Forensics: Eyesnick's theory

Question 1

What is Eyesnick’s recipe for the ciminal personality

Answer 1

• Extraversion + Neuroticism + Psychoticism = the criminal personality

Question 2

What is the biological explanation for Extraverts

Answer 2

• Have an under active nervous system, so constantly seek excitement and risk-taking behaviours.

Question 3

What is the biological explanation for introverts

Answer 3

• (overactive nervous system) so withdraw from too much stimulation.

Question 4

What is the biological explanation for neuroticism

Answer 4

• linked to instability in the sympathetic nervous system (if high neuroticism).

Question 5

What is the biological explanation for psychotism

Answer 5

• higher levels of testosterone.

Question 6

What is the criminal personality

Answer 6

• will score highly in psychoticism.
• Neurotic-extravert personality type.
• More likely to commit crimes based on emotion and will seek dangerous activities.
• neuroticism = good indicator of criminal behaviour in older people.
• Extraversion = younger people.

Question 7

What is the process of socialisation

Answer 7

• children are taught to be able to delay gratification and become more socially oriented.
• Primarily taught through conditioning: when children act in an immature way, they are punished.
• They come to associate anxiety with antisocial behaviour.
• Esyneck believed that people with high Extraversion and Neuroticism scores cannot be conditioned easily = act antisocially.
• concern with immediate gratification -> developmentally immature.

Question 8

List the evaluations for Eysenck’s personality theory

Answer 8

Positive:
- Supporting evidence

Negative:
- Focus on a single criminal type
- Cultural bias
- Limited by biological basis

Question 9

(+) Explain how there is supporting evidence for Eysenck’s theory (Eysenck and Eysenck)

Answer 9

• (Eysenck and Eysenck)
• Compared 2070 male prisoners scores on EPI with 2422 male controls.
• were sub-divided into age groups 16-69 years
• Across all age groups prisoners recorded higher scores than controls for Psychoticism, Extraversion and Neuroticism.

Question 10

(+) explain how there is supporting evidence for Eysenck’s theory (Rushton and Christjohn)

Answer 10

• Rushton and Christjohn (1981) compared E, N and P scores with self-reports of delinquency in children and students.
• High levels of delinquency correlated with higher E, P and N scores

Question 11

(-) Explain how Eyesnyck’s theory on focuses on one single criminal type (Digman 5 factor model)

Answer 11

• Criticised for focusing on a particular criminal personality type.
• Digman (1990) - created a Five factor model: updated model of personality - included further dimensions of openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness.

Question 12

(-) Explain how Eyesnycks theory displays cultural bias (Bartol and Holanchock)

Answer 12

• Studied Hispanic and African-American prisoners in a high-security prison.
• 6 groups – based on criminal history.
• Compared against a non-criminal control group.
• All found to be less extraverted than a non-criminal control group.

Question 13

(-) Explain how Eyesnycks theory mismeasures personality (Mischel)

Answer 13

• Personalities are not stable, set in stone, entities that can be tested.
• Not reducible to a score -> reductionist
• Mischel (1988) it can change depending on the situation we are in and who we are with.

Question 14

(-) Explain how Eyesynck’s theory is biologically deterministic

Answer 14

• Suffers from same limitations as genetic and neural explanations.
• Eysenck only focused on the nervous system.
• Biologically deterministic.