Forensics - psychological explanations - psychodynamic explanation

Question 1

What are the two psychodynamic explanations of offending behaviour?

Answer 1

• Freud’s theory of inadequate superego

- Maternal deprivation

Question 2

What are the 3 inadequate superegos?

Answer 2

• Weak superego: a child who does not identify with their same sex parent at the resolution of the Oedipus complex won’t internalise their morals and so will have a weak superego
• Deviant superego: Identification with a deviant (criminal) parent leads to deviant attitudes on the part of the child
• Over-harsh superego: Over-identification with a strict parent would lead to an over-harsh superego. An individual would commit a crime so he would be caught and give the punishment the superego craves

Question 3

Why did Freud believe that women would develop a weaker superego than men?

Answer 3

• Less anxiety during the phallic stage so less pressure to identify with same sex parent
• Little reason for anyone to want to identify with their mother, a low status woman

Question 4

Why is maternal deprivation an explanation of offending behaviour?

Answer 4

Maternal deprivation is a disruption of the attachment bond and loss of the emotional care usually provided by the primary caregiver.
Bowlby suggested affectionless pyschopathy, delinquency and low IQ would result.
Bowlby theorised that disrupted relationship in infancy could lead to unconscious reasons for behaviour and poor outcomes (offending) in adult life.

Question 5

Why is the fact that the superego explanation lacks supporting evidence a limitation?

Answer 5

• Lack of evidence that children raised without a same sex parent fail to develop a conscience.
• Deviant parents may influence their children’s offending by genetics of social learning instead.
• Most offenders go to great lengths to avoid detection and punishment, suggesting the desire for punishment is an implausible idea.

This lack of support suggests the theory may not be valid.

Question 6

Why is the fact that the superego explanation has gender bias a limitation?

Answer 6

Freud believed that women would develop a weaker superego than men. This means more women than men should be criminals.
But evidence shows that women are not more likely to be criminals than men. This suggests the explanation lacks validity.

Question 7

Why is the fact that Bowlby’s maternal deprivation research could lead to interventions a strength?

Answer 7

Eg. mother and baby units in prisons, parental rooms in hospitals which can prevent maternal deprivation and therefore affectionless psychopathy and delinquency.
This will have an effect on reducing crime, so is a useful application.

Question 8

How are there methodological limitations to Bowlby’s study?

Answer 8

The data was gathered retrospectively; participants were handpicked by him; the study was not blinded.
Bias may have affected the results of the 44 thieves study. As the theory is based on this study the explanation itself may lack validity.

Question 9

Why is the fact that there is a lack of supporting evidence for the maternal deprivation explanation a limitation?

Answer 9

Lewis - interviewed 500 young people
Found no evidence of a link between maternal deprivation and offending.
The lack of support indicates the theory may lack validity.