Individualistic theories Flashcards
What did Freud say about the psyche?
The psyche is split into three sections; the id, the ego and the superego
Describe the three sections of the psyche
The id represents our desires, the superego represents our morals and the ego is the mediator between the two
What are the different types of superego?
weak superego: fails to see crime as wrong
deviant superego: doesn’t punish criminal behaviour the same sex parent indulges in
strong superego: extreme guilty conscious so commits crime in order to be punished
Evaluation of Freud’s theory
Strength -explains why people commit crime -formed the basis of modern psychology Weaknesses -no way to prove that the psyche exists
What did Bowlby say about the ability to form meaningful society?
It relies on a close, warm and continuous relationship with the mother in the first few years
What did Bowlby find?
maternal deprivation was related to later criminal behaviour. in his study 44 thieves he found that 39% of a group of young criminals experienced maternal deprivation
Evaluation of Bowlby’s theory
Strengths
-studies support findings
Weaknesses
-sample size was to small
Briefly describe Mergargee’s theory
- documented a small series of cases of violent cases carried out by harmless, passive people
- small group of offenders who are unable to express their anger in an effective way
Criticism of Mergargee’s theory
doesn’t distinguish whether the offender is unable to express their anger or just choses not to
Briefly describe Bandura’s bobo doll study
- showed 3 groups of kids a model reacting to a bobo doll
- 1 group had a violent model, 1 group had a non-violent model and the final group had no model
- study was to prove the theory of observational learning
Evaluation of Bandura’s study
Strengths
-showed aggression can be learnt
Weaknesses
-ethical issues; could have long term effects on the child
-demonstrations are measured immediately, reactions could change over time
