Psychological explanations: Psychodynamic

Question 1

The superego works on ________ principle

Answer 1

morality

Question 2

How does the superego exert its influence?

Answer 2

Punishes the ego through guilt for wrongdoing and rewards the ego with pride for good moral behaviour

Question 3

What is the effect of an inadequate superego?

Answer 3

To allow primitive, emotional demands to become uppermost in guiding moral behaviour

Question 4

The effect of an inadequate superego is to allow primitive, emotional demands such as what to become uppermost in guiding moral behaviour?

Answer 4

Weak, deviant and over-harsh

Question 5

The effect of an inadequate superego is to allow primitive, emotional demands to become uppermost in guiding moral behaviour. This is a key feature of which approach to offender behaviour?

Answer 5

Psychodynamic

Question 6

The effect of an inadequate superego is to allow primitive, emotional demands to become uppermost in guiding moral behaviour. This is a key feature of the psychodynamic approach and marks it out as…

Answer 6

different from the other explanations of crime

Question 7

The psychodynamic approach deals with which part of the individual?

Answer 7

Their emotional life

Question 8

Which approach to offender behaviour acknowledges the role of anxiety and guilt in the development of offending behaviour?

Answer 8

The psychodynamic approach

Question 9

The psychodynamic approach acknowledges the role of what in the development of offending behaviour?

Answer 9

Anxiety and guilt

Question 10

The psychodynamic approach says that what is relevant to understanding offending behaviour?

Answer 10

Lack of guilt

Question 11

Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation argued that the ability to form meaningful relationships in adulthood was dependent on the what?

Answer 11

The child forming a warm, continuous relationship with a mother-figure

Question 12

Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation argues that failure to establish what kind of relationship means a child is likely to experience a number of damaging and irreversible consequences in later life?

Answer 12

A warm, continuous relationship with a mother-figure

Question 13

Which theory argues that failure to establish a warm, continuous relationship with a mother-figure during the first few years of life means a child is likely to experience a number of damaging and irreversible consequences in later life?

Answer 13

Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation

Question 14

Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation argues that failure to establish a warm, continuous relationship with a mother-figure during which point in life means a child is likely to experience a number of damaging and irreversible consequences in later life?

Answer 14

The first few years

Question 15

Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation argues that failure to establish a warm, continuous relationship with a mother-figure during the first few years of life means a child is likely to experience a number of damaging and irreversible consequences, one of which being aff…

Answer 15

affectionless psychopathy

Question 16

What is affection less psychopathy characterised by?

Answer 16

A lack of guilt, empathy and feeling for others

Question 17

What does Bowlby suggest that affectionless psychopathy is caused by?

Answer 17

Maternal deprivation

Question 18

What are affectionless psychopaths likely to engage in?

Answer 18

Acts of delinquency

Question 19

True/False: Affectionless psychopaths can develop close relationships with others

Answer 19

False, they cannot

Question 20

True/False: Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation is supported by his own investigation

Answer 20

True

Question 21

Who did Bowlby study in his investigation supporting his theory?

Answer 21

44 juvenile thieves

Question 22

Bowlby found that __ of the sample he studied showed personality and behavioural characteristics that could be classified as affection less psychopathy?

Answer 22

14

Question 23

Bowlby found that 14 of the sample he studied showed personality and behavioural characteristics that could be classified as…

Answer 23

affection less psychopathy

Question 24

How did Bowlby study his sample of 44 juvenile thieves?

Answer 24

Through interviews with the thieves and families

Question 25

Of the 14 in Bowlby’s sample who showed personality and behavioural characteristics that could be classified as affection less psychopathy, how many had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers during infancy?

Answer 25

12

Question 26

Of the 14 in Bowlby’s sample who showed personality and behavioural characteristics that could be classified as affection less psychopathy, 12 had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers during infancy - in particular during which point in their life?

Answer 26

The first two years

Question 27

Of the 14 in Bowlby’s sample who showed personality and behavioural characteristics that could be classified as affection less psychopathy, 12 had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers during infancy. What was the figure for the non-offender group?

Answer 27

2

Question 28

What did Bowlby conclude about his juvenile thieves in his study?

Answer 28

The effects of maternal deprivation had caused affectionless and delinquent behaviour among the juvenile thieves

Question 29

True/False: Bowlby’s theory is only based on association between maternal deprivation with offending

Answer 29

True

Question 30

What did Lewis (1954) do in relation to Bowlby’s theory?

