Eysenck's Type Theory

Type theory Eysenck believed that there are different personality types. type theory His theory is therefore described as a type theory. For each personality type there are associated traits. extroversion, introversion and neuroticism. The personality types he identified include extroversion, introversion and neuroticism.

Extroverts Open and often talkative Compare their own opinions with the opinions of others Interested in new people Say what they think Like action and initiative Easily make new friends or adapt to a new group Easily break unwanted relations

Are interested in their own thoughts and feelings Need to have own territory Often appear reserved, quiet and thoughtful Usually do not have many friends Have difficulties in making new contacts Like concentration and quiet Do not like the unexpected INTROVERTS

Neurotics Nature full of anxiety Worry a lot Feel guilty often Highly emotional Rapid response to fear May have low self esteem May be tense or irritable

Personality scales Eysenck developed two types of personality scales. The first was Eysenck’s Personality Inventory (1964) (EPI) The second was Eysenck’s Personality Questionnaire (1975) (EPQ)

CRIME THOERY Eysenck viewed criminal behaviour as developmentally immature in that it is selfish and concerned with immediate gratification Personality is linked to criminal behaviour via socialisation processes – which teaches children to delay gratification When children act in immature ways they are punished. Consequently, they come to associate anxiety with antisocial behaviour Where this process is successful, even thinking about behaving antisocially produces anxiety, so the person avoids doing it Eysenck believed that people with high E and N scores had nervous systems that made them difficult to socialise - they would not learn easily to respond to antisocial impulses with anxiety Consequently, they would be more likely to act antisocially in situations where the opportunity presented itself

Evaluation of Eysenck’s Type Theory - His original research used a limited sample of people to test his ideas. + Later research however was carried out on 1000s of people and have supported Eysenck’s ideas - He only described a limited number of personality types. - Questionnaires can present researchers with a number of problems. The mood of people when they are answering them can affect their answers. - People may not be 100% truthful in their answers in self-reports when answering questionnaires.