Psychodynamic Explanations Flashcards
How does the psychodynamic approach explain offending behaviour?
The inadequate superego
What did Blackburn argue?
If the superego is deficient or inadequate then criminal behaviour is inevitable because the id is given free reign and isn’t controlled properly
How many types of inadequate superego have been proposed and what are they?
Three
The weak superego
The deviant superego
The over-harsh superego
What is the weak superego?
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. This would make immoral or criminal behaviour more likely
What is the deviant superego?
If the superego the child internalises has deviant or immoral values this would lead to offending behaviour e.g. a boy raised around criminals would not consider committing crimes as wrong-doing
What is the over-harsh superego?
The individual is crippled by guilty, unlike a healthy superego which will act as a firm parent and forgive. The individual may be crippled by anxiety which may drive the individual to perform criminal acts in order to satisfy the superegos overwhelming need for punishment
What is Maternal Deprivation Theory?
Bowlby argued that the ability to form meaningful relationships in adulthood was dependant upon the child forming warm, continuous relationships with a mother figure.
The maternal bond is viewed by Bowlby as unique, superior to any other and vital to a child’s well being and development - if this fails to happen to damage to the child is irreversible
What may develop as a result of maternal deprivation?
Affectionless psychopathy - this is characterised by a lack of guilt, empathy and feelings for others.
Such maternally deprived children are likely to engage in acts of delinquency and cannot develop close relationships with others as they lack the experience of doing so
What was Bowlby’s 44 juvenile thieves study?
Through interviews with the thieves and their families Bowlby found that 14 of the sample showed personality and behavioural characteristics classified as ‘affectionless psychopathy’. Of the 14, 12 had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers during infancy (particularly first 2 years)
In the non-criminal groups only 2 had experienced separation.
Bowlby concluded that maternal deprivation had caused affectionless and delinquent behaviour among juvenile thieves
Why does the theory suffer from gender bias?
The Freudian theory suggests girls develop a weaker superego than boys, as they have not experienced castration anxiety, they are under less pressure to identify with their mothers so their superego and sense of morality is less fully realised - therefore females should be more prone to criminal behaviour but statistics of prison populations do not support this idea
Hoffman - found hardly any evidence of gender differences and when there was, girls tended to be more moral than boys
What is the contradictory evidence?
There is little evidence that children raised without a same-sex parent are less law-abiding adults. If children raised by deviant parents do go on to commit crime this could be as a result of genetics or socialisation rather than a deviant superego, The idea that crimes are committed as a need to satisfy an unconscious desire to be punished seems unlikely as most offenders choose to conceal their crimes
What is the problem with unconscious concepts?
There are issues with falsifiability and therefore many concepts cannot be tested. Concepts such as inadequate superego can only be judged at face value. Psychodynamic explanations are therefore regarded as pseudoscientific- although there is support from Bowlby which should be acknowledged
What are the methodological issues with Bowlby’s research?
Bowlby is accused of researcher bias. He failed to make a distinction between deprivation and privation within research. Many thieves experienced privation rather than deprivation which some consider to be more dangerous.
What is the issue with correlation not causation and who conducted research into this?
Hilda Lewis - analysed interviews from 500 young people who found that maternal deprivation was a poor predictor of offending and the ability to form close relationships. Even if there is an experience of deprivation and offending it does not mean that it is causal.
Maternal deprivation may be one reason but there are many others such as genetic factors
