Psychological Explanations: Psychodynamic explanations Flashcards
What is the role of the superego in personality?
The superego operates on the morality principle, punishing the ego with guilt for wrongdoing and rewarding it with pride for moral behaviour
According to Blackburn, why does an inadequate superego lead to criminal behaviour?
If the superego is weak or deficient, the id is given “free rein”, meaning criminal behaviour is not properly controlled
What are three types of inadequate superego?
- Weak superego - occurs when a same sex parent is absent during the phallic stage, preventing the child from internalising moral values
- Deviant superego - happens when a child internalises immoral or deviant values, such as being raised by a criminal parent
- Over - harsh superego - causes excessive guilt and anxiety, which may unconsciously drive an individual to commit crime to seek punishment
How does a weak superego contribute to criminal behaviour?
Without a same - sex parent to identify with during the phallic stage, the child fails to develop a strong superego, making immoral or criminal behaviour more likely
How does a deviant superego lead to offending?
If a child internalises criminal values, such as from a criminal father, they will not associate wrongdoing with guilt and are more likely to engage in criminal behaviour
Why might an over - harsh superego lead to crime?
An excessively strict superego creates crippling guilt and anxiety, which may unconsciously drive an individual to commit crimes to satisfy the superego’s overwhelming need for punishment
What did Bowlby argue about the importance of maternal bonds?
He argued that forming a warm, continuous relationship with a mother - figure in early childhood is vital for the ability to form meaningful relationships in adulthood
What are the characteristics of affectionless psychopathy?
A lack of guilt, empathy and feeling for others
What are the consequences of failing to form a maternal bond in early life?
Failure to form this bond can lead to damaging and irreversible consequences, including the development of affectionless psychopathy
How does maternal deprivation relate to criminal behaviour?
Maternally deprived individuals may develop affectionless psychopathy, making them more likely to engage in delinquent acts and struggle to form close relationships
What was the aim of Bowlby’s 44 Juvenile Thieves study?
To investigate the long - term effects of maternal deprivation on emotional development, particularly its link to criminal behaviour
What did Bowlby find in the 44 Juvenile Thieves study?
Out of 44 juvenile thieves, 14 were classified as affectionless psychopaths. 12 of these 14 had experienced prolonged maternal separation in early childhood. In a non - criminal control group, only 2 had experienced similar separations
What did Bowlby conclude from his study?
He concluded that maternal deprivation cause affectionless and delinquent behaviour in the juvenile thieves
What is a limitation of the psychodynamic explanation? (contradictory evidence)
> There is very little evidence that children raised without a same - sex parent are less law - abiding as adults (or fail to develop a conscience)
> This contradicts Blackburn’s weak superego argument
> Similarly, if children who are raised by parents with pro - crime attitudes go on to commit crime themselves, this could be due to the influence of genetics or socialisation, rather than the formation of deviant superego
> Finally, the idea that criminal behaviour reflects an unconscious desire for punishment seems implausible, as most offenders go to great lengths to conceal their crimes which suggest they want to avoid punishment at all costs
What is a limitation of the psychodynamic explanations? (unconscious concepts)
> Psychodynamic explanations suffer from a lack of falsifiability
> The many unconscious concepts within Freudian theory mean that applications to crime, are not open to empirical testing
> In the absence of supporting evidence, the theory can only be judged on its face value rather than their scientific worth
> For this reason, psychodynamic explanations have been regarded as pseudoscientific and may contribute a little to our understanding of crime, or how to prevent it
What is a limitation of the psychodynamic explanations? (gender bias)
> An implicit assumption within Freudian theory is the idea that girls develop a weaker superego than boys
> Having not experienced castration anxiety, girls are under less pressure to identify with their mothers (than boys with their fathers), so their superego is less fully realised
> The implication of this is that females should be more prone to criminal behaviour than males
> This is simply not supported by evidence - not least, statistics of the male - female ratio of inmates in prison
> In a study where children were required to resist temptation, psychologists found hardly any evidence of gender differences, and when there was, little girls tended to be moral than little boys
What is a limitation of the psychodynamic explanations? (correlation not causation)
> Hilda Lewis analysed data drawn from interviews with 500 young people and found that maternal deprivation was a poor predictor of future offending and the ability to form close relationships in adolescence
> Even if there is a link between children who have experienced frequent or prolonged separation from their mothers and committing crime in later life, this does not necessarily indicate a causal link between deprivation and delinquency
> There are countless other links for this apparent link such as genetic factors and the influence of other people
> Maternal deprivation may be a factor, but not the only reason
