The criminal personality (Eysenck's extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism) and the self-fulfilling prophecy: how a label can change behaviour so that the prediction comes true.

What this dot point is asking

OCR wants you to describe Eysenck's criminal personality theory (the dimensions extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism) and explain the self-fulfilling prophecy (how being labelled a criminal can change behaviour so the label comes true). Both are explanations of why some people offend, and both can be evaluated.

Eysenck's criminal personality

Eysenck believed personality is largely biological and can be placed on scales:

• Extraversion (E): extraverts have an under-aroused nervous system, so they seek excitement and stimulation, get bored easily and take risks. This thrill-seeking can lead to crime.
• Neuroticism (N): neurotic people have a reactive nervous system, so they are anxious, moody and unstable and respond strongly and unpredictably to events, which can tip into offending.
• Psychoticism (P): people high in psychoticism are cold, aggressive, impulsive and lack empathy, traits clearly linked to serious offending.

Eysenck also argued that high E, N and P scorers are harder to condition. Because we normally learn right from wrong through conditioning (being rewarded for good behaviour and punished for bad), people who condition poorly do not absorb society's rules as easily, raising the risk of crime. This links the criminal personality to the biological explanation in the theories of criminal behaviour dot point.

The self-fulfilling prophecy

The self-fulfilling prophecy is a quite different explanation, based on labelling. It says that when a person is given a label, the label can change how they and others behave until it comes true.

The chain works like this:

1. A young person is labelled (for example, called "a troublemaker" or "a criminal" by teachers, police or family).
2. They internalise the label, coming to see themselves that way.
3. Others act on the label, treating the person with suspicion, excluding them, or assuming the worst, which limits their opportunities.
4. The person lives up to the label, drifting towards offending, so the original prediction is confirmed.

This explains why labelling young people as criminals can backfire and is one reason the justice system tries to avoid stigmatising young offenders. It connects to ideas about reducing and preventing crime.

Evaluating the two explanations

Eysenck's theory is testable with personality questionnaires and gives a clear, measurable account, but the evidence is weak: studies like Heaven (1996) find only a modest correlation between high E, N and P and self-reported delinquency, and correlation is not cause. It is also deterministic, implying personality fixes behaviour. The self-fulfilling prophecy usefully explains how labels and the reactions of teachers, police and society shape offending, and it warns against stigmatising young people. However, it is difficult to test scientifically, since many other factors (peers, poverty, opportunity) also affect whether someone offends, so it cannot be the whole story.

Try this

Q1. Name Eysenck's three personality dimensions linked to crime. [3 marks]

• Cue. Extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism.

Q2. Explain why, according to Eysenck, high scorers are more likely to offend. [2 marks]

• Cue. They condition poorly, so they do not learn society's rules as easily.

Q3. Define the self-fulfilling prophecy. [2 marks]

• Cue. When a label or expectation changes behaviour so that the prediction comes true.