Eysneck's theory - AO3

Question 1

What is a PECS paragraph of Eysenck’s theory?

strength

Answer 1

• P: Strength = evidence to support the criminal personality
• E: Eysenck and Eysenk (1977) compared 2070 prisoner’s scores on EPQ with 2422 controls. Prisoners recorded higher E N P than average scores control
• C: Farrington et al (1982): Meta analysis of relevant studies, offenders tended to score high on measures of psychotism but not on E and N. Inconsistent evidence of differences on EEG measures between extraverts and introverts (Kussner 2017) -> casts doubt on the physiological basis of the theory
• S: Central assumptions of the criminal personality have been challenged

Question 2

What are two limitations of Eysenck’s theory?

Answer 2

• P: Limitation = all offending behaviour can be explained by personality traits alone
• E: Moffit (1993) Draw a distinction between offending behaviour that occurs in adolescence (adolescence limited) and that which continues into adulthood (life course persistent). Personality traits = poor predictor of how long offending behaviour would go on for
• E: Considered persisting to be a result of a reciprocal process between individual personality traits and environmental reactions to these traits
• L: More complex than Eysenck suggested -. Course of offending behaviour is determined by an interaction between personality and environment

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• P: Limitation = cultural factors are not taken into account
• E: Bartol and Holanchock: studied hispanic and African Americans in a maximum security prison. Divided offenders into 6 groups based on offending history and nature of offending
• E: All 6 groups were less extravert than a non-control group whereas Esyenck expects them to be more. Bartol and Holanchock’s sample was a different cultural group
• L: Questions how far criminal personality can be generalised and suggests it may be a culturally relative subject

Question 3

What is an evaluation extra of Eysenck?

limitation

Answer 3

• P: Limitation = EPQ may not be useful
• E: EPQ -> see how the criminal personality differs from the rest of the population across different dimensions
• E: Critics -> Personality type may not be reducible to a “score” in this way. it is too complex and dynamic to be quantified
• L: This applies to a personality deemed to be “criminal”