PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLANTIONS : PSYCHODYNAMIC Flashcards
WHEN IS THE SUPER EGO FORMED
AT THE END OF THE PHALLIC STAGE WHEN KIDS RESOLVE THE ELECTRA/OEDIPUS COMPLEX
what prinicple does the super ego work on
morlaity prinicple
how does the supergo exert its infleunce
by punishing the ego through guilt for wrong doing
whilst rewarding it with pride for good moral behaviour
what did blackburn argue about the superego
if its somehow deficient or inadequate then offending behaviour is inevitable
why did blackburn argue if the superego is somehwat deficient then offending behaviour is inevitable
the id is gove free rein and not properly controlled
stsate the three types of inadequate superego
the weak superego
the deviant superego
the overharsh superego
explain he weak superego
if same gender parent is absent during phallic stage
then child cannot internalise a fully formed supergo
as there is no opportunity for identifaction
this would make offending or immoral behaviour omre likely
explain the deviant superego
if superego the child internalises has immoral or deviant values
this woudl elad to ofending behaviour
give example of deviant superego
a biy whis raised by criminal father isnt likely to associate guilt with wrong doing
explain the overharsh superego
overly harsh parenting style leads to a child with an overharsh supergo
who is crippled by guilt and anxiety
this may (unconscioulsy) drive th eindiidual to perform criminal acts in orer to satisy the superegos overwhelming need for punihemnt
what is a helathy superego based on
identification with a parent who has firm rules but forgives transgressions
ROLE OF EMOTION - what is the effect of an inadequate superego
allows primitive, emotional demands to become uppermost in guiding moral behaviour
ROLE OF EMOTION - how is psychodynamic approach differnt to otehr explanations of crime
deals with the emotional life of the individual
e.g it acknowledges the role of anxiety and guilt in the development of offending behaviour
ROLE OF EMOTION - in the pychoduanmic approach what is relevant to understanding offending behaviour
lack of guilt
outline thoery of amternal deprivatio
by bowlbby
argued ability to form meaningful relatinoships in adulthood was dependent upon a child forming a warm continous relationship with a mother figure
failure to estbalish such a relationship during the first few years of life means child is likely to xp some damaging irreverible consequence later in life
e.g affectionless psychopahty
what is affectionless psychopathyc hactersied by
lack of guilt
empathy
feelings for otehrs
afectionless psychopathy / maternally deprived individuals are liekly to do what in relation to crime
enagge in acts of delinquency
cannot develop close relatinoships with others
explain 44 juevenile thieves in relationship to offending
foudn through interviews with theives and famo
14 of sample showed affectionless psychopathy chactersitics and behaviours
12/14 experienced prolonged seperation from mum during infnacy(ptclry first 2 years of lives)
in a non offender group only xp early seperation
bowlby concluded effects of amternal deprivation caused affectionles and deliquent behaviour among juvenile thieves
gender bias limitaiton
6 parts
One limitation of Freudian theory is that it is gender-biased
An implicit assumption is that girls develop a weaker superego than boys because identification with the same-sex parent is not as strong.
This is because girls do not experience the intense emotion associated with castration anxiety and therefore, are under less pressure to identify with their mothers (than boys are with their fathers).
According to Freud, their superego (and consequently their sense of morality) is less fully realised. The implication of this is that females should be more prone to offending behaviour than males.
However, the rates of imprisonment show that the opposite is more likely to be true (in the UK about 20 times more men are in prison than women).
This suggests there is alpha bias at the heart of Freud’s theory and means it may not be appropriate as an explanation of offending behaviour.
lack of flasifiablity
One limitation of the psychodynamic explanation in general is that it suffers from a lack of falsifiability.
The many unconscious concepts with Freud’s theory means that application to crime are not open to empirical testing.
In the absence of supporting evidence, arguments such as the inadequate superego can only be judged on their face value rather than their scientific worth.
For this reason, psychodynamic explanations are regarded as pseudoscientific and may contribute little to our understanding of crime, or how to prevent it.
Therefore, this is a limitation as the psychodynamic explanation lacks scientific support.
strength research supprot for offenidng and superego
One strength of the psychodynamic approach is research support for the link between offending and the superego.
Goreta (1991) conducted a Freudian style analysis of 10 offenders.
in all those assessed Disturbances in the superego formation were diagnosed.
Each offender experienced unconscious feelings of guilt and the need for self punishment.
goreta expalined this as a Consequence of an over-harsh superego - the need for punishment manifests its self as a desire to commit acts of wrongdoing.
This seems to support the role of psychic conflicts and an over harsh superego as a basis for offending
