Eysenck’s theory of the criminal personality AO1 Flashcards
Criminal Personality is…
A feature of Eysenck’s theory of crime, an individual who scores highly on measures of extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism and cannot be easily conditioned, is cold and unfeeling, and is likely to engage in offending behaviour
what are the three dimensions of Eysenck’s personality theory
extraversion ( and introversion), neuroticism (and stability) and psychoticism ( and sociability)
What did Eysenck say about having a criminal personality regarding biology?
our personality traits all have a biological basis and thus, come through the type of nervous system we inherit. This must mean that all criminal personality types have a biological basis
what does it mean to be an extravert?
underactive nervous system where they constantly seek excitement, stimulation and is likely to engage in risk-taking behaviours.
what does it mean to be neurotic?
high level of reactivity in the sympathetic nervous system, meaning they respond quickly to situations to threat – fight or flight
what does it mean to be psychotic?
thought to have high levels of testosterone and are unemotional and prone to aggression.
what are the likely symptoms of being an extravert?
Often do not condition easily which means they tend not to learn from their mistakes. Extraverts seek more arousal which means they often engage in dangerous activities
what are the likely symptoms of being neurotic?
Often showing nervousness, jumpiness and being overanxious. This form of instability makes their behaviour difficult to predict. Neurotics are unstable which means they often overreact to situations of threat
what is the criminal personality type?
neurotic-extravert-psychotic
what are the likely symptoms of being psychotic?
Psychotics are thought to lack empathy and are aggressive
what are the main points for the role of socialisation?
personality is linked to offending behaviour via socialisation processes, offending behaviour was seen as being developmentally immature and so they were concerned with immediate gratification. Socialisation should occur when children are taught to delay gratification and be more socially orientated.
why is the role of socialisation important?
Individuals are less likely to learn anxiety responses to antisocial impulses and therefore, are more likely to act antisocially in situations where the opportunity presented itself
how does having a criminal personality link to the role of socialisation
People with high extraversion and neuroticism scores had nervous systems that make it difficult to condition
