Eysenck's theory- FORENSICS

Question 1

AO1 Eysenck’s theory

Answer 1

• idea that it’s the interactions of personality (that’s biologically based) and the environment that causes antisocial behaviour—> some personality traits are more likely to lead to criminal behaviour

Question 2

In Eysenck’s theory , list the characteristics of:

1= extraversion
2= neuroticism
3=psychoticism

Answer 2

1= sociable, impulsive, expressive, risk taking

2= nervous, anxiety, obsessive

3= insensitive, unconventional, lacks conscience

Question 3

In Eysenck’s theory, what does he claim is the biological explanation of extraversion?

Answer 3

• level of cortical arousal in the brain is controlled by the reticular activating system
• if the residual level of activation is low, a person will seek stimulation from the environment to raise the level so brain is functioning at its optimum.

—> in comparison, introverts withdraw from too much stimulation because their brain arousal level needs to be reduced in order to function best.

Question 4

Eysenck’s theory- what’s the biological basis to neuroticism?

Answer 4

• due to autonomic nervous system
• some people react swiftly and strongly to psychological stress and Eysenck argued that those measuring high for neuroticism would react quicker and to a greater degree.

Question 5

Eysenck’s theory- biological basis to psychoticism

Answer 5

• not detailed but mentioned androgens such as testosterone may be involved

Question 6

How is Eysenck’s theory applied to criminal behaviour?

Answer 6

• offenders demonstrate distinctive personality traits which are genetic, and that the development of the conscience may be faulty
• criminal personality is a neurotic-extravert who scores highly on measures of psychotics

high extraverts= sensation seekers, the thrill of crime committing draws them to criminal behaviour

high neurotics= high emotion levels, more likely to commit a crime in situations of high emotion, more likely to be conditioned due to responsive autonomic nervous system.

high psychoticism= they’re aggressive and lack a conscience , don’t hold back, concern for others doesn’t prevent them

Question 7

Eysenck’s theory- studies

Answer 7

• some have compared prisoners with non-prisoners and found that criminals score more highly on extraversion, neuroticism and psychotics, but —-> PASSINGHAM- control group of non-criminals weren’t matched w the criminals on relevant variables
• BARTOL- compared EPI scores of 398 inmates in NY jail with control group of 187 male job seekers in the city. Matched by race, class, age, mostly African-American or hispanic. found= sex offenders least extravert, robbers most extravert, offenders LESS extravert than the control group . conc was that study was conducted on a different cultural group to Eysenck.
• FURNHAM- 210 non-delinquents studied in the UK, tested for personality, level of moral guidance and social skills. best predictor of self-reported delinquency was psychotics, with extraversion the least.
• HEAVEN- studied 282 14 year olds over 2 year period, best predictor of delinquency was psychotics, with extraversion and self-esteem having little impact. conc= factors like extraversion are too broad

Question 8

AO3- Eysenck

Answer 8

• research doesn’t support all 3 traits, most studies suggest criminals score high on psychotics and neuroticism, with results for extraversion being limited.
• doesn’t recognise importance of biology or the environment in determining criminality.—> argument that personality is inherited so individual is born with a predisposition to commit crime.
• Eysenck’s theory lends itself to testing, EPI is considered to be reliable for measuring personality.