psychological explanations: eysenck's theory

Question 1

what did Eysenck (1947) propose?

Answer 1

proposed that personality could be represented along three dimensions:
● Introversion-extraversion (E)
● Neuroticism-stability (N)
● Psychoticism-socialisation (P)

Question 2

what did eysenck suggest about personality types?

Answer 2

Eysenck suggested personality types are innate and based on the nervous system we inherit
Personality types are innate/biological

Question 3

what did he say about extroverts?

Answer 3

Extroverts have an underactive nervous system which means they seek excitement, stimulation and engage in risk-taking behaviours

Question 4

what did he say about neurotic individuals?

Answer 4

Neurotic individuals tend to be nervous, jumpy and over-anxious, and their instability means they are difficult to predict

Question 5

what did he say about psychotic individuals?

Answer 5

Psychotic individuals are suggested to have higher levels of testosterone - they are cold, unemotional and prone to aggression

Question 6

what did the criminal personality consist of?

Answer 6

The criminal personality type is a neurotic-extravert, and scores high on measures of psychoticism

Question 7

the role of socialisation

Answer 7

• criminal behaviour = immature and selfish
• immediate gratification = impatient and cannot wait for things = act antisocially
• process of socialisation children are taught to become more able to delay gratification and more socially oriented
• people with high E and N score = nervous system made it difficult for them to learn = less likely to learn anxiety responses to social impulses

Question 8

measuring the criminal personality

Answer 8

• Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI), a psychological test along the E and N to determine their personality type
  → A later scale = measure psychoticism
• conduct research relating personality variables to other behaviours e.g. criminality