Freud’s Theory Of The Psych

Question 1

What is Freud’s theory about??

Answer 1

• there are unconscious conflicts rooted in early childhood and determined by interaction with parents which can drive the future criminal behaviour
• ID = controls primitive desires and need for gratification and operates on a pleasure principle - is innate
• EGO= works on reality principle and has ability to delay gratifications for realistic goals. Develops around 3 years old when recognise we are people with needs and wants. The role of the ego is to balance the ID and the SUPEREGO
• SUPEREGO= responsible for moral and social constraints and is the ideal force telling you how you should have to be better and develops around 5 years old.

Question 2

How does the ego balance the ID and the SUPEREGO??

Answer 2

Through defence mechanisms that allow ID desires to be satisfied in a way that SUPEREGO finds acceptable
- behaviour that lies outside what society deems as acceptable is the result of abnormal development to the psych

Question 3

How does Freud’s theory explain criminal behaviour??

Answer 3

• since structure of psych determined in first 5 years it follow that roots of offending are also founded in this period in the relationship between the child and parents.
• when developing the SuperEgo the child will internalise behaviour of their same sex parent and their child’s psych can become unbalanced causing criminal behaviour
• three causes are:
  ~ WEAK superego
  ~ DEVIANT superego
  ~ STRONG superego

Question 4

What is the weak superego???

Answer 4

Result of abnormal relationship with family or absent same sex parent and result in person with few unusual inhibitions against anti social behaviour. Act in ways to gratify the ID regardless of social restraints and so as a child did not fully form their superego as there was no opportunity for identification so crime is more likely

Question 5

What is the deviant superego??

Answer 5

Child develops superego in normal way but superego has deviant values. The superego internalises the same sex parent so as a moral regulator threatens and punishes those behaviours parent find unacceptable but if child is raised with a criminal father the superego may develop negatively so that act of crime is seen normal

Question 6

What is the strong superego??

Answer 6

It prevents someone from having antisocial impulses as it goes against morals of society. A normal person would balance the psych in harmless ways but strong superego prevents even this from happening and the urges build up in the unconscious mind and erupt into violent urges like murder.

Question 7

What is the supporting research??

Answer 7

Bowlby- looked at maternal deprivation by studying juvenile delinquents and comparing them with non criminal delinquents.
39% of juvenile delinquents had experiences separation from their mother for 6 months during the 5 critical years compared to the 5% of the control group.

Question 8

What are the strengths of Freud’s theory??

Answer 8

• range of supporting evidence - Bowlby
• practical applications- help generate wide range of crime prevention strategies like removing kids from problematic houses

Question 9

What are the weaknesses of the theory??

Answer 9

• impossible to test and prove- in unconscious mind which cannot have scientific methods to study
• extremely deterministic and ignored people’s free will- concept of complex criminal behaviour that breaking down behaviour such as can result in other explanations