Psychological explanations: Eysenck's theory Flashcards
Eysenck was an important figure in…
personality and intelligence research
Eysenck was an important figure in personality and intelligence research during which time period?
The middle of the 20th century
Eysenck most notably proposed that behaviour could be represented along how many dimensions?
2, although he later added a third dimension
Eysenck most notably proposed that behaviour could be represented along which two dimensions?
Introversion-extraversion (E) and neuroticism-stability (N)
Introversion-extraversion and neuroticism-stability combine to form…
a variety of personality characteristics or traits
What was the third dimension that Eysenck later added?
Psychoticism-sociability (P)
Which of Eysenck’s dimensions that he proposed represented behaviour is E short for?
Introversion-extraversion
Which of Eysenck’s dimensions that he proposed represented behaviour is N short for?
Neuroticism-stability
Which of Eysenck’s dimensions that he proposed represented behaviour is P short for?
Psychoticism-sociability
Eysenck said that personality is linked to offending behaviour via what?
Socialisation processes
Eysenck saw offending behaviour as developmentally ________
immature
Eysenck saw offending behaviour as s______ and concerned with…
immediate gratification
Eysenck said that offenders are impatient and…
cannot wait for things
Eysenck said that personality is linked to offending behaviour via socialisation processes. What is the process of socialisation?
Children are taught to become more able to delay gratification - more socially oriented
Eysenck believed that people with high introversion-extraversion and neuroticism-stability scores had…
nervous systems that made them difficult to control
Eysenck believed that people with high introversion-extraversion and neuroticism-stability scores were less likely to…
learn anxiety responses to antisocial impulses
Eysenck believed that people with high introversion-extraversion and neuroticism-stability scores were more likely to…
act antisocially in situations where the opportunity presented itself
The notion that personality can e measured is one that is central to which psychological explanation for offending?
Eysenck’s
What did Eysenck develop?
The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ)
What was the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire?
A form of psychological test which locates respondents along the E, N and P dimensions to determine their personality type
Why was the EPQ a very important part of Eysenck’s theory?
It enabled him to conduct research relating personality variables to other behaviours, such as criminality
The EPQ means we can see how…
the criminality personality differs from the rest of the population across dimensions
What have critics suggested about the EPQ?
Personality type may not be reducible to a ‘score’ in this way - personality is too complex and dynamic to be quantified if indeed such a thing exists
Critics argue that personality is too complex and dynamic to be quantified - this questions whether there is such thing as…
personality, or a ‘criminal’ personality
According to Eysenck, our personality traits are __________ in origin
biological
According to Eysenck how do our personality traits come about?
Through the type of nervous system we inherit
According to Eysenck, all ___________ _____ have an innate, biological basis
personality types
According to Eysenck, extraverts have an…
underactive nervous system
According to Eysenck, extraverts have an underachieve nervous system. What does this mean about their behaviour?
They constantly seek excitement, stimulation and are likely to engage in risk-taking behaviours
According to Eysenck which personality type tend not to condition easily and therefore do not learn from their mistakes?
Extraverts
Eysenck said that extraverts tend not to condition easily and therefore…
do not learn from their mistakes
According to Eysenck, people with a neurotic personality type have a high level of…
reactivity in the sympathetic nervous system
According to Eysenck, people with a neurotic personality type have a high level of reactivity in the sympathetic nervous system. This means that they respond quickly to…
situations of threat
According to Eysenck, people with a neurotic personality type have a high level of reactivity in the sympathetic nervous system. This means that they tend to be…
nervous, jumpy and overanxious
The high level of reactivity that Eysenck said was in the sympathetic nervous system of people with a neurotic personality type means that their behaviour is often…
difficult to predict
People with the psychotic personality type are suggested to have higher levels of what?
Testosterone
Eysenck said that people with the psychotic personality type are…
unemotional and prone to aggression
What is the criminal personality type according to Eysenck?
Neurotic-extravert-psychotic
Neurotics are unstable and therefore prone to do what in situations of threat?
Overreact
Extraverts seek more arousal and thus engage in what according to Eysenck?
Dangerous activities
Psychotics are aggressive and lack what according to Eysenck?
Empathy
What did Farrington et al. (1982) conduct?
A meta-analysis of relevant studies to Eysenck’s theory
What did Farrington et al. (1982) report about how offenders tended to score on measures of psychoticism?
