Eysenck’s Theory - psychological explanation

Question 1

what is the AO1 for Eysenck’s theory

Answer 1

• Eysenck proposed that criminals possess distinct personality characteristics.
• These characteristics have a biological basis and are caused by differences in the nervous system between criminals and non criminals.
• Eysenck proposes that the three qualities that make up a criminal personality are:
• EXTRAVERSION
• NEUROTICISM
• PSYCHOTICISM.

Question 2

why did Eysenck propose that extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism make up a criminals personality

Answer 2

• an under active nervous system drives criminals to seek greater excitement and stimulation in their environment- making them more EXTRAVERT.
• They are not able to be conditioned in the same way as non criminals, because they are not as easily put off by negative experiences
• Non criminals learn NOT to do certain behaviours through operant or classical conditioning, but criminals do not learn as readily as non criminals.
• This is because they do not learn to respond to anti-social impulses with anxiety (they find experiences that we would not enjoy exciting, not anxiety-provoking).
• Criminals’ behaviour is also therefore more unstable and more difficult to predict hence why they are more NEUROTIC.
• Eysenck also proposed that they are cold, unemotional and prone to aggression- hence they score highly on PSYCHOTICISM.

Question 3

what are the +ve AO3 points for Eysenck’s theory of criminal behaviour

Answer 3

• Eysenck and Eysenck
• Implications

Question 4

expand on the +ve AO3 point, Eysenck and Eysenck

Answer 4

• assessed 2070 male prisoners and compared them on the EPI to a control group of 2422 males.
• On measures of Extraversion, Neuroticism and Psychoticism, prisoners recorded higher scores than the control group, which confirms the prediction of the theory.
• Fact there is a control shows effort made for scientific rigour and improves validity of results

Question 5

expand on the +ve AO3 point, implications

Answer 5

• Eysenck’s theory may help with crime prevention strategies.
• The theory suggests that there are traits linked to criminal behaviour which are detectable in childhood therefore it may be possible to modify the socialisation experiences of high-risk individuals so that they do not develop into offenders.
• This could lead to interventions based on parenting or early treatment for delinquency and hence may be of great practical benefit in reducing criminal behaviour.

Question 6

what are the -ve AO3 points for Eysenck’s theory of criminal behaviour

Answer 6

• Farrington et al
• cultural issues
• methodological issues

Question 7

expand on the -ve AO3 point, Farrington et al

Answer 7

• reviewed several studies and reported that offenders tended to score high on Psychoticism measures but not for Extraversion & Neuroticism.
• These findings therefore do not fully support Eysenck’s theory for all three traits.
• There is also very little evidence of consistent differences in EEG measures (used to measure cortical arousal) between extraverts and introverts, which casts doubt on the biological basis of Eysenck’s theory…
• If a faulty nervous system is really causing extraversion, they should have very different EEG data to introverts- which was not found to be the case.

Question 8

expand on the -ve AO3 point, cultural issues

Answer 8

• Psychologists have found differences in scores on the EPI between white, hispanic and black inmates.
• Results from a Max Security Prison in New York showed that black and hispanic inmates were more likely to have INTROVERT personalities, not EXTRAVERT, like their white counterparts.
• This questions the extent to which we can apply Eysenck’s theory universally or nomothetically.

Question 9

expand on the -ve AO3 point, methodological issues

Answer 9

• Both supporting and challenging evidence relies on self-report measures of personality.
• The EPI can be subject to social desirability bias (although an attempt is made to control this through the “lie” scale measure) → it doesn’t remove it but he tries to control it = +ve
• responses may also vary due to the mood of the individual.
• This is problematic as it lowers both the validity and the reliability of the research that underpins the theory.