Pyschodynamic explanations Flashcards
What did Blackburn propose?
If we have an inadequate superego criminal behaviour is inevitable as the id is given free reign and is not properly.
What are the three types of inadequate superego?
Weak superego, deviant superego and over-harsh superego.
What is the weak superego?
If the same-sex parent is absent in the phallic stage, the child cannot internalise a fully formed superego as there has been no chance for internalisation. This makes criminal behaviour more likely.
What is the deviant superego?
If the superego a child internalises has deviant values, then they are more likely to be criminals. For instance, a boy raised by a criminal father is less likely to feel guilt for criminal behaviour.
What is the over-harsh superego?
Excessively harsh parents may lead to an overl-harsh superego as the individual is crippled by guilt. This may unconsciously drive criminal behaviour to satisfy the need for punishment.
What did the maternal deprivation theory suggest?
Bowlby said that failure to establish a maternal bond during the first few years of life means that child will experience damaging consequences, one of these being affectionless psychology. Such maternally deprived individuals are more likely to engage in criminal behaviour.
What evidence supports Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory?
His 44 thieves study interviewed thieves to look for signs of affectionless psychopathy and compared them to a control group. They found 14/44 thieves were affectionless psychopaths and of those 14, 12 were separated from their mother as a child. He concluded that maternal deprivation had caused affectionless psychopathy.
What are the limitations of the psychodynamic explanations of offending behaviour?
It can be accused of gender bias as it says girls are less under pressure to identify with their mothers and therefore do not develop morality, but really research shows the opposite.
There is contradictory evidence as people raised with deviant parents may become criminals due to genetics rather than because of a deviant superego.
It lacks scientific credibility as unconscious thoughts are not falsifiable.
There are methodological issues with Bowlby’s 44 thieves study.
There is the issue of correlation vs causation with maternal deprivation.
