8. psychological explanations: psychodynamic explanations Flashcards
what do psychodynamic explanations suggest about crime
a group of theories influenced by the work of freud share the belief that unconscious conflicts rooted in early childhood are determined by interactions with parents drive future - and in this case - criminal behaviour.
what is the superego
formed at the end of the phallic stage of development when children resolve the oedipus/electra complex.
the superego works on the morality principle and exerts its influence by punishing the ego through guilt for wrongdoing whilst rewarding it with pride for moral behaviour.
what does blackburn suggest about the superego
argued that if the superego is somehow deficient or inadequate then criminal behaviour is inevitable because the id is given free rein and not properly controlled.
three types of inadequate superego have been proposed:
weak superego.
deviant superego.
over harsh superego.
what is the weak superego
if the same sex parent is absent during the phallic stage the child cannot internalise a fully formed superego as there is no opportunity for identification - this would make immoral or criminal behaviour more likely.
what is the deviant superego
if the superego that the child internalises has immoral or deviant values this would lead to offending behaviour.
for instance a boy that is raised by a criminal father is not likely to associate guilt with wrongdoing.
what is the over harsh superego
a healthy superego is like a kind but firm internal parent - it has rules but it is also forgiving of transgressions.
in contrast an excessively punitive or overly harsh superego means the individual is crippled by guilt and anxiety. this may (unconsciously) drive the individual to perform criminal acts in order to satisfy the superego overwhelming need for punishment.
what does the maternal deprivation study suggest
bowbly argued that the ability to form meaningful relationships in adulthood was dependent upon the child forming a warm and continuous relationship with a mother figure - the maternal bond was seen as unique and superior to any other and vital to the child well being and development.
failure to establish such a bond during the first few years of life means the child will experience a number of damaging and irreversible consequences in later life. one of these is the development of a particular personality type (affectionless psychopathy) characterised by a lack of guilt and empathy for others.
such maternally deprived individuals are likely to engage in acts of delinquency and cannot develop close relationships with others as they lack the necessary early experience to do so.
what did 44 thieves study conclude about material deprivation
bowlby supported his claims with his own investigation of 44 juvenile thieves. found that through interviews with the thieves and their families that fourteen of the sample he studied showed personality and behavioural characteristics that could be classified as affectionless psychopathy.
of this fourteen, twelve had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers during infancy (in particular the first two years of their lives). in a non criminal group only two had experienced similar early separation.
concluded that the effects of maternal deprivation had caused affectionless and delinquent behaviour among the juvenile thieves.
how does this theory suffer from gender bias
an implicit assumption within freudian theory is the idea that girls develop a weaker superego than boys. having not experienced castration anxiety girls are under less pressure to identify with their mothers (than boys are with their fathers) so their superego (and consequently their sense of morality) is less fully realised. the implication of this is that females should be more prone to criminal behaviour than males.
this is simply not supported by evidence - in a study where children were required to resist temptation researchers found hardly any evidence of gender differences and when there was girls tended to be more moral than boys.
what contradictory evidence is there against this theory
there is very little evidence that children raised without a same sex parent are less law abiding as adults (or fail to develop a conscience) - contradicts blackburn’s weak superego argument.
similarly children who are raised by parents with pro crime attitudes and go on to commit crime themselves could be due to the influence of genetics or socialisation rather than the formation of a deviant superego.
also the idea that criminal behaviour reflects an unconscious desire for punishment seems implausible as most offenders go to great lengths to conceal their crimes which suggests they want to avoid punishment at all costs.
how does a lack of falsifiability limit the approach
psychodynamic explanations in general suffer from a lack of falsifiability - the many unconscious concepts within freudian theory mean that applications to crime are not open to empirical testing. in the absence of supporting evidence arguments such as the inadequate superego can only be judged on their face value rather than their scientific worth. for this reason psychodynamic explanations are regarded as pseudoscientific and may contribute little to our understanding of crime or how to prevent it.
double whopper: although bowlby did provide evidence to support his assertions it has been heavily criticised - been accused of researcher bias insofar as his preconceptions of what he expected to find may have influenced the responses of his interviewees. he also failed to draw a distinction between deprivation and privation within his research - many of the thieves he studied had experienced privation which many commenters consider to be more damaging than deprivation.
how does correlation (not causation) limit the approach
a researcher analysed data drawn from interviews with 500 young people and found that maternal deprivation was a poor predictor of future offending and the ability to form close relationships in adolescence.
even if there is a link between children who have experienced frequent or prolonged separation from their mothers and committing crime in later life - this does not necessarily indicate a causal link between deprivation and delinquency. there are many other reasons for this apparent link such as genetic factors and the influence of other people.
therefore maternal deprivation may be one of these reasons but it may not be the only reason or the most decisive.
