Psychological Explanations: Psychodynamic Flashcards
When is the superego formed?
At the end of the phallic stage when children resolve the Oedipus complex.
What does the superego work on?
The morality principle by punishing the ego through guilt for wrongdoing and rewarding it with pride for good, moral behaviour.
What did Blackburn suggest about the superego?
That if it is somehow deficient or inadequate offending behaviour is inevitable because the ‘id’ is given free rein and not properly controlled.
What are three types of inadequate superego?
- The weak superego.
- The deviant superego
- The over-harsh superego
What is the weak superego?
If the same gender parent is absent during the phallic stage a child cant internalise a fully-formed superego as there is no opportunity for identification which makes immoral/ offending behaviour more likely.
What is the deviant superego?
If the superego that a child internalises has immoral or deviant values this would lead to offending behaviour.
What is the over-harsh superego?
A healthy superego is based on identification with a parent who has firm rules but forgives transgressions in contrast an excessively punitive or overly harsh parenting style leads to a child with an over-harsh superego who is crippled by guilt and anxiety which may unconsciously drive the individual to perform criminal acts in order to satisfy the superegos overwhelming need for punishment.
What does the effect of an inadequate superego allow?
Primitive, emotional demands to become uppermost in guiding moral behaviour which is a key feature of the psychodynamic approach and marks it out as different from the other explanations of crime.
What does the psychodynamic approach deal with?
Emotional life of the individual which means that lack of guilt is relevant to understanding offending behaviour as in the case of maternal deprivation theory.
What did Bowlby argue?
The ability to form meaningful relationships in adulthood was dependent upon the child forming a warm, continuous relationship with a mother-figure.
What happens if someone doesnt develop an attachment during their first few years?
A child is likely to experience a number of damaging and irreversible consequences later in life.
What is affectionless psychopathy?
A lack of guilt, empathy and feeling for others.
What are maternally deprived people likely to engage in?
Acts of delinquency and cant develop close relationship with others.
What did Bowlby find out about the 44 thieves through interviews?
14 of the samples studied showed personality and behavioural characteristics that could be classified as affectionless psychopathy. Of this 14, 12 experienced prolonged separation from their mothers during infancy.
Evaluation: research support
Goreta analysed 10 offenders referred for psychiatric treatment and assessed disturbances in superego formation were diagnosed. Each offender experienced unconscious feelings of guilt and the need for self-punishment which Goreta explained as a consequence of an over-harsh superego therefore there us evidence to support the role of psychiatric conflicts and an over-harsh superego as a basis for offending.
Evaluation: Centrak principles of an inadequate superego aren’t supported.
If this theory was correct we would expect harsh punitive parents to raise children who constantly experience feelings of guilt and anxiety however evidence suggests the opposite is true. Parents who rely on harsher forms of discipline tend to raise children who are rebellious and rarely express feelings of guilt or self-criticism which questions the relationship between a strong, punitive internal parent and excessive feelings of guilt within the child.
Evaluation: Gender bias
Freud’s assumption that girls develop a weaker superego than boys because they don’t experience castration anxiety and are therefore under less pressure to identify with their mothers. Therefore girls should be more prone to offending which isn’t true based on what we know about male and women offenders.
Evaluation: Bowlby’s theory is based on an association between maternal deprivation and offending.
Lewis analysed data drawn from interviews with 500 young people and found maternal deprivation was a poor predictor of future offending and the ability to form a close relationship in adolescence. Even if there is a link between children who have experienced prolonged separation from their mothers and offending in later life this isn’t necessarily a casual relationship.
