The Psychological Application of the Eysenck and HEXACO Models of Personality to Crime

Historically, and much like the emergence of models of intelligence, models of personality aimed to both identify and classify traits and characteristics of abnormal behaviour. Such models that emerge, although grounded in scientific support for specific schools of thought in psychology, often encompass and merge similar dimensions from existing models to encapsulate the wide variety of human behaviours and human personality. The application of these models to abnormal behaviours such as anti-social behaviours and criminal activities allows us to identify and classify criminal behaviours with their correlating personality traits. The HEXACO model of personality encompasses dimensions from both the Eysenckian PEN model and the Big 5 model of personality. In doing so, such models allow for the expansion of what is currently known in a certain area of behaviour coupled with what can be further investigated as a means of prevention and intervention. The current paper outlines each model and its approach in the explanation of personality. Through the support of previous meta-analytical research and studies into the application of personality models and crime, both models are compared and contrasted in their ability to effectively identify differences of personality in the criminal domain by comparing groups of offenders and non-offenders and/or re-offenders. Although heavily constructed on factors previously conceptualised for the Big 5, the HEXACO’s inclusion of the Honesty-Humility factor captures elements of unfair and insincere behaviour that the Big 5 had previously failed to incorporate. The development and addition of dimensions to existing models of personality allows researchers to explore the complexities of individual differences in behaviour in their respective domain. Although descriptive and not causal in nature, the conceptualisation and application of models of personality provide a platform for the investigation and implementation of interventional programs.