Forensic Psychology - 10. Psychological Explanations: 5. Psychodynamic Approach

Question 1

What are the three parts of our personality?

Answer 1

Id
Ego
Superego

Question 2

What principle does each part of the personality work on?

Answer 2

Id - pleasure principle
Ego - reality principle
Superego - morality principle

Question 3

What is the rational part of the personality?

Answer 3

The ego

Question 4

Where do you get your morals from?

Answer 4

The same sex parent

Question 5

What part of the personality is crucial in explaining criminality according to the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 5

The superego

Question 6

Who made the link between the superego and criminality? What did they argue?

Answer 6

Blackburn. They argued that criminality is inevitable if the superego is deficient as the id isn’t properly controlled

Question 7

What does an out of control id lead to?

Answer 7

Us giving into our urges and impulses

Question 8

3 types of superego that cause criminality according to Blackburn

Answer 8

Weak superego
Harsh superego
Deviant superego

Question 9

Weak superego

Answer 9

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

Question 10

When may a harsh superego develop?

Answer 10

If the same sex parent is overly harsh and has standards/expectations that are too high for that child to meet

Question 11

How does a harsh superego link to criminality?

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Deviant superego

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Why will a boy that is raised by a criminal father commit crimes (deviant superego)?

Answer 13

They are not likely to associate guilt with wrongdoing

Question 14

What other psychodynamic theory links to crime?

Answer 14

Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis

Question 15

Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis

Answer 15

There would be serious consequences if an infant is deprived of a mother figure during the critical period of attachment

Question 16

Possible consequences of maternal deprivation

Answer 16

Mental abnormalities
Delinquency
Depression
Affectionless psychopathy

Question 17

How is Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis a psychodynamic theory?

Answer 17

Because it states that what happens in childhood influences adult behaviour

Question 18

How does affectionless psychopathy link to criminality?

Answer 18

Affectionless psychopaths have an inability to show affection, lack empathy/concern for others and have little to no guilt or remorse for others

Question 19

1 advantage of the psychodynamic approach for crime

Answer 19

Male identification/internalisation is stronger than that of females (according to Freud) which explains why there are more male offenders than female

Question 20

Disadvantage of the psychodynamic approach for crime: lack of falsifiability

Answer 20

The concepts explained are unconscious meaning there’s no way to empirically test the theory

Question 21

Disadvantage of the psychodynamic approach for crime: deterministic

Answer 21

Seeing the problem as within the person neglects the complexity of the social standards of offending (E.g. poor education or deprivation)

Question 22

Disadvantage of the psychodynamic approach for crime: gender bias

Answer 22

Women should develop a weaker superego because they don’t identify as strongly with their same sex parent

Question 23

Disadvantage of the psychodynamic approach for crime: lack of evidence

Answer 23

No evidence to suggest children without a same sex parent offend more

Question 24

Disadvantage of the psychodynamic approach for crime: psychic determinism

Answer 24

Suggests we are bound by our childhood experiences