psychodynamic explanation Flashcards
What is the superego?
What stage does it develop in?
Morality principle- regulates behaviour by giving feelings of guilt and pride as rewards and punishment
Phallic stage- oedipus/electra complex is resolved by identifting with same sex parent
What are the 3 types of superego which explains criminality?
Underdeveloped superego
Deviant superego
Overdeveloped superego
What causes an underdeveloped superego?
Lack of identification with the same sex parent e.g. absent
Superego is not able to fully form and control the id (pleasure) by providing rewards and punishments needed for moral behaviour
What cause an overdeveloped superego?
Overly strict parenting, over identification>excessively dominant and punishing superego
Need to justify these extreme feelings of guilt>criminal behaviours
What causes a deviant superego?
Same sex parent is identified normally, but the parent is criminal>behaviours are imitated
Superego does not have sense of morality shared by society
What are defence mechanisms?
What are the 3 defence mechanisms? Explain
(approaches)
Unconscious mental processes that are used to avoid the ego (reality) experiencing feelings of anxiety from unacceptable thoughts/stimuli
Denial- rejects the seriousness of the crime
Displacement- criminal releasers anger on weaker targets as they cant do it to the intended one
Rationalisation- criminal justifies their crime
*think of examples easy
What does attachment theory suggest about criminality?
What acts as an internal working model for future relationships?
What happens to children with insecure attachment style?
Poor quality infant-caregiver relationship>criminality
First relationship with out mother
They expect other people to not be trusted>negatively influences their later interactions with people
According to the attachment theory, what do extreme levels of maternal depravation result in?
What did Bowlby link this to?
Affectionless psychopathy- lack of empathy for others or lack of guilt for your own actions
High levels of delinquency in 44 thieves study
One strength of the psychodymic explanation is that it has been applied to reduce crime
PET
E: Link has been found from early childhood and criminality, we can now ensure childrens superegos are not under/overdeveloped via parenting classes
T: Real world application, improving QoL
F: Boosts economy
One limitation of the psychodynamic explanation is that cause and effect is difficult to establish
PET
E: Link between childhood and criminal behaviour is correlational, criminal behaviour may be due to other factors
There is a range of alternative explanations e.g. genetic
T: Limited explanatory power
One limitation of the psychodynamic is that it lacks scientific realm
PET
E: Many Fruedian concepts e.g. superego, are not directly observable or falsifiable, cant be emperically tested as an explanation to offending
T: Unscientific
One limitation of the psychodynamic is that it has alpha bias?
PET
E: Frued suggests females should have superego (less moral) as they dont resolve the oedipus comples
Offending data shows females are less likely to offend than males, globally
T: Contradicts Frued’s, andocentric view
