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Fill in the questionnaire. Don’t think too hard about your answers. What do you think the questionnaire measures?. Today’s session. Eysenck’s personality theory. Responses to socialisation (reinforcement & punishment). Social.
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Fill in the questionnaire. Don’t think too hard about your answers.
Eysenck’s personality theory Responses to socialisation (reinforcement & punishment) Social Behaviour in situations where criminal behaviour is a possible outcome Psychological Stable psychological traits Biological Functioning of the nervous system
Eysenck’s personality theory • People’s personality varies along two dimensions: • Extraversion – how much stimulation they need • Neuroticism – how emotionally unstable they are
People who have very changeable emotions; prone to anxiety and depression High N These traits are normally distributed. Most people have moderate scores; few people have extreme scores. Low E High E People who need little external stimulation People who need lots of external stimulation People who have very stable emotions Low N
E & N and the nervous system • Eysenck suggests that E and N measure characteristics of the nervous system: • E measures your central and autonomic arousal level. The lower this is, the more stimulation you need from your environment and the harder you are to condition successfully. • N measures how strongly your nervous system reacts to aversive stimuli. The stronger your responses the more extreme your emotional changes. High N-scorers are also hard to condition.
Nomological reductionism • Eysenck suggests that each person’s unique personality is determined by their particular pattern of E and N, which is determined by their nervous system (and, probably, their genes). • What makes this a nomological view? • What makes this a reductionist view?
Psychoticism • Eysenck later added a third dimension (P). High P-scorers tend to be: • Cold • Uncaring • Solitary • Aggressive • He also believed P to be largely genetically determined.
Which pattern of E, N and P scores is most likely to lead to criminal behaviour? Why?
Eysenck’s theory predicts that people who have high E, N and P will run a higher risk of offending, principally because it is difficult for them to learn to control their immature impulses.
Evaluating Eysenck’s theory • Evidence • Fairly consistent support for high N and P scores but not high E scores • Response bias from self-report measures • Sampling bias when using convicted offenders • Concepts • Circular definitions – what does P measure? • Personality trait may not be stable across situations
Evaluating Eysenck’s theory • Usefulness • Makes broad statements about criminals in general; does not address specific crimes • May assist in identifying those at risk of later offending so prevention can take place