👤 Eysenck’s Personality theory

Question 1

Eysenck’s Personality theory

Answer 1

Criminality is the result of a highly neurotic and highly extroverted personality type.

Question 2

Eysenck’s Personality theory - Personality dimensions

Answer 2

Extraversion vs introversions (E)
Neuroticsm vs emotional stability
(N) and later added psychoticism
(P)

Question 3

Eysenck’s Personality theory -
Link to crime: Extraverts

Answer 3

Have a nervous system with a high need for stimulation so constantly seek excitement through rule-breaking and impulsive behaviour

Question 4

Eysenck’s Personality theory -
Link to crime: Neurotics

Answer 4

Are harder to condition into following society’s rules because high anxiety levels prevent them from learning from punishment

Question 5

Eysenck’s Personality theory -
Link to crime: Psychotics

Answer 5

People with high P score tend to be solitary misfits who are more likely to be criminal and may have serious mental illness e.g. schizophrenia

Question 6

Eysenck’s Personality theory - strengths

Answer 6

• Describes how some measurable tendencies may lead to criminality
• Studies suggest that offenders to tend towards high E, P and N scores.

Question 7

Eysenck’s Personality theory - limitations

Answer 7

• Studies show that prisoners are not often extraverted
• E measures two separate things - impulsiveness and sociability.
  These things don’t always correspond
• Personality type and criminality are correlated, but this doesn’t prove personality types causes criminality
• Convicted offenders may not be typical of offenders on the whole.
• Eysenck used self-report questionnaires - people may lie making the results invalid.