forensics: psychological explanations of offending- psychodynamic

Question 1

define psychodynamic explanations of offending behaviour

Answer 1

a group of theories influenced by a he work of Sigmund Freud which share the belief that unconscious conflicts, rooted in early childhood and determined by interactions with parents, drive criminal behaviour

Question 2

explain the tripartite personality. which part is important for offending behaviour

Answer 2

Freud suggested every person had 3 parts to their personality: the ID ( pleasure principle ) the ego ( reality principle ) and the superego ( morality principle)

the superego is the key part for offending behaviour It exerts it’s influence by punishing the ego through guilt - inadequate in criminals

Question 3

which psychosexual stage did Blackburn (1993) argue is important for the development of criminal behaviour? why?

Answer 3

the phallic stage, superego is developed when child overcomes the oedipus/electra complex

Question 4

how did a deficient superego lead to criminality according to Blackburn?

Answer 4

Blackburn believed that if the superego is deficient then criminal behaviour is inevitable, ID is given ‘free rein’ and is not properly controlled so we give into urges and impulses

Question 5

what were the three types of inadequate superego that lead to criminal behaviour?

Answer 5

• weak superego (absence of same sex parent)
• deviant superego (immoral and deviant values)
• overly harsh superego (same sex parent overly harsh)

Question 6

how does the weak superego lead to criminal behaviour?

Answer 6

same sex parent is absent during phallic stage, child cannot internalise morals and values from same sex parent so there is no opportunity for identification with them so they cannot internalise their superego- can’t tell right from wrong

Question 7

how does the deviant superego lead to criminal behaviour?

Answer 7

same sex parent has deviant values (aggressive, abusive, racist), these get passed onto the child and they internalise a superego with immoral values. they will not learn that crime is wrong their superego will not make them feel guilty about committing crime.

Question 8

how does the psychodynamic explanation consider emotions in the development of offending behaviour?

Answer 8

it acknowledges the role of anxiety and guilt in the development of offending behaviour

Question 9

how does the overly harsh superego lead to criminal behaviour?

Answer 9

overly harsh parenting style leads to a child with an overly harsh superego who becomes crippled with guilt and anxiety all the time, this could unconsciously drive the individual to commit criminal acts in order to satisfy the superegos overwhelming need for punishment due to the guilt they constantly feel.

Question 10

ao3- how is Blackburns theory gender biased

Answer 10

he suggested girls developed a weaker superego than boys as they do not experience castration anxiety, this should mean girls are more likely to be an offender however less than 5% of prison population are female

Question 11

ao3- why is this theory having untestable concepts a limitation of this explanation

Answer 11

the unconscious is impossible to operationalise/measure so we cannot falsify this explanation- contributes little to our understanding of criminal behaviour

Question 12

ao3- how is the importance of a same sex parent not supported by fact? why is this a limitation?

Answer 12

research from role of the father (Field, 1978) found that gender is not important in parenting outcomes but according to this theory they should be criminals

Question 13

ao3- how can you criticise the unconscious desire for punishment?

Answer 13

doesn’t seem plausible as criminals go to great lengths to conceal crime to avoid punishment

Question 14

what did bowlby suggest was imperative for the development of healthy adult relationships?

Answer 14

the monotropic bond is vital for healthy adult relationships due to the IMW

Question 15

what is the difference between separation, deprivation and privation?

Answer 15

separation= being completely separated from a parent figure
deprivation= having less of / being deprived of a parent figure
privation= when a child has no opportunity to form a relationship with a parent figure

Question 16

what are the consequences of deprivation during the critical period? how is this related to criminal behaviour?

Answer 16

they loose the monotropic bond, leading to damaging and irreversible consequences:
- affectionless psychopathy personality type
- delayed intellectual development
- delayed emotional development

Question 17

what was the procedure and findings of bowlbys 44 thieves study, how does this support the psychodynamic explanation of offending behaviour

Answer 17

• sample : 44 criminal teenagers (thieves)
• interviewed teenagers for traits of psychopathy and family members to see if they have experienced prolonged separations from mothers (compared control group of non-criminal but emotionally disturbed teenagers)
• findings: 14/44 thieves were ‘affectionless psychopaths’, 12 of which had prolonged separations (control= 2/44 affectionless psychopaths)
• conclusion = early deprivation caused affectionless psychopathy - criminality

Question 18

ao3: (bowlby) what research did Lewis 1954 conduct? how does it criticise bowlbys psychodynamic explanation of criminality?

Answer 18

analysed data from 500 youths and found MD a poor predictor of later criminality + ability to form close relationships in adolescence- could easily be a casual 3rd factor

Question 19

ao3: (bowlby) what is a strength of the psychodynamic explanations of offending behaviour?

Answer 19

it contributed to psychology: one of the first theories to link early childhood experiences and morals to criminality- a concept that is now widely accepted and also emphasised emotional basis of offending which many theories ignore