Week Nine - Psychodynamic Theory

Question 1

When did the Psychodynamic Theory come into force?

Answer 1

1900’s onwards

Question 2

What is the psychodynamic theory based on?

Answer 2

This psychodynamic approach is based closely on the ideas of perhaps one of the most well know psychologist, Sigmund Freud.

Question 3

What is the key idea of the Psychodynamic Theory?

Answer 3

The ‘unconscious mind’.

Question 4

Psychodynamic Theory

Explanation..

Answer 4

Freud believed that much of our conscious behaviour is in fact determined by unconscious influences of which we are largely unaware

The mind has a complicated structure which is built up through various stages of development.

Freud believed there were three key elements to the mind: first, there is the id, which is our unconscious drives, main part of personality, driven by the pleasure principle, second, the ego controls these basic urges by operating according to the reality principle, third and finally, the superego is a form of internalisation of the standards of society.

At each stage of development the instincts of the id (within the unconscious mind) are expressed.

Harsh/deviant/weak superegos are the main sources of crime

Question 5

Freud himself had little to say on the subject of criminality…

Answer 5

Freud himself had little to say on the subject of criminality and believed that often people engaged in such behaviors in order to be punished for other indiscretions or morally reprehensible activities they have committed at earlier periods in their lives

Question 6

What are the three claims of Psychodynamic Theory?

Answer 6

Socialisation depends on the internalistion of society’s rules during childhood - common to most psychological and all sociological theorising

Impaired parent-infant relationships are causally related to later criminal behaviour - also present in criminology: informs work on risk and protective factors

Unconscious conflicts arise from disturbed family relationships at different stages of development – especially Oedipal stage – which causes some criminal acts - this distinguishes psychodynamic theories from most other explanations of criminal conduct

Question 7

Problems with the Psychodynamic Theory?

Answer 7

Psychodynamic theories fail to account for some important features of criminal behavior, especially the age distribution of offending (Blackburn, 1993)
Psychodynamic theories are also hard to test

Question 8

What did Bowlby take particular interest in?

Answer 8

Bowlby took particular interest in the close relationship formed between a parent and a child or more formally known as the concept of attachment

Question 9

What does attachment refer to?

Answer 9

Attachment refers to the strong social and emotional bond between an infant and its carer

Question 10

He argued that the bond works both ways…

Answer 10

He argued that the bond works both ways; carer and child provide comfort and warm feelings for one another and this attachment process is critical in shaping the future behavior of the infant

Question 11

Bowlby (1946) examined a sample of ‘44 juvenile thieves …

Answer 11

Bowlby (1946) examined a sample of ‘44 juvenile thieves who had all been convicted of theft and were referred to a child guidance clinic.

He found that compared to a non-delinquent control group (who also attended the guidance clinic), a much higher proportion of the delinquents (almost 40 percent compared to 5 percent in the control group) had been separated from their mothers for more than 6 months during the first five years of their lives.

This evidence is consistent with the idea that early relationships with the mother are important for a child’s psychological development

Question 12

However, Bowlby’s research in this area has not been substantially replicated…

Answer 12

However, Bowlby’s research in this area has not been substantially replicated (Rutter, 1971) argued that separations from the mother itself is not the problem, but found that failure to form a bond with a caregiver(not necessarily the mother) was critical in future delinquency

Question 13

Supported by McCord’s (1982) research on boys from ‘broken’ and ‘intact’ family homes…

Answer 13

Supported by McCord’s (1982) research on boys from ‘broken’ and ‘intact’ family homes (Marsh, 2011: 71)

(prevalence of offending)

Broken home WITHOUT CARING MOTHER – 62%

Broken home WITH CARING MOTHER – 22%

Intact home with parental conflict – 52%

Intact home without parental conflict – 26%

Question 14

4 types of parenting style (Baumarind, 1978)…

Answer 14

Authoritarian
Permissive
Indulgent and neglectful
Authoritative

Question 15

3 types of discipline (Hoffman, 1977)…

Answer 15

Poor assertion
Love withdrawal
Induction

Question 16

Children who have been the victims of severe physical abuse…

Answer 16

Children who have been the victims of severe physical abuse in the home are around three times more likely to use alcohol and drugs, deliberately damage property and get into fights.

They’re also about four times more likely to be arrested that other children (Gelles, 1997)