psychodynamic theories Flashcards
what are the 2 psychodynamic theories?
Freuds psychoanalysis
Bowlbys maternal deprivation
what is a psychodynamic theory?
criminal behaviour is a result of and individuals failure to resolve their inner conflicts in a socially acceptable way
according to Freud what are the 3 elements that human personality contains
id
ego
superego
what is the id?
located in unconscious
pleasure seeking (selfish,powerful etc)
driven by ‘pleasure principle’
what is the superego?
conscience and moral rules
learnt through socialisation e.g punishment
internalises parents rights and wrongs
if we act against it our superego makes us feel guilty
what is the ego?
saw behaviour as a result of the struggle between id and superego
ego strikes balance between them
‘reality principle’
controls ids urges whilst satisfying them
criminality - weakly developed superego
individual will feel less guilty about anti social actions
criminality - too harsh or unforgiving superego
a person will have deep guilt that craves punishment so may repeat offending to get more punishments
criminality - deviant superego
people successfully socialised as children but into a deviant moral code
may have good relationship with criminal parent so have criminal values without guilt
strengths of Freuds psychoanalysis
points to importance of early childhood
these explanations have had some influence on policies for dealing with crime and deviance
weaknesses of Freuds psychoanalysis
unscientific and subjective
- relies on claim they can see unconscious
these theories no longer used due to difficulty of testing concepts e.g unconscious
when did Bowlby say was the most important time to have a relationship with your mother
the first five years of life
what would happen if the mother and child bond was broken?
can leave the child unable to form meaningful emotional relationships with others
‘affectionless psychopathy’
what is ‘affectionless psychopathy’
inability to show affection or concern to others
these individuals act on impulse without guilt
Bowlby evidence based on his theory
studied 44 juvenile thieves who were referred to child guidance clinic
39% suffered maternal deprivation before 5
compared to only 5% of non delinquents
strengths of Bowlbys theory
he had research to support it
work shows the need to consider the role of a parent
weaknesses of Bowblys theory
the study relied on parent and child correctly recalling past events
Bowlby did a later study of 60 children who were separated from their mother before 5 and found no evidence of ‘affectionless psychopathy’
