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Personality and Crime

Personality and Crime. Today: Are certain personality traits related to crime and deviance? Monday: Is there a “criminal personality?”. What is a “Personality?”. Webster’s dictionary: “The totality of distinct traits of a particular person.”

shoshana-reynolds
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Personality and Crime

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  1. Personality and Crime Today: Are certain personality traits related to crime and deviance? Monday: Is there a “criminal personality?”

  2. What is a “Personality?” • Webster’s dictionary: “The totality of distinct traits of a particular person.” • Eysenck (1991) Traits = consistent characteristics of people that are relevant to wide variety of behavioral domains. 1. Stable over time 2. Stable over different situations/domains

  3. Measuring Personality • General Standardized Tests • MMPI (Minnesota Muliphasic Personality Inventory) • Pd • CPI (California Personality Inventory) • So • MPQ (Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire

  4. Personality and Crime • Pd (psychopathic deviance) of the MMPI and the So (socialization) scale of the CPI are related to criminal offending, but… • Pd and So include questions about delinquency, probation and parole violations… • These scales were designed to differentiate criminals from non-criminals

  5. Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (Tellegen) • MPQ is a paper and pencil test that yields 3 “super factors” • Constraint • Negative Emotionality • Positive Emotionality

  6. MPQ traits and factors • CONSTRAINT: • Traditionalism: desires a conservative social environment, endorses high moral standards • Harm Avoidance: avoids excitement and danger, prefers safe activities even if they are tedious • Control: is reflective, cautious, careful, rational, planful • NEGATIVE EMOTIONALITY • Aggression: hurts others for advantage; will frighten and cause discomfort for others • Alienation: feels mistreated, victimized, betrayed, and the target of false rumors • Stress Reaction: is nervous, vulnerable, sensitive, prone to worry

  7. MPQ traits and factors • POSITIVE EMOTIONALITY • Achievement: works hard; enjoys demanding projects and working long hours. • Social Potency: is forceful and decisive; fond of leadership roles • Well-Being: has a happy, cheerful disposition; feels good about self and sees a bright future • Social Closeness: is sociable, likes people and turns to others for comfort

  8. MPQ and Crime • Caspi et al. (1994) • Kids from Pittsburgh, PA, and adolescents from Dunedin, New Zealand • Research Question: Do MPQ personality constructs relate to crime and delinquency • Self-reported • Official • Parent/Teacher reports

  9. Findings • Negative Emotionality and Constraint • Related to crime • Across both samples • Across race • Across different measures of delinquency • Delinquents = high negative emotionality and low constraint • Why?

  10. BUT: What determines personality? • Caspi et al. • “Family Environment” • Harsh/inconsistent punishment • Living under constant threat of emotional and personal harm (abuse) • Neurobiological underpinnings • Serotonin levels • “50% heritability” (from twins reared apart study)

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