Eysenck's theory of the criminal personality
Eysenck argued that some people are born with a personality type that makes them more likely to commit crime. Three personality dimensions — extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism — combine to produce this criminal personality.
Real World
Eysenck's own research found that prison populations scored significantly higher on measures of extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism than non-offending control groups. However, Farrington (1982) found that high E and N scores in London schoolboys did not reliably predict which individuals later gained criminal convictions.
Exam Focus
For 16-mark essays, outline all three personality dimensions before evaluating — examiners expect the full E-N-P model.
Evaluation Scaffold
A four-step framework for high-quality evaluation. Use this for 'assess', 'evaluate', and 'to what extent' questions.
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