psychodynamic explanations Flashcards
psychodynamic explanations
unconscious conflicts, rooted in early childhood and determined by interactions with parents drive future criminal behaviour
inadequate superego
superego developed during Oedipus or Electra Complex when child identifies with same sex parent.
Blackburn - If superego is inadequate, id is given ‘free rein’ and not properly controlled - can lead to offending behaviour.
weak superego
absence of same sex parent in phallic stage - child cannot identify with same-sex parent.
means superego is not fully formed and child has lack of understanding of difference between right and wrong. T
superego doesn’t punish child through feelings of guilt - child will show criminal or immoral behaviour as superego doesn’t hold them back.
deviant superego
when child identifies with same-sex parent, if parent has immoral standards of behaviours child internalises unacceptable morals - don’t see criminal behaviours in same way as others and won’t associate guilt with showing criminal behaviours.
over-harsh superego
healthy superego is firm and has rules of what behaviours are and aren’t acceptable - if rules are broken, superego will be forgiving.
over-harsh superego - not forgiving - increases guilt for wrongdoing and leads child to unconsciously seek punishment to reduce sense of guilt - leads to criminal behaviour to satisfy superego’s need for punishment.
maternal deprivation
bowlby - failure to establish maternal bond in first few years of life means child will experience irreversible consequences like development of affectionless psychopathy characterised by lack of guilt and empathy
44 juvenile thieves - 14 of the sample showed personality and behaviour characteristics that could be classified as affectionless psychopathy, 12 of the 14 experienced prolonged separation from mothers during infancy. concluded effects of maternal deprivation caused affectionless and delinquent behaviour among the thieves
evaluation - gender bias
freudian theory assumes girls develop weaker superego than boys - girls don’t experience castration anxiety so are under less pressure to identify with mothers so their superego and sense of morality is less fully realised
implies females should be more prone to criminal behaviour than males - not supported by evidence of statistics of male-female ratio of prison inmates
evaluation - contradictory evidence
very little evidence that children raised without same sex parent are less law abiding - contradicts weak superego argument
if children who’re raised by parents with pro-crime attitudes go on to commit crime themselves, this could be due to influence of genetics or socialisation rather than formation of deviant superego
idea that criminal behaviour reflects unconscious desire for punishment is implausible -most offenders go to great lengths to conceal crimes so try to avoid punishment
evaluation - methodological issues with bowlby’s research
fails to distinguish between deprivation and privation - many of the thieves experienced privation so didn’t form maternal bond at all - may be more damaging than deprivation where bond is formed then broken
