psych exp; psychodynamic Flashcards
what the key ideas around the inadquate superego
-superego is formed at the end of the pahllic stage when children resolve the oedfipus complex
what is the meaning of ‘inadequate superego’
-if superego is adequate then offending behvaiour is inevitable because ID is given ‘free rein’ and not properly controlled
the role of the superego
-superego works on morlaity princple by punishing the ego thru guilt for wrongdoing whilst rewarding w pride for good behvaiour
according to blackburn what are 3 types of inadequate superego
weak. deviant and over harsh
what is the weak superego
-same gender parent absent during phallic stage - child cant internalise fully formed superego as theres no opporutnity for identification
-more likely to offend
what is deviant superego
-if superego that a child internalises has immoral or deviant values then this would lead to offending behaviour e.g boy raised by criminal father not liekly to associate guilt with wrong doing
what is overharsh superego
-excessively punitive superego leads to child being crippled by guilt and anxiety
-unconsciously driving them to commit criminal acts in order to satisy the superegos overwhelming need for punishment.
whats the role of emotion
-acknowledges the role of anxiety and guilt
-the idea that lack of guilt is relevant in understanding offending behaviour
-alck of guilt helps understand offending behvaiour
what was theory of maternal dep
-ability to form meaningful RS on adulthood depended on continous rs w mother figure
-failure to establish RS with mother in early adulthood meant a number of damaging and irreversible changes for later life
what can be the reuslt of maternal dep
‘affectionless psychopathy’
-characterised by lack of guilt, empathy, feeling for others.
-engage in deliquency and not form close RS with others
what was bowlbys reserach procedure and findings
-44 juvenile offenders
-14 showed affectionless psychopathy
-of the 14 , 12 had experienced prolonged serpatation from their mother during infancy
-in non offender -only two experienced simialr early seperation
what did bowlby conclude
-affects of maternal dep had cuased affectionless and deliquent behaviour among the juvenile thieves
strengths
(reserach support)
-goreta analysis of 10 offenders referred to psychiatric treatment
-each experienced unconscious feelings of guilt and need for self punishment
-as a consequence of overharsh superego
-desire to commit acts of wrong doing and offend
limitaitons
(counterpoint research support)
-if it was correct we would expect harsh parents to raise kids who constantly experience guilt and anxiety
-however parents who raise kids like this tend to make rebellious and kids who dont experience guilt
-makes us question the theory
(gender bias)
-freuds theory assumes girls develop a weaker superego
as they less likely to experience intense emotion w castration anxiety therefore less pressure to idenitfy w mothers
-so women should hv higher imprisonment rates than men but this is untrue as seen in the UK 20 times more men
-in a study where children were asked to resist temptation , little girls tended to be more moral than boys but hardly any gender differences were seen.
so freuds theory may not be appropriate explanation
(other factors)
-bowlbys theory is only based on asscoiaiton between maternal dep and offending
-LEWIS= analysed interviews from 500 young people, found that maternal dep was poor predictor of future offending and ability to form close RS in adolesecnce
-even separation from mother may be a link but not casual
-other reasons may explain maternal dep may be due to poverty which might exp offending later
(contribution)
-many of the unconscoius concepts arent open to empirical testing
-only judged by face value e.g superego and not w scientific worth,