Answer 30

Analysed data drawn from interviews with 500 young people

Question 31

Lewis (1954) analysed data drawn from interviews with how many young people?

Answer 31

500

Question 32

What did Lewis (1954) find about maternal deprivation in their analysis of data drawn from interviews with 500 young people?

Answer 32

Maternal deprivation was a poor predictor of future offending and the ability to form close relationships in adolescence

Question 33

Lewis (1954) analysed data drawn from interviews with 500 young people and found that maternal deprivation was a poor predictor of which two things?

Answer 33

Future offending behaviour and the ability to form close relationships in adolescence

Question 34

Lewis (1954) analysed data drawn from interviews with 500 young people and found that maternal deprivation was a poor predictor of future offending and…

Answer 34

the ability to form close relationships in adolescence

Question 35

Lewis (1954) analysed data drawn from interviews with 500 young people and found that maternal deprivation was a poor predictor of the ability to form close relationships in adolescence and…

Answer 35

future offending

Question 36

Even if there is a link between children who have experienced frequent or prolonged separation from their mothers and offending in later life, Lewis’ analysis suggests this is not necessarily…

Answer 36

A causal relationship

Question 37

True/False: Maternal deprivation may be due to growing up in poverty

Answer 37

True

Question 38

True/False: Maternal deprivation may be due to growing up in poverty. This can’t explain later offending

Answer 38

False, it can

Question 39

The fact that there are countless other reasons for the apparent link between children who have experienced frequent or prolonged separation from their mothers and offending later in life suggests that…

Answer 39

maternal deprivation may be one of the reasons for later offending behaviour, but not the only reason

Question 40

Blackburn (1993) argued that if the superego is somehow deficient or inadequate then…

Answer 40

offending behaviour is inevitable

Question 41

Blackburn (1993) argued that a deficient or inadequate superego has what effect on the id?

Answer 41

It is given ‘free rein’ - not properly controlled

Question 42

How many types of inadequate superego have been proposed?

Answer 42

Three

Question 43

What is the cause of a weak superego?

Answer 43

The same-gender parent being absent during the phallic stage

Question 44

If the same-gender parent is absent during the phallic stage a child cannot…

Answer 44

internalise a fully-formed superego and therefore there is no opportunity for identification

Question 45

If the same-gender parent is absent during the phallic stage a child cannot internalise a fully-formed superego. Therefore there is no opportunity for…

Answer 45

identification

Question 46

What is the effect of a weak superego?

Answer 46

Would make imoral or offending bheaviour more likely

Question 47

If the superego that a child internalises has immoral or deviant values this would lead to…

Answer 47

offending behaviour

Question 48

A boy who is raised by a criminal father is not likely to associate guilt with wrongdoing. This is an example of which type of inadequate superego?

Answer 48

The deviant superego

Question 49

What is a healthy superego based on?

Answer 49

Identification with a parent who has firm rules but forgives transgressions

Question 50

What does an excessively punitive or overly harsh parenting style lead to in terms of the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 50

A child with an over-harsh superego

Question 51

A child with an over-harsh superego is crippled with…

Answer 51

guilt and anxiety

Question 52

A child with an over-harsh superego is crippled with guilt and anxiety. How is this related to offender behaviour?

Answer 52

This may unconsciously drive the individual to perform criminal acts

Question 53

A child with an over-harsh superego is crippled with guilt and anxiety that may unconsciously drive the individual to perform criminal acts in order to…

Answer 53

satisfy the superego’s overwhelming need for punishment

Question 54

True/False: There is research support for the link between offending and the superego

Answer 54

True

Question 55

Goreta (1991) conducted a ________-style analysis of ten offenders referred for psychiatric treatment

Answer 55

Freudian

Question 56

Goreta (1991) conducted a Freudian-style analysis of how many offenders that were referred for psychiatric treatment?

Answer 56

10

Question 57

Goreta (1991) conducted a Freudian-style analysis of 10 offenders that were referred for…

Answer 57

psychiatric treatment

Question 58

In all of the 10 offenders referred for psychiatric treatment studied by Goreta (1991), what was diagnosed?

Answer 58

Disturbances to superego formation

Question 59

Each of the 10 offenders referred for psychiatric treatment studied by Goreta (1991) experienced…

Answer 59

unconscious feelings of guilt and the need for self-punishment

Question 60

Each of the 10 offenders referred for psychiatric treatment studied by Goreta (1991) experienced unconscious feelings of guilt and the need for self-punishment. How did Goreta explain this?

