Eysenck's theory of personality Flashcards
What is meant by ‘personality’?
Its used to refer to relatively stable characterises of a person that make their behaviour consistent across situations.
What does Eysenck combine in his theory?
Nature and nurture as he argues that genetic factors exert their effects under the influence of environmental and social factors.
What is introversion?
Being reserved and quiet, not a thrill seeker and is likely to be by themselves and plan well ahead in advance.
What is extroversion?
Out going, talkative, charming and charismatic, impulsive, and optimistic.
What is neuroticism?
Someone who is jumpy, and prone to worrying about things and having anxiety.
What is stability?
Someone who has control and regulate their emotions much more easily than others.
What is psychotisism?
Lack of empathy, reflects vulnerability to impulsiveness.
What is the Eysenck EPQ questionnaire?
Its a questionnaire developed to measure where each dimension fits onto a scale. This is a simple questionnaire where an individual’s level of extroversion and neuroticism can be measured. Psychoticism score did not develop until later on in the development of his theory.
What is he suggest about arousal in the ANS?
The ANS (autonomic nervous system) is part of the limbic systems and is involved in fight or flight responses. It involves getting the body ready for action when confronted with danger.
How is the ANS linked to neurotisism?
The ANS allows an individual to respond to stress. If the ANS is working correctly, the person will be stable with a consistent mood. If the ANS is inefficient then the person will become neurotic, with changeable moods and difficulty learning from experiences. This links to criminal behaviour because the individual will not learn from mistakes therefore leading to recidivism.
How is the ARAS linked to extroversion?
The ARAS is linked to messages ascending through the brain stem and into the brain. It is responsible for maintaining optimal level of arousal. It does this my dampening down or exciting the sensory information revived to our brain.
What do extroverts have?
A strong nervous system and are chronically under aroused as their ARAS tends to inhibit impulses. Therefore extroverts are designed to increase arousal level and they do this by taking part in risk taking behaviour and go looking for exciting stimuli in the environment. This can lead to criminal behaviour.
How is testosterone linked to Psychotisism?
The endocrine system releases testosterone which tends to be higher in males than it is in females. Therefore you would expect psychoticism more in males than females. Its also potentially related to cortisol and how low levels of cortisol mean than males have an under aroused ANS so they go looking for stimuli to excite the nervous system leading to higher levels of testosterone. Females do have testosterone, but very small levels - this could account for some female crimes however it definitely explains why 95% of prison population is males.
How is arousal in the cortex linked to personality?
Stimulation of neurons in the arousal system gives the brain activity. The dopamine system is one of the brain arousal systems. Low cortisol means that reward is sought for more frequently because that person has an under aroused ANS which may result in criminal behaviour as a result.
How does the role of socialisation play a role in personality?
Criminal behaviour is said to be developmentally immature behaviour in that it is selfish and concerned with immediate gratification. A child conditioned to learn the difference between right and wrong can control their impulses. Where this process is successful even thinking about behaving antisocially produces anxiety and the person does not commit to those thoughts. Whereas criminals do not know right from wrong and therefore this increases likelihood of criminal behaviour.
