INDIVIDUALISTIC THEORIES OF CRIMINALITY : PSYCHODYNAMIC Flashcards
What are the INDIVIDUALISTIC theories of criminality (Psychodynamic)
Freud - Tripartite Personality
Bowlby - Maternal Deprivation
Briefly outline Freud’s tripartite personality theory as an explanation of criminality
This states that the personality is made up of three parts that are in conflict with each other: The Id (Pleasure principle), the Ego (Reality principle) and the Superego (Morality principle).
The Id - present from birth, selfish and primitive element of our personality
The Ego - develops around 2-3 years old, mediates between the Id and Superego
The Superego - develops after the phallic stage around 5 years old, sense of right and wrong, internalise the morality of same sex parent (it is our conscience), only boys develop morality via the OEDIPUS COMPLEX
To be healthy, all three parts of our personality must be balanced. Ego should be strong enough to cope with demands from Id and Superego –> if Id dominates, may engage in impulsive, irresponsible behaviour leading to crime, if Superego dominates, may be over moralistic and judgemental of others
How does childhood experiences link to criminality in boys and girls
Phallic stage (3 years old) –> Oedipus complex (boys) and Electra complex (girls) –> is a strong love for opposite sex parent and fear of same sex parent –> leads to child identifying with same sex parent by internalising their values and beliefs –> this identification can lead to criminality for 3 reasons (Blackburn)
What did Blackburn say about development of the superego
Weak superego: Occurs when same sex parent is absent during phallic stage. Child has nobody to identify with and no morality to internalise
Deviant superego: Child identifies with same sex parent but that parent happens to be a criminal. Therefore, child develops same morality as a criminal and commits crime themselves
Overharsh superego: Occurs when there is a strong identification with a strict parent. This causes excessive guilt and anxiety, so crime is committed to satisfy the superego’s need for punishment (feel like they deserve it)
One strength of Freud’s tripartite personality theory: Supporting research
In support that our instincts (i.e. the id) can dominate our personality, Megargee documented a series of violent cases carried out by people who were generally regarded as passive and harmless.
E.g. an 11 year old boy who stabbed his brother 34 times with a steak knife was described as polite and soft spoken with no history of aggression.
Megargee argued such cases represent a distinct sub-group of violent offenders whose shared characteristic is an apparent inability to express their anger in normal ways and who eventually ‘explode’ and release all their anger and aggression at once, often in response to a seemingly trivial provocation.
This indicates that the ego and superego can lose control of the id and extreme violence can occur.
One weakness of Freud’s tripartite personality theory: Lack of scientific evidence
It is impossible to provide scientific evidence of the tripartite personality.
Freud’s theory is subjective in that he created his theory of conflict between the id, ego and superego without any actual evidence that they exist, meaning we can neither falsify or prove that the theory can accurately explain criminality.
One weakness of Freud’s tripartite personality theory: Gender bias
It doesn’t address gender differences in criminal behaviour. According to Freud, ONLY boys go through the Oedipus complex where they identify with their father and develop a superego and women DON’T have a morality and as such it should be women committing crime more than men.
However, it is clear that it is mainly men who are committing crime in society (they are 22 times more likely to be imprisoned for criminal offences than women).
Therefore, Freud fails to explain why such gender differences occur in the ‘absence’ of a superego in women.
Briefly outline Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory
He argued that if a bond between a caregiver and a child is broken, particularly during the critical period of the first 3 years of a child’s life, there are permanent and irreversible negative effects on the child, including delinquency later in life. Criminality can be a result of the child developing affectionless psychopathy.
One strength of Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory: Supporting research
Bowlby studied 44 juvenile thieves who attended his clinic, interviewing the children, caregivers and professionals who knew the child.
He found that 14 of the 44 thieves have affectionless psychopathy, and 12 of those had suffered deprivation earlier in their lives.
He concluded that consequences of maternal deprivation were:
- inability to form attachments in the future
- affectionless psychopathy (unable to feel remorse)
- delinquency (behavioural issues)
- problems with cognitive development (abnormally low IQ)
One strength of Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory: Practical application with MBUs within prisons
If a mother has a baby under the age of 18 months old, they can apply for a place in a mother and baby unit within the prison.
This is because Bowlby highlighted the importance of the bond not being broken early in childhood. There is then a gradual replacement attachment figure introduced (e.g. foster parents / grandparents) until the mother is released.
One weakness of Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory: Ignores wider sociological factors
There is a clear correlation between maternal deprivation and criminality, however, other factors cannot be ruled out.
E.g. families who have broken up (e.g. divorce) may also be living in crowded accommodations and experiencing poverty.
As such, sociological explanations such as LEFT REALISM may be better for explaining criminality as this sees the causes of criminality to be wider issues like poverty, rather than focusing solely on the loss of a primary caregiver.
