Psychological Explanations: Eyesncks' Theory Flashcards
what is the criminal personality
high extravert, neurotic and psychtotioc scores
what is meant by neurotic and how does it link to criminal behaviour
link it to a biological basis
- neuroticism is where a person is unstable and difficult to predict
- this gives them a vulnerability to emotional distress so individuals may engage in imulsive actions as a way to manage their intense emotions
- bio link: high reactivity in the SNS (sympathetic)
what is meant by extravert and how does it link to criminal behaviour
link it to a biological basis
- extraversion is where an individual seeks excitement and needs lots of external stimulation
- this may make an individual more inclined to risk taking
- bio link: underactive nervous sytem
what is meant by psychoticism and how does it link to criminal behaviour
link it to a biological basis
- psychoticism is where a person is aggressive and unemotional
- these people are mnore likely to exhibit impulsive and aggressive behaviours
- bio link: high levels of testosterone
At a local community festival, Alex stands out by confidently mingling with everyone—laughing, telling stories, and easily striking up conversations with strangers. Later, when a casual comment about his appearance is made by someone in the crowd, Alex becomes visibly distressed, fixating on the idea that others might be judging him harshly. In the heat of the moment, during a minor dispute with a friend over a game, Alex suddenly loses his temper, shouts aggressively, and even pushes his friend, showing a lack of impulse control and disregard for the consequences.
Read the scenario above and identify the three behaviors that correspond to Eysenck’s dimensions of personality: extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism.
- Extraversion: Alex confidently mingles, laughs, tells stories, and easily engages with others at the festival.
- Neuroticism: Alex becomes visibly distressed and fixates on negative judgments after the comment about his appearance.
- Psychoticism: Alex loses his temper, shouts aggressively, and pushes his friend during the dispute.
socialisation
how does high ENP scores link to crime
- Personality is linked to criminality through the socialisation process.
- Criminal behavior is seen as developmentally immature, driven by a desire for immediate gratification.
- During socialisation, children are taught to delay gratification and conform to societal norms.
- Punishment in childhood creates an association between antisocial behavior and anxiety, discouraging future misconduct.
- However, individuals with high Extraversion and Neuroticism scores have nervous systems that make them difficult to condition.
- As a result, they fail to associate antisocial impulses with anxiety, making them more likely to engage in criminal acts.
give a study that supports the theory
eyesnck and eyesnck
- compared over 2000 male prisoners scores on the EPQ with a control group
- prisoners recorded higher averages than controls
give a study that discredits the theory
farrington et al
- conducted meta analysis and reported offenders tended to score high on P but not E and N
explain the problem this theory has relating to culture
- criminal personalioty may vary according to culture
- prisoners were studied in a max security prison in new york
- all were hispanic and african american and all groups were less extraverted than control
identify and explain two critisicms of eyesncks theory of the criminal personality (4 marks)
- one criticism is discreditng evidence. farrington found incosistent evidence on differences on EEG measures between extraverted and intraverted which goes against the psychologiucal basis of the theory
- another criticism is the criminal personality may vary according to culture. Eg, hispanic prisoners were less extraverted than a control group which goes against then theory
strength
give a PEELH for eyesncks theory
- P - supporting evidence
- Eg - eyesnck and eyesnck compared over 2000 male prisoners scores on the EPQ with a control group and found prisoners recorded higher averages
- Ex - findings are consistent with the theory suggesting criminals tend to have personality traiuts them make them more impulsive and unstable
- L - increases validity by providing empirical evidence
- H - the study was conducted by eyescks himself which raises concerns about researcher bias, since it supports his own theory there is a risk the results were influenced by confirmation bias
limitation
give a PEELH for eyesncks theory
- P - discreditng evidence
- Eg - farriungton conducted a meta analysis and reported offenders tended to score high on P but not E and N
- Ex - contradicts eyesncks theory which assumes criminals generally exhibit high scores in all 3 traits. these findings suggest criminal behaviour may not be as strongly linked to extraversion and neuroticism as eyencks proposed
- this reduces the overall validity of the theory so therefore it may not be able to fully explain criminal behaviour
- H - eyencks was one of the first to provide a biololgical explanation to crime and it has influenced further research
outline eyescks theory of the criminal personality (6 marks)
- there are 3 aspects where individuals score high on neuroticism, extraversion and psychoticism which are biologically determined
- neuroticism is where a person has high reactivity in their sympathetic nervous system and are unstable and difficult to predict. this makes them react strongly to stressful situations, potentially leading to impulsive behaviour
- extraversion is where a person has an underactive nervous system so require lots of external stimulation making them more likely to display risk taking behaviour
- psychoticism is where a person is unemotional and aggressive possibly due to high levels of testosterone
- this gives the individual a nervous system that is difficult to condition so therefore during childhood they didnt make associations between anticosial behaviour and anxiety
- therefore, they feel no fear when performing antisocial acts