They tended to score highly
Farrington et al. (1982) reported that offenders tended to score high on measures of psychoticism, but not…
for extraversion and neuroticism
True/False: Farrington et al. (1982) reported that offenders tended to score high on measures of psychoticism, extraversion and neuroticism
False, they tended to score high on measures of psychoticism, but not for extraversion and neuroticism
Farrington et al. (1982) found inconsistent evidence of differences on EEG measures (used to measure cortical arousal) between…
extraverts and introverts
Farrington et al. (1982) found inconsistent evidence of differences on EEG measures (used to measure cortical arousal) between extraverts and introverts. This supports/casts doubt on the physiological basis of Eysenck’s theory
casts doubt on
True/False: Some of the central assumptions of the criminal personality have been challenged
True
Criminal personality may vary according to culture. This is something that Eysenck took/didn’t take into account
didn’t take
Bartol et al. (1979) studied which group of people?
Hispanic and African-American offenders in a maximum security prison in New York
In Bartol et al. (1979)’s study, researchers divided offenders into how many groups?
six
In Bartol et al. (1979)’s study, researchers divided offenders based on what?
Their offending history and the nature of their offences
What did Bartol et al. (1979) find?
All six groups were less extravert than a non-offender group
How do Bartol et al. (1979)’s findings challenge Eysenck’s theory?
It was found that all six groups were less extravert than a non-offender control group. Eysenck would expect them to be more extravert
Why did Bartol et al. (1979) suggest their findings were unexpected in relation to Eysenck’s theory?
Because the sample was a very different cultural group
The fact that Bartol et al. (1979) found that groups of offenders from another culture were less extraverted than the non-offender control groups questions…
how far the criminal personality can be generalised
The criminal personality may be a __________ relative concept
culturally
Eysenck et al. (1977) compared ____ prisoners’ scores on the ___ with ____ controls
2070, EPQ, 2422
Eysenck et al. (1977) compared ____ prisoners’ scores on the EPQ with 2422 controls
2070
Eysenck et al. (1977) compared 2070 prisoners’ scores on what with 2422 controls?
The EPQ
Eysenck et al. (1977) compared 2070 prisoners’ scores on the EPQ with how many controls?
2422
Eysenck et al. (1977) found that prisoners recorded higher/lower average scores on the EPQ than controls
higher
Eysenck et al. (1977) found that prisoners recorded higher average scores on the EPQ than controls on which measures?
Extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism
True/False: Eysenck et al. (1977)’s findings that prisoners recorded higher average EPQ scores than controls on extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism were restricted to the 18-25 age category
False, this was tested across all age groups
Eysenck et al. (1977)’s findings agrees with the predictions of the theory that…
offenders rate higher than average across the three dimensions Eysenck identified
Eysenck et al. (1977)’s findings agree with/challenge his theory
agree with
Moffitt (1993) criticised Eysenck’s theory by saying it’s too…
simplistic
Moffitt (1993) drew a distinction between offending behaviour that only occurs in ___________ and that which…
adolescence, continues to adulthood
What did Moffitt (1993) call offending behaviour that only occurs in adolescence?
Adolescence-limited
What did Moffitt (1993) call offending behaviour that continues into adulthood?
Life-course-persistent
What did Moffitt (1993) argue about personality traits in relation to Eysenck’s theory?
Personality traits alone are a poor predictor of how long offending behaviour will go on for in the sense of whether someone is likely to become a ‘career offender’
Moffitt (1993) argued that personality traits alone are a poor predictor of how long offending behaviour will go on for in the sense of whether someone is likely to become a…
‘career offender’
Moffitt (1993) considered persistence in offending behaviour to be the result of a reciprocal process between…
individual personality traits on the one hand, and environmental reactions to those traits on the other
Moffitt (1993) considered persistence in offending behaviour to be the result of a __________ _______
reciprocal process
Moffitt (1993)’s consideration that persistence in offending behaviour is the result of a reciprocal process presents a more…
complex picture than Eysenck suggested
Moffitt (1993) suggested that the course of offending behaviour is determined by an…
interaction between personality and the environment
Moffitt (1993) suggested that the course of offending behaviour is determined by an interaction between personality and the environment. This presents a more…
complex picture than Eysenck suggested
