Eysenk's introversion-extra version theory: a test of psychological orientation of prisoners in Lang'ata and Thika prisons, Kenya

Abstract

The major purpose of this study was to investigate Eysenck's Introversion - Extraversion Theory as a test of psychological orientation of prisoners in Lang'ata and Thika prisons, Kenya. The study also aimed at finding out the percentage of Kenyan prisoners' score on psychoticism scale and also the extent to which psychoticism is related to gender. The central idea was to critically analyse the counselling implications of the findings. A descriptive survey design was used in the study. The study subjects consisted of 120 prisoners from both Thika and Lang'ata prisons out of which 93 of them generated usable questionnaire data. The random sampling procedure was used to derive the sample. Eysenck's Personality Inventory (EPI) on Introversion -Extraversion and Psychoticism was used to collect the data. Both descriptive and statistical analyses were done. Pearson's Correlation was done to test the hypothesis to establish if there were any significant relationships between the variables investigated. The findings show that a larger percentage of Kenyan prisoners were extroverts and also have a high psychoticism score. It was also discovered that men have a higher psychoticism score. The implications of the results were critically examined. The results were found to be of interest in Kenyan prisons and related settings and especially in the personal-social Counseling Unit. Recommendations were made for prison authorities, counselors and for future researchers.