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Psychological theories of offending (Criminal Personality (Key ideas (3…
Psychological theories of offending
Criminal Personality
Key theorist
Eysenck
Key ideas
3 (originally 2) personality traits exist along dimensions: extraversion, neuroticism + psychoticism (added in 1976)
Extraversion: sociable, impulsive, expressive + risk taking = looking for constant stimulus so more likely to commit crimes to get stimulus
Neuroticism: nervous, anxious + obsessive + more likely to react emotionally to things = more likely to respond aggressively + commit crime
Psychoticism: insensitive, unconventional + lacks conscience = more likely to commit crime b/c doesn't care about other ppl
All 3 are on a scale which determines whether someone is more likely to be a criminal (if they are high in all 3 they are more likely)
Each trait has biological basis + predisposition to certain trait is inherited
Extraversion: level of cortical arousal in brain - if level of activation in reticular activating system low they will seek stimulation from environment = extraverts have lower residual activation levels
Neuroticism: autonomic nervous system b/c react quickly and to a greater degree
Psychoticism: not sure but androgens such as hormones mighy be implicated
Research
Furnham: 210 non-delinquents tested for personality, level of moral guidance (anomie) + social skills = best predictors were psychoticism then neuroticism, then anomie then extraversion then social skills
Farrington: research depends on measure used for level of offending behaviour. "official" offenders high in neuroticism + low in extraversion BUT self-report = low in neuroticism + high in extraversion
Heaven: longitudinal study monitoring 282 14 yr olds over 2 years = psychoticism best predictor of later delinquency
Strengths
Limitations
Research don't clearly support all 3 traits - support psychoticism and neuroticism but results on extraversion are mixed BUT may be because of type of crime measured b/c extraverts might be drawn to a different type
Measure used can clearly affect results --> difficult to establish nature of the relationship + careful consideration should be used before drawing any conclusions
Cognitive moral reasoning
Cognitive distortions
Differential association
Psychodynamic