Psychological Explanations - Psychodynamic Explanations Flashcards
What is the superego?
It is formed in the resolution of the Oedipus complex. Working on the morality principle, it punishes the ego with guilt for wrongdoing and rewards it with pride for moral behaviour.
What was Blackburn’s argument?
THat if the superego is deficient or inadequate then offending behaviour is inevitable because the id is given free rein and isn’t properly controlled.
What is the Weak Superego?
If a same-sex parent is absent during the phallic stage then the child cannot have a fully-formed superego - no opportunity for identification
What is the Deviant Superego?
The superego they inherit from their parents has immoral or deviant values.
What is the Over-Harsh Superego?
The individual is crippled by guilt and anxiety so they may unconsciously perform criminal acts in order to satisfy the superegos need for punishment.
What is Bowlby’s Maternal Deprivation Theory?
The ability to form meaningful social relationships in adulthood was dependent on a close, warm and continuous relationship with the mother in infancy. Since this acts as the prototype for all future relationships, its disruption impairs a person’s ability to relate to others. This results in affectionless psychopathy. They are likely to engage in delinquent acts and struggle to develop close relationships with others.
How does the 44 thieves study relate to criminal behaviour?
The effects of maternal deprivation had caused affectionless psychopathy and delinquent behaviour amongst the juvenile thieves. These individuals are unable to develop close relationships with others as they lack the early relationship experience necessary to do so.
What is the limitation - Gender Bias?
Freudian theory dictates that women have a weaker superego. Having not undergone castration anxiety, they are under less pressure to identify with mothers so their morality is less developed. This implies that there should be more women in prison, however there are 20x more men in prison, and girls actually tend to be slightly more moral. This is alpha bias also.
What is the strength - supporting evidence?
Goreta conducted an analysis of 10 offenders referred for psychiatric treatment. In all of those offenders there was a diagnosis of a ‘disturbance in Superego formation’ and each of the offenders reported feelings of guilt and need for self-punishment.
What is the limitation - contradictory evidence?
If the theory was correct we would expect harsh, punitive parents to raise children with high guilt and high anxiety. However, evidence suggests that the opposite is true - parents who are harsher tend to raise rebellious children instead. This suggests that there is no relationship between punitive parents and excessive feelings of guilt.
What is the limitation - lack of evidence?
Psychodynamic explanations were the first to link moral behaviour/offending to early childhood and emotional factors. However, unconscious concepts are not open to empirical testing. These arguments can only be judged on face value.
