NCJ Number
120943
Journal
Criminal Justice Research Bulletin Volume: 4 Issue: 5 Dated: (1989) Pages: complete issue
Date Published
1989
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Hans Jurgen Eysenk is an example of a sophisticated modern theorist whose biological theories of criminality have been supported by mounting scientific evidence that genetic factors may be partially responsible for antisocial and criminal conduct.
Abstract
In his work "Crime and Personality" and in later works, Eysenck maintains that individuals refrain from criminality to the extent that they are adequately socially conditioned and acquire an internalized conscience. This conditioning takes place in early childhood and is influenced both by inherited physiological factors and by the environment. Eysenck believes that his theory helps explain individual differences in criminality, accounts for crime increases in most Western nations, and suggests practical remedies to crime. His theories and their implications have been criticized on theoretical, philosophical, and ethical grounds, and he has been termed racist and fascist. However, respectful debates on the issues he raises are more appropriate than ethnocentric challenges. Moreover, Eysenck will undoubtedly be remembered as a leading researcher in psychology as well as a pioneer in modern biological criminology. 39 references.