Psychodynamic explanation - Inadequate superego Flashcards
What did Blackburn (1993) argue?
If the super ego is inadequate, then criminal behaviour is inevitable
Why does Blackburn believe the criminal behaviour is inevitable?
The id id given free reign and not controlled properly
What are the three types of inadequate superego?
The weak superego
The deviant superego
The over-harsh superego
How does the weak superego occur?
If the same sex parent is absent during the phallic stage, the child cannot internalise a fully formed superego as there is no opportunity for identification
How does the deviant superego occur?
If the superego the child internalises has immoral or deviant values, this would lead to offending behaviour
How does the over-harsh superego occur?
The individual is crippled by guilt unlike a healthy superego which will act as a firm parent and forgive.
The individual may be crippled by anxiety and this may drive the individual to perform criminal acts in order to satisfy the superego’s overwhelming need for punishment
What did Bowlby argue?
The ability to form meaningful relationships in adulthood was dependent upon the child forming warm, continuous relationships
What did Bowlby view the maternal bond as?
Unique, superior to any other
Vital to the child’s well-being and development
What happens if the maternal bond is broken?
It causes irreversible damage to the child
What is affection less psychopathy?
Condition characterised by a lack of guilt, empathy and feelings for others
What are maternally deprived individuals likely to do?
Engage in acts of delinquency and they cannot develop close relationships with others as they lack the experience of doing so
What did Bowlby do in the 44 Thieves study?
Had interviews with thieves and their families
What did Bowlby find in his 44 Thieves study?
14 of the sample showed personality and behavioural characteristics which were classified as affectionless.
Of the 14, 12 had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers during infancy.
In non-criminal control, only 2 had experienced separation
What were Bowlby’s conclusions drawn from his study?
Maternal deprivation had caused affectionless and delinquent behaviour among juvenile thieves.
What were Freudians ideas which had gender bias?
His theory suggests that girls develop a weaker superego than boys as they have not experienced castration anxiety so girls are under less pressure to identify with their mothers.
Their superego and sense of morality is less fully realised
What did Hoffman (1975) find?
Found hardly any evidence of gender differences and when there was, girls tended to be more moral than boys.
These prison statistics dont support Freud’s ideas
What is there little evidence of?
That children raised without a same-sex parent are less law-abiding adults, contradicting Blackburn’s ideas
What is an alternative explanation if children who are raised by deviant parents go on to commit crimes?
Genetics
Socialisation
What is the issue with unconscious concepts?
There are issues with falsifiability and the concepts cant be tested, they can only be judged by face value
Unscientific
What are the methodological issues with Bowlby’s research?
Researcher bias
Failed to make the distinction between deprivation and privation within research
Many of the thieves experienced privation rather than deprivation which is considered to be more dangerous by some
What did Hilda Lewis (1954) do?
Analysed interviews from 500 young people who found that maternal deprivation was a poor predictor of offending and the ability to form close relationships
What does a correlational relationship not mean?
It is causal
