PSYCHODYNAMIC EXPLANATIONS Flashcards
what is Freuds tripartite structure of personality?
ID
EGO
SUPEREGO
how does the SUPEREGO work?
the superego works on the morality principle and exerts its influence by punishing the ego through guilt for its wrongdoing, and rewarding it with pride for moral behaviour
how does a faulty superego lead to criminal behaviour?
if the superego is deficient or inadequate, then criminal behaviour is inevitable as the ID is not properly controlled
what are the 3 types of inadequate superego?
weak superego
deviant superego
over-harsh superego
what is the weak superego?
when the child hasn’t identified with their same sex parent so has no moral code and they become selfish and aggressive. this could be due to the lack of a same sex parent in the phallic stage.
what is the deviant superego?
when the child identifies with their same sex parent, but the parent they identify with is immoral or has immoral standards of behaviour. freud called this pseudo-heredity
what is the over-harsh superego?
identification with a very strict parent leads to an excessively punitive superego. this may (unconsciously) drive the individual to perform criminal acts in order to satisfy the superegos need for punishment. usually described as ‘its as if he likes being in trouble’
AO3: how is ‘gender bias’ a limitation to the inadequate superego as a psychodynamic explanation of offending?
this theory has gender bias as freud assumes that girls develop a weaker superego than boys. As they don’t experience castration anxiety, girls are under less pressure to identify with their mothers, so the superego and their sense of morality is less fully developed. this implies that females should be more prone to criminal behaviour than males. however, 96% of criminals in jail are male and there is little evidence of gender differences, therefore suggesting that girls tend to be more moral than boys even if there is a gender difference, going against Freuds explanation.
AO3: how is ‘contradictory evidence’ a limitation to the inadequate superego as a psychodynamic explanation of offending?
there is also contradictory evidence for this explanation. children who are not raised with a same-sex parent are not less law-abiding as adults,
contradicting the weak superego argument. furthermore, the idea that criminal behaviour reflects an unconscious desire for punishment seems implausible, as most offenders go great lengths to conceal their crimes, suggesting they want to avoid punishment at all costs.
what did bowlby suggest about the ability to form meaningful relationships?
bowlby argues that ability to form meaningful relationships in adulthood was dependent upon the child forming a warm, continuous relationship with a mother figure.
what was the result in failing to form a continuous relationship with a mother figure?
failure to establish this bond during the first few years of life meant the child will experience a number of damaging and irreversible consequences later in life.
what is affectionless psychopathy?
it is a personality characterised by, a lack of guilt, empathy and feelings for others
what are affection less psychopaths more likely to engage with?
these individuals are more likely to engage in acts of delinquency and cant develop close relationships with others, as they lack the early necissary experience to do so.
AO3: how is ‘supporting evidence’ a strength to the maternal deprivation hypothesis as a psychodynamic explanation of offending?
bowlby carried out a study on 44 juvinile thieves. he found through interviews with them and their families that 14 were affectionless psychopaths. of these 14, 12 had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers during infancy. in a non-criminal control group, only 2 had experienced early similar separation. bowlby concluded that the effects of maternal deprivation had caused affectionless psychopathy and delinquent behaviour among the juvenile thieves.
AO3: how is ‘methodical issues’ a limitation to the maternal deprivation hypothesis as a psychodynamic explanation of offending?
there are methodical issues with bowlbys research. it suffers from researcher bias as his preconceptions of what he expected to find may have influenced the responses of his interviewees. bowlby also failed to draw a distinction between deprivation and privation within his research. many of the thieves he studied had experienced privation, which many psychologists have concluded is much more damaging than deprivation.
