Heaven Flashcards
when was Heaven’s study conducted
1996
hypothesis of Heaven’s study
Measures of psychoticism, extraversion and self-esteem (associated with neuroticism) would be significant predictors for self-report (rather than recorded) delinquency.
aim of Heaven
To test the link between Eysenck’s personality traits and delinquency.
To test the model that psychoticism, extroversion and self-esteem at Time 1 are significant predictors of self-reported delinquency two years later.
what is delinquency
actions that go against accepted standards or laws
sample of Heaven
282 teenagers (aged 13-15) from two Catholic independent schools in New South Wales, Australia. The schools were situated in a large provincial centre and were classified as independent rather than private schools. School fees were modest and so attracted students from a relatively wide socio-economic background.
Research methods of Heaven
Longitudinal study and questionnaire
what is cross-sectional study
a study carried out at one point in time and comparing distinct groups of people
what is longitudinal study
a study carried out over a period of time looking at the same group of people
what is self-esteem
how much an individual values themselves
why was self-esteem used instead of neuroticism
(a) Furnham and Thompson (1991) and Farrington (1992) had questioned the value of N in predicting self-reported delinquency.
(b) Low self-esteem is often regarded as a facet of neuroticism and several researchers have argued that delinquent behaviour serves as a compensation for youths with low and inadequate self- esteem (e.g. Rice, 1992).
procedure of Heaven
Questionnaires with closed questions were used to measure the three traits.
Self-reported delinquency was also measured at Time 1 and Time 2 using closed question questionnaires. This looked at violence, vandalism and theft.
Findings of Heaven
Males are more likely than females to be involved in delinquency at Time 1 and Time 2.
There was found to be a positive correlation between psychoticism and delinquency at Time 1 and Time 2. It correlated the best compared to the other 2 traits
Extroversion at Time 2 correlated with delinquency at Time 2.
Overall, however, the measures of psychoticism, extroversion and low self-esteem explained only a modest percentage of the variance of delinquency so their influence on delinquency over time was relatively weak. It is likely to be due to other psychological factors such as – peer pressure, parents’ disciplinary styles, parent’s personality etc. that determined if some children will engage in delinquent behaviour
Conclusion of Heaven
The findings did not show significant support for the hypothesis.
Psychoticism was the best predictor of delinquency
Extraversion showed a weak positive correlation with delinquency at the end of the study.
There was a positive correlation between psychoticism and delinquency at both the beginning and end of the study.
Males had higher delinquency scores than females-at both the beginning and end of the study.
Criticisms of Heaven 1
The sample was culturally biased in two main ways. The children were all from one religion and from one particular country. Other religions and other countries may have a different influence on delinquent behaviour.
Criticisms of Heaven 2
The participants may have giving socially desirable responses, especially when being asked about their delinquency. Even though the questionnaires were anonymous, some children may not have wanted to admit to all the delinquent things they had done.
