Psychological Explanations; Eysenck Flashcards
What is the general personality theory?
Eysenck proposed that behaviour could be represented along two dilemmas - introversion/extraversion and neuroticism/stability
The two combine to form personality characteristics or traits - Eysenck later added psychoticism
What did Eysenck believe about the biological basis?
Believed that personality traits have a biological origin and come about through the type of nervous system we inherit
He believed that all personality traits are innate and have a biological basis
What does Eysenck believe about the biological basis of Extraverts?
That they have an underactive nervous system which means they constantly seek excitement, stimulation and are likely to engage in risk taking behaviours
They tend not to condition easily and learn from their mistakes
What does Eysenck believe about neurotic individuals?
They tend to be nervous, jumpy and over anxious and their general instability means that their behaviour is often difficult to predict
What is the criminal personality?
Neurotic- extravert - in addition they will score highly on psychoticism which is categorised by being cold, unemotional and prone to aggression
What process does the theory believe links personality and criminal behaviour?
Socialisation
What is the role of socialisation?
Eysenck saw criminal behaviour as developmentally immature in that it is selfish and concerned with immediate gratification. Socialisation usually teaches children to be able to delay gratification and become more socially orientated
Those that score high on E and N had a nervous system that made them difficult to condition so they would not learn easily to respond to anti-social impulses with anxiety and would be more likely to act anti-socially if the opportunity presented itself
How is criminal personality measured?
He developed the EPI - a form of test which responds along E and N, psychoticism was later included
What evidence is there supporting Eysenck?
Eysenck+ Eysenck compared 2017 male prisoner score on the EPI with 2422 male controls.
Groups were subdivided into age groups ranging from 16-69
On measures of N,E and P in all age groups prisoners recorded higher scores than the controls which supports the predictions of the theory
What is the evidence against Eysenck’s theory?
Farrington et al reviewed several studies and reported that offenders tended to have a high P measure but not E and N
There is also little evidence of consistent differences in EEG measures between extraverts and introverts which casts doubt on the physiological basis on Eysenck’s theory
What about Eysenck’s theory is highly criticised?
Suggesting that all criminal behaviour is as a result of a personality type is criticised
Moffitt proposed several distinct types of adult male offender based on the timing of the first offence and how long the offending persists
What is another issue with the theory?
His theory is also outdated
Digman’s five factor model of personality suggests that alongside E and N there are additional dimensions of openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness . Multiple combinations are available therefore a high E and N score does not necessarily mean more offending
What is the issue with cultural bias?
Bartol and Holanchock looked in cultural differences of Hispanic and African American offenders in a maximum security prison in New York and divided these people into 6 groups based on their criminal history and the nature of their offences
All six groups found to be less extrovert than a non-criminal group - Barton suggested that this was because their sample was a very different cultural group than investigated by Eysenck questioning the generalizability of the criminal personality
What is the measurement/mismeasurement of personality?
Critics suggest that personality may not be reducible in a score way and many argue that there is no such thing as personality. On a daily basis we may play different parts of our personality depending who we are with and the situation we are in so Michael suggests there may be no unchangeable or fixed personality
What is a strength of Eysenck’s theory?
He recognises that personality may have a genetic basis and thus fits well with other biological explanations
There is also some overlap into research on APD and the suggestion they are cold (E suggests this is based on the nervous system)
The theory therefore also shares the limitations of the biological approach
