psychodynamic explanation Flashcards
1
Q
what is the inadequate superego?
A
criminals have deficient superegos so providing more rein to the id
2
Q
what are two psychodynamic explanations of offending?
A
inadequate superego
maternal deprivation
3
Q
what are three types of inadequate superego?
A
- weak superego
- deviant superego
- the over-harsh superego
4
Q
what is the weak superego?
A
- caused by an absent same sex-parent in phallic stage
- superegp develops as result of identification with same sex parent = if parent not around - superego will not develop properly
- person will have little control over anti-social behaviour + likely to act in ways that gratifies their ID impulses
5
Q
what is the deviant superego?
A
- caused by the internalisation of an immoral superego from deviant parents
- normal identification with same-sex parent = child take on same attitudes
- but if parent = criminal - child will adopt same attitudes
6
Q
what is the over-harsh superego?
A
- healthy superego based on identification with parent who has firm rules but forgives transgressions
- contrast - excessively punitive/overly harsh parenting style leads to child with overharsh sego - crippled by guilt + anxiety
- may unconsciously drive individual to perform criminal acts to satisfy segos need for punishment
7
Q
what is the maternal deprivation theory?
A
- focuses on lack of a mother to attach to during infancy leading to criminal behaviour - specifically affectionless psychopathy
- ability to form meaningful social relationships in adulthood dependent on forming close, warm + continuous rship with mother first few years
- rship = prototype - disruption impairs relate to others - can result in ‘affectionless psychopathy’
8
Q
what supporting research is there for the inadequate superego
A
- megargee (1966)
- found an 11 year old boy who was polite and softly spoken stabbed his brother 34 times
- this supports harsh superego where the individual is likely to have strict parents and uses repression as a defence mechanism
- this built up over time causing an unexpected outburst that contradicted his usual personality and leading to offending behaviour
- real life application of the psychodynamic explanation
9
Q
why does the inadequate superego have a gender bias
A
- females do not suffer from castration anxiety so do not identify with their same sex parent as strongly as boys do
- this would suggest that girls have weaker super egos and so offend more
- however 4/5 crimes are committed by men showing that men actually commit more crime
- this contradicts the psychodynamic explanation and also imposes an alpha bias where it suggests the same principle applies to both males and females
10
Q
why is the inadequate superego socially sensitive
A
- suggests that offending behaviour is due to parents
- individuals with one parent who is of the opposite sex is blamed for their childs behaviour
- it places the blame of criminlaity on the parent even though it may have been out of their control
- socially sensitive as theory targets single parents
11
Q
evaluate maternal deprivation
A
-
12
Q
how is bowlbys maternal deprivation theory being correlational a limitation?
A
- relatioship between maternal deprivation and offending is only correlational
- lewis (1954) found that maternal deprivation is a poor predictor of offending
- there is no direct link between but usually other factors like poverty, genetics, relationships with others that can all affect offending too
- suggests that maternal deprivation alone is not an adequate explanation of offending
13
Q
why is bowlbys maternal deprivation theory outdated
A
- study occured in 1944
- since then there have been many changes to society
- for example, child tac credit and NHS that all provide support for children in struggling homes or who are alone
- this weakens the effect of maternal deprivation on the child
- theory lacks historical validity as the same results may not be found if research is repeated
- effect of maternal deprivation may not be as severe today
