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Advantages
- biological basis - PEN theory has some support from biological studies that assist in concluding that personality, and thus criminality, is genetic eg. Shields (1976) found that monozygotic (identical) twins were significantly more alike on the Introvert – Extrovert (E) and Psychoticism (P) dimensions than dizygotic (non-identical) twins.
- case study methodology advantage - tripartite personality: case study methodology embraces our complex behaviour by gathering rich information, and on an individual basis – an idiographic approach – when conducting research. meaning that the theory takes into account chance, free will and the uniqueness of individuals. this as a cause of criminality is strengthened because it considers both nature and nurture.
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Disadvantages
- reductive - both PEN theory and tripartite personality assume that personality is consistent and innate rather than situational, meaning that circumstances such as traumatic experiences that may trigger criminal behaviour are often seen as less significant than they really are.
- no cause and effect reliability - PEN theory: Howitt (2009) points out that while Eysenck highlights traits which are related to different types of criminal, they do not explain why they commit the crimes they do.
- research corrupted by bias - research on personality relies heavily on self-report measures of personality devised by Eysenck. Naturally, you could suggest that the scales are subject to demand characteristics and social desirability bias.
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