaptic transmission
more impulsive, aggressive behaviour
What is extraversion?
a trait measuring how out-going an individual is. people who score highly on extrovert measures are more likely to act anti-socially
synaptic transmission
neurotransmitters are released by the pre-synaptic neuron and bind to the receptors of the post-synaptic neuron
According to Eysenck, what causes extraversion?
low levels of arousal in the cerebral cortex (as stimuli are restricted by RAS) - extroverts seek stimulation from the environment
over-active reticular activation system regulates stimuli sent to cerebral cortex
stimuli are restricted by RAS
cerebral cortex ‘hungry’ for stimulation
According to Eysenck, what causes neuroticism ?
ANS becomes over-aroused in neurotics leading to extreme emotions
why are high extroverts likely to commit crimes?
as they are sensation seekers, the thrill of committing a crime might draw them to offending behaviour
why might high neurotics be likely to commit crimes?
they experience high levels of emotion, meaning they are more likely to commit a crime in an emotionally charged situation
why might a high psychotic be more likely to commit crimes?
they are more aggressive, impulsive and lack conscience
Outline criticisms of Eysenck’s theory
Personality may not be consistent - any theory based on personality assumes that it is consistent. The idea of a criminal personality is flawed as PEOPLE DO NOT SIMPLY HAVE ‘ONE’ PERSONALITY.
Research on personality relies heavily on self-report measures of personality devised by Eysenck, so there could be RESPONSE BIAS.
It is a REDUCTIONIST explanation. It tells us for example that criminals are neurotic and extravert, but it does not tell us why they are criminals. It is therefore limited in its explanation.
There is an unclear relationship between all 3 traits and offending behaviour as extroversion is not consistently found to relate to criminality, suggest that ANOTHER FACTOR MAY BE INVOLVED.
Outline good things about Eysenck’s theory
One good element of Eysenck’s theory is that IT TAKES INTO ACCOUNT BOTH NATURE AND NUTURE. Eysenck’s theory argues strongly that biological predispositions towards certain personality traits combined with conditioning and socialization during childhood in order to create our personality.T
It also LINKS NICELY WITH THE DIATHESIS-STRESS MODEL of behaviour which argues for a biological predisposition combining with an environmental trigger for a particular behaviour.
