Criminology
Eysenck's personalityTheory
Start
Who was hans eysenck?
Hans Eysenck was a psychologist who believed that criminal behaviour is linked to personality. He argued that personality is Biological and Inherited, and claimed that Some people are more likely to commit crime due to their personality traits.
What is eysenck's personality theory?
- Eysenck suggested personality has three main dimensions:
- These are known as PEN (Psychoticism, Extroversion, and Neuroticism).
- Each trait increases the risk of criminal behaviour.
- Criminals have been found to score highly on these traits.
The Criminal Traits.
Psychoticism
Neuroticism
Extraversion
Extraverts are outgoing, sensation-seeking, and impulsive. They have lower levels of baseline arousal, and so they seek excitement to feel stimulated. This can lead to risk-taking, rule-breaking criminal behaviour.
Psychotic traits include aggression, a lack of empathy, and impulsivity. Psychotic individuals are more hostile and less concerned with others. High psychoticism is linked to serious, violent crimes and anti-social behaviour, as the offenders do not feel guilt or remorse.
Those who are highly neurotic are emotionally unstable. Their traits include anxiety, mood swings, and aggression. People with high neuroticism often overreact to situations and struggle to control their emotions. This can increase violent crime and reactive offending .
The criminal personality
According to Eysenck, criminals are highly extraverted, highly neurotic, and highly psychotic. This combination makes learning rules difficult, as punishment is less effective, which leads to poor conscience development. Most people learn right from wrong through conditioning, but criminal personalities are harder to condition as they don't learn from punishment.
STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES
A strength of Eysenck’s theory is that it uses a scientific, biological explanation for crime. It helps explain why some people are more likely to offend repeatedly and why punishment does not always work. A weakness is that it ignores social factors like upbringing, poverty, and peer pressure. Not all criminals have the same personality traits, so personality alone cannot explain crime.
Conclusion
Eysenck believed criminal behaviour is linked to personality, especially specific traits such as high extroversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism . These increase a person's impulsivity, emotional reactivity, and poor sense of remorse, making them likelier to commit crime, evident in the clips below:
-Extraversion in Wolf of Wall Street https://youtu.be/PQleT6BtCbE?si=bsShqdMkqA9WS6U1 -Neuroticism in Peacemaker https://youtu.be/E16gxNnxv5I -Psychoticism in American Psycho https://youtu.be/Ruw9fsh3PNY?si=98wy1Gnav1Ircsq_
By nasiha, rumeysa, and ali
Eysenck's Personality Theory
Maryam Nasiha
Created on January 30, 2026
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Transcript
Criminology
Eysenck's personalityTheory
Start
Who was hans eysenck?
Hans Eysenck was a psychologist who believed that criminal behaviour is linked to personality. He argued that personality is Biological and Inherited, and claimed that Some people are more likely to commit crime due to their personality traits.
What is eysenck's personality theory?
The Criminal Traits.
Psychoticism
Neuroticism
Extraversion
Extraverts are outgoing, sensation-seeking, and impulsive. They have lower levels of baseline arousal, and so they seek excitement to feel stimulated. This can lead to risk-taking, rule-breaking criminal behaviour.
Psychotic traits include aggression, a lack of empathy, and impulsivity. Psychotic individuals are more hostile and less concerned with others. High psychoticism is linked to serious, violent crimes and anti-social behaviour, as the offenders do not feel guilt or remorse.
Those who are highly neurotic are emotionally unstable. Their traits include anxiety, mood swings, and aggression. People with high neuroticism often overreact to situations and struggle to control their emotions. This can increase violent crime and reactive offending .
The criminal personality
According to Eysenck, criminals are highly extraverted, highly neurotic, and highly psychotic. This combination makes learning rules difficult, as punishment is less effective, which leads to poor conscience development. Most people learn right from wrong through conditioning, but criminal personalities are harder to condition as they don't learn from punishment.
STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES
A strength of Eysenck’s theory is that it uses a scientific, biological explanation for crime. It helps explain why some people are more likely to offend repeatedly and why punishment does not always work. A weakness is that it ignores social factors like upbringing, poverty, and peer pressure. Not all criminals have the same personality traits, so personality alone cannot explain crime.
Conclusion
Eysenck believed criminal behaviour is linked to personality, especially specific traits such as high extroversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism . These increase a person's impulsivity, emotional reactivity, and poor sense of remorse, making them likelier to commit crime, evident in the clips below:
-Extraversion in Wolf of Wall Street https://youtu.be/PQleT6BtCbE?si=bsShqdMkqA9WS6U1 -Neuroticism in Peacemaker https://youtu.be/E16gxNnxv5I -Psychoticism in American Psycho https://youtu.be/Ruw9fsh3PNY?si=98wy1Gnav1Ircsq_
By nasiha, rumeysa, and ali