Freud Flashcards
Pshychodynamic Theories
Focus on how an individuals upbringing could cause them to act in later life.
The most famous is Freud however bowlby also provided a theory.
Freud focuses on the unconcious develpomnet of personality- focusing on three main parts. the Id Ego and Superego
The ID
This is the pleasure seeking component of our personality according to Freud and it is the first thing humans develop.
It is the dominant part of our personality and decides our wants and desires and is controlled by other aspects of our personality.
The ID becomes more balanced as we get older as social situations, rekationships and the resources avaliable to us limit our ability to satisfy needs
The Superego
This refers to the moral code someone has- this stops us doing things that are percived to be wrong.
Limits us reaching our IDs desires
Its responsible for our conscience, morals and ethics and these clash with our want to satisfy our needs.
An over-develped super-ego could lead to an individual to develop extreme anxiety and guilt over their actions
Knows whats right and wrong
The Ego
This balances out the need for satisfaction and the need to be moral and right.
Helps us behave in socially desirable ways.
Helps us understand the consequences of our actions and helps us satisfy our needs in an appropriate way.
Helps us behave in a socially desirable way
Causing Crime
Super Ego is weakly developed
This would lead to someone feeling less guilty so the ID can dominate, a person with a weak super-ego might not feel remorse or concern themselves with what is right and wrong.
Making them more suseptible to commiting crimes
Causing Crime
Super-Ego is overally harsh
Meaning someone would feel high levels of guilt so will commit crimes so they can be punished, as they have low self esteme they seek punishments as they feel they deserve it.
Causing Crime
Super-ego is Devient
This often occurs when a child is raised in a family where crime is committed and a pro crime attitude is what they learn and it becomes their norm, this means a person will not feel guilt that should be associated when they break the norms so they will likely partake in criminal behavior.
Socialised into deviant Norms and Values
Evaluation
Positives
Examines how individuals are influenced by heir upbringing and explains the role of nurture in crime, not born criminals its how theyre nurtured.
It has positive applications for treatment of criminal behaviour through psychoanalysis and positive parenting
Evaluation
Negatives
Lack of scientific evidence for the existance of the ID,ego and super-ego, it cannot be disproven they exist therefore it is not scientific.
Fails to account for crimes commited by individuals that have a balanced family background
