Psychodynamic psychological explanation

Question 1

what did Freud suggest

Answer 1

if a superego is deficient or inadequate then criminal behaviour is inevitable because the ID is not properly controlled

Question 2

explain the weak superego

Answer 2

if the same sex parent is absent during the phallic stage, the child cannot internalise with a fully formed superego as there is no identification, leading to little control over anti-social behaviour so acts immorally

Question 3

explain the deviant superego

Answer 3

if the parent has an immoral superego this leads to offending behaviour as normal identification means the child takes on the attitudes of the parent

Question 4

explain the over-harsh superego

Answer 4

if the superego is overly harsh the individual is crippled by guilt and anxiety which may drive criminal behaviour to satisfy the superego’s need for punishment

Question 5

what did Bowlby suggest

Answer 5

prolonged separations between a mother and child has long-term emotional consequences if it happens before the age of 2 and a half years and no substitute mother person is available

Question 6

what is affectionless psychopathy

Answer 6

one potential consequence, a lack of normal affection, shame or sense of responsibility. lacks understanding of other’s feelings

Question 7

who did Bowlby regularly work with? what did he observe?

Answer 7

Bowlby worked as a psychiatrist with children who has been caught stealing. he found that a number of these delinquent thieves had experienced early and frequent separations and displayed signs of affectionless psychopathy. it didnt matter to them that they stole

Question 8

E1-considered emotion in offending behaviour

Answer 8

addresses how anxiety, rejection and early childhood can impact/cause criminal behaviour

Question 9

E1-based on unconscious concepts so…

Answer 9

applications to crime are not open to empirical testing and it is pseudoscientific

Question 10

E1-gender bias…

Answer 10

suggests girls develop a weaker superego than boys. they don’t experience castration anxiety so are under less pressure to identify with their mothers so their superego is less fully developed. suggests females are more prone to criminal behaviours than males

Question 11

E1-issues surrounding the role that parents played in the development of crime…

Answer 11

if children with criminal parents go on to commit crimes this could be due to genetics or socialisation instead of the formation of a deviant superego

Question 12

E2-support for maternal deprivation Bowlby’s study of 44 thieves

Answer 12

44 thieves and 44 control patients. found none of the control p’s had experienced early separations compared to 39% of the thieves. also 86% of the thieves with signs of affectionless psychopathy has experienced frequent separations compared to 17% of the other thieves

Question 13

E2-problem with Bowlbys maternal deprivation study

Answer 13

open to observer bias as his preconceptions of what he wanted to find may have influenced the responses of his interviewees.

Question 14

E2-problem with Bowlbys maternal deprivation study failed to distinguish between…

Answer 14

deprivation and privation which could give different conclusions

Question 15

E2-problem with Bowlbys maternal deprivation study, his results were a correlation (Hilda)

Answer 15

no cause and effect is indicated. Hilda proved separations doesn’t cause crime by analysing data from 500 interviews with young people and found maternal deprivation was a poor predictor of future offending and the ability to form relationships in adolescence

Question 16

E2-what did Bowlby eventually accept (Farrington)

Answer 16

crime is a consequence of complex factors such as poverty, bad housing and lack of recreational facilities. Farrington undertook a 40 year longitudinal study in the UK with 400 South London boys. he concluded there are 5 major risk factors for ages 8-10, including poverty, low school attainment and poor parenting