Answer 60

As the consequence of an over-harsh superego - the need for punishment manifesting itself as a desire to commit acts of wrongdoing and offend

Question 61

Each of the 10 offenders referred for psychiatric treatment studied by Goreta (1991) experienced unconscious feelings of guilt and the need for self-punishment. Goreta said this was as a consequence of an over-hash superego - the need for…

Answer 61

punishment manifesting itself as a desire to commit acts of wrongdoing and offend

Question 62

Goreta’s Freudian-style analysis of ten offenders seems to support the role of…

Answer 62

psychic conflicts and an over-harsh superego as a basis for offending

Question 63

True/False: Generally, the central principles of the inadequate superego are not supported

Answer 63

True

Question 64

If the theory of the inadequate superego was correct, we would expect, harsh, punitive parents to…

Answer 64

raise children who constantly experience feelings of guilt and anxiety

Question 65

If the theory of the inadequate superego was correct, we would expect harsh, punitive parents to raise children who constantly experience feelings of guilt and anxiety. Is there evidence that opposes this?

Answer 65

Yes, evidence suggests that the opposite is true

Question 66

Parents who rely on harsher forms of discipline tend to raise children who are…

Answer 66

rebellious and rarely express feelings of guilt or self-criticism

Question 67

The fact that parents who rely on harsher forms of discipline tend to raise children who are rebellious and rarely express feelings of guilt or self-criticism calls into question the…

Answer 67

relationship between a strong, punitive parent and excessive feelings of guilt within the child as suggested by the inadequate superego

Question 68

An implicit assumption within Freud’s theory is that girls develop a stronger/weaker superego than boys

Answer 68

weaker

Question 69

An implicit assumption within Freud’s theory is that girls develop a weaker superego than boys because…

Answer 69

identification with the same-gender parent is not as strong - girls don’t experience the intense emotion associated with castration anxiety

Question 70

According to Freud, girls do not experience the intense emotion associated with castration anxiety and therefore are under less pressure to identify…

Answer 70

with their mothers than boys are with their fathers

Question 71

According to Freud, girls’ superego (and consequently their sense of morality) is more/less fully realised due to their lack of castration anxeity

Answer 71

less

Question 72

According to Freud, girls’ superego (and consequently their sense of morality) is less fully realised due to their lack of castration anxiety. The implication of this is that women should be more/less prone to offending behaviour than men

Answer 72

more

Question 73

According to Freud, girls’ superego (and consequently their sense of morality) is less fully realised due to their lack of castration anxiety. The implication of this is that women should be more prone to offending behaviour than men, however…

Answer 73

rates of imprisonment show that the opposite is more likely to be true

Question 74

In the UK about __ times more men are in prison than women

Answer 74

20

Question 75

True/False: In Hoffman (1975)’s study where children were required to resist temptation, hardly any evidence of gender differences were found

Answer 75

True

Question 76

In Hoffman (1975)’s study where children were required to resist temptation, hardly any evidence of gender differences were found and when there was…

Answer 76

girls tended to be more moral than little boys

Question 77

In Hoffman (1975)’s study where children were required to resist temptation, hardly any evidence of gender differences were found and when there was, girls tended to be more moral than little boys. What does this suggest about Freud’s theory?

Answer 77

There is alpha bias at the heart of Freud’s theory - it may not be appropriate as an explanation of offending behaviour

Question 78

The fact that Freud’s theory may suffer from alpha bias means it may not be…

Answer 78

appropriate as an explanation of offending behaviour

Question 79

Which explanations were some of the first to link early experience in childhood to moral behaviour and offending?

Answer 79

Psychodynamic

Question 80

Psychodynamic explanations were some of the first to link early experience in childhood to moral behaviour and offending - something that is now regarded as…

Answer 80

common sense in contemporary contemporary criminology

Question 81

Which explanation for offending draws attention to the emotional basis of offending, a factor that is largely ignored by other explanations?

Answer 81

Psychodynamic

Question 82

The many unconscious concepts within psychodynamic theory are/aren’t open to empirical testing.

Answer 82

aren’t

Question 83

In the absence of supporting evidence, arguments such as the inadequate superego can only be judged on…

Answer 83

their face value rather than their scientific worth

Question 84

We must consider if the contribution of psychodynamic theory outweighs its lack of…

Answer 84

scientific rigour