freud's spcyhodynamic explanation of aggression

Question 1

what is a key assumption of his theories?

Answer 1

our awareness is in layers so much of what we think and feel and what motivates us is in our unconscious mind. Mental processes drive behaviour differs from bio approach about how brain drives behaviour

Question 2

What is Freuds structure of the mind idea?

Answer 2

Just as most of an iceburgh is hidden from view so is some of the emind- 3 levels of consciousness
- conscious smallest part only part u are aware of and think about it in a logical fashion
- preconscious ready to be conscious= ordinary memory and a gatekeeper between the 2
- unconscious biggest area,not directly accessible storage area for anxiety,conflict and pain. These influence our actions are conscious awareness- where personality is made up of

Question 3

Structure of personality?

Answer 3

-ID= Born with pleasure-seeking desires operates on the pleasure principle and wants immediate gratification
- Ego= Operates on reality principles and control desires of Id maintains balance between superego and id
-Superego Ethics of other people come into consideration inc patients, operator,morality principle providing a conscience

Question 4

Defence mechanism?

Answer 4

Keep Id and Superego balanced
-Displacement- diverting emotions to more acceptable one
-Denial -rejecting painful thoughts
-Repression- push info out of consciousness but still expressed
-Projection- Attribute your own unacceptable faults or wishes to someone else
-Regression- Engage in behaviour characteristics of an earlier stage of development

Question 5

What’s Eros and Thantos?

Answer 5

Behaviour caused by inborn unconscious drive Eros motivates us to live,love inc libido associated with sex drive and humans have inborn destructive drive deep in the unconscious Thantos return us to an inorganic state which causes aggressive behaviour

Question 6

Theory of aggression?

Answer 6

Eros and Thantos 1st part of personality for 1st 2 years of our lives so aggression is innately in us and these two innate drives cause conflict which is the id’
Around 2 years ego develops norms and rules of society are being learnt limited understanding aggressive behaviour is only appropriate at certain times. Ego (thinking and planning part) controls Id makes sure aggression is kept in unconscious part via sublimation,repressionand displacement- defence mechanisms etc

Question 7

Controlling aggression?

Answer 7

Ego and supergo keep aggressive urges under control but if issues in development in them aggression comes out. Can be regulated via Catharisis (unleashing neg energy from mind) eg watching aggressive behaviour

Question 8

Evidence to support Catharsis

Answer 8

Megargee and Mendelsohn link between aggressionb and personality types, interviews ppl who committed brutal crimes and they had over controlled repressed anger
Verona and Sulivan ppl reacted in an aggressive way to being frustrated in activity that had a reduced heart rate compared to those who didn’t act aggressively

Question 9

Evidence against catharsis

Answer 9

Bushman ppts who engaged in catharsis and vented anger after being deliberately angered were more aggressive

Question 10

1st stage of psychosexual development

Answer 10

Oral stage 0-5 months- Id is present from birth Libido focused on mouth and infant gets pleasure from sucking and biting. Parents must achieve weaning if not leads to smoking,sarcasm,overeating

Question 11

2nd stage of psychosexual development

Answer 11

Anal stage- 1-3 years - Ego develops and Libido focused on anus and kids gain pleasure from achieving control over their bodies inc retaining and elimitred faeces and other physical skills goal is toilet training if not overindulgence- messy and unorganised and underinduglence is tidy and obbsessive

Question 12

3rd stage of psychosexual dev

Answer 12

Phallic stage 3-5 years Libido focsed on genitals pleasure comes from playing with it strong attachment to opposite sex parent must achieve successful resolution Oedipus complex allows dev of superego failure in this stage loeads to repression of sexuality

Question 13

4th stage of psychosexual dev

Answer 13

Latency stage 5y to puberty, sexual feelings suppressed to allow kids to focus time of learning and adjusting to social envi

Question 14

5th stage of psychosexual dev

Answer 14

Genital stage puberty onwards- renewed focus on genitals sexual intered and desires

Question 15

Similarities of psychosexual and bio

Answer 15

** Deterministic as aggressive behaviour is beyond control of individual** P-because of death drive aggression builds up and must be released by catharsis
B-humans have evolved to be aggressive so aggression is built into out behaviour pattern don’t take into account people have free will +
Considred innate and support nature side
P-Born with thantos
B-Gentically inherited

Question 16

Differences of psychosexual and bio

Answer 16

Bio has scientific evidence
P-Based on theoretical structures eg Thantos
B- Raine et al PET scans for brain dysfunctions
Assumptions of the main drive
P- Aggression is a result of unconscious mental mechanism & drive inc conflict between death and life
B- Aggression explained by physical properties of brain causing reactive aggression

Question 17

Strength of the Psychosexual

Answer 17

Freud used detailed case studies of his paiteitnets to back his ideas collecting qualitative data from clinicaliterviews and observations eg case study of ra 5 year old Little Hans aggression Han’s showed to his father biting and hitting was Oedipus complex