Forensic Psychology - 10. Psychological Explanations: 5. Psychodynamic Approach Flashcards
What are the three parts of our personality?
Id
Ego
Superego
What principle does each part of the personality work on?
Id - pleasure principle
Ego - reality principle
Superego - morality principle
What is the rational part of the personality?
The ego
Where do you get your morals from?
The same sex parent
What part of the personality is crucial in explaining criminality according to the psychodynamic approach?
The superego
Who made the link between the superego and criminality? What did they argue?
Blackburn. They argued that criminality is inevitable if the superego is deficient as the id isn’t properly controlled
What does an out of control id lead to?
Us giving into our urges and impulses
3 types of superego that cause criminality according to Blackburn
Weak superego
Harsh superego
Deviant superego
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.
Fail to internalise the moral values of the same sex parent
Makes immoral or criminal behaviour more likely
When may a harsh superego develop?
If the same sex parent is overly harsh and has standards/expectations that are too high for that child to meet
How does a harsh superego link to criminality?
The individual is crippled by guilt and anxiety for every action they do (due to feeling unable to meet high expectations of parents) and commits crime in order to satisfy the superego’s need for punishment
Deviant superego
If the superego that the child internalises has immoral or deviant values, it could lead to offending behaviour.
The child internalises the morals of criminal or deviant same sex parent
Why will a boy that is raised by a criminal father commit crimes (deviant superego)?
They are not likely to associate guilt with wrongdoing
What other psychodynamic theory links to crime?
Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis
Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis
There would be serious consequences if an infant is deprived of a mother figure during the critical period of attachment
Possible consequences of maternal deprivation
Mental abnormalities
Delinquency
Depression
Affectionless psychopathy
How is Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis a psychodynamic theory?
Because it states that what happens in childhood influences adult behaviour
How does affectionless psychopathy link to criminality?
Affectionless psychopaths have an inability to show affection, lack empathy/concern for others and have little to no guilt or remorse for others
1 advantage of the psychodynamic approach for crime
Male identification/internalisation is stronger than that of females (according to Freud) which explains why there are more male offenders than female
Disadvantage of the psychodynamic approach for crime: lack of falsifiability
The concepts explained are unconscious meaning there’s no way to empirically test the theory
Disadvantage of the psychodynamic approach for crime: deterministic
Seeing the problem as within the person neglects the complexity of the social standards of offending (E.g. poor education or deprivation)
Disadvantage of the psychodynamic approach for crime: gender bias
Women should develop a weaker superego because they don’t identify as strongly with their same sex parent
Disadvantage of the psychodynamic approach for crime: lack of evidence
No evidence to suggest children without a same sex parent offend more
Disadvantage of the psychodynamic approach for crime: psychic determinism
Suggests we are bound by our childhood experiences
