forensic: psychodynamic explanation Flashcards
state the two theories that make up this explantion
the tripartite personality
Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory
which part of the personality will be inadequate when looking at offending behaviour
Ronald Blackburn argued that if the superego is somehow deficient or inadequate then offending behaviour is inevitable because
the ID is given ‘free rein’ and not properly controlled
state the types of inadequate superego
weak superego
deviant superego
over-harsh superego
explain the weak superego
If the same-sex parent is absent during the phallic stage, a child cannot internalise a fully-formed superego as there is no opportunity for identification
explain the deviant superego
If the superego that a child internalises has immoral or deviant values this would lead to offending behaviour
explain the over-harsh superego
A healthy superego is based on identification with a parent who has firm rules but forgives transgressions. In contrast, excessively punitive or overly harsh
parenting style leads to a child with an over-harsh superego who is crippled by guilt and anxiety. So crimes are committed to fulfil unconscious desire for punishment
role of emotion
the effect of the inadequate superego is to allow primitive, emotional demands to become important in guiding moral behaviour
this approach deals with the emotional life of the individual eg: role of anxiety and guilt in developing offedning behaviour
outline the theory of maternal deprivation
Bowlby believed that mental health and behavioural problems could be attributed to early childhood > the theory of maternal deprivation is considered a psychodynamic explanation when looking at offending behaviour
he argued that the ability to form meaningful relationships in adulthood was dependent on a forming a warm, continuous relationship with a mother figure
explain what happens if you don’t form a relationship with your mother
failure to establish such a relationship during the first few years of
life means a child is likely to experience a number of damaging and irreversible consequences in later life
these people are likely to be affectionless psychopaths which is characterised by a lack of guilt, empathy and feelings for others > maternally deprived individuals are likely to engage in acts of delinquency and cannot develop close relationships with others
explain the 44 juvenile thieves study
Bowlby Interviewed 44 thieves and their families
>14 showed personality and behavioural characteristics of affectionless psychopathy
> Out of the 14, 12 had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers during infancy
> In a non-offender group, only 2 had experienced similar early separation
CONCLUSION: The effects of maternal deprivation had caused affectionless and delinquent behaviour among the
juvenile thieves
AO3: research to support
supports link between offending and the superego
Goreta conducted a Freudian-style analysis of 10 offenders referred for psychiatric treatment
In all those assessed, disturbances in superego formation were diagnosed > each offender experienced unconscious feelings of
guilt and the need for self punishment
Goreta explained this as a consequence of an over-harsh superego, the need for punishment manifesting itself as a desire to commit acts of wrongdoing and offend
STRENGTH as evidence supports the role of psychic conflicts and an over-harsh superego as a basis for offending
AO3: gender bias
Freud suggests girls develop a weaker superego because girls do not experience the intense emotion associated with castration anxiety, and therefore are under less pressure to
identify with their mothers than boys are with their fathers. Therefore, according to Freud, their superego (and their sense of morality) is less fully realised
this implies that women should be more prone to offending behaviour than men > However, data shows the opposite (in the UK about 20 times more men are in prison than women)
WEAKNESS as the theory has alpha bias and may not be an appropriate explanation for offending
AO3: (Bowlby) other factors involved
Bowlby’s theory is only based on an association between maternal deprivation and offending
Hilda Lewis (1954) 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 offending in later life, this is not necessarily a causal relationship.
there are other factors eg: maternal dep due to poverty
LIMITATION maternal dep may be one factor but this theory fails to acknowledge other factors
AO3: unscientific
many of Freud’s concepts, such as the superego, occur at an unconscious level which are not open to empirical testing
eg: inadequate superego can only be judged on their face value rather than their scientific worth
LIMITATION because key concepts of this approach cannot be tested > according to Popper this makes it a psuedoscience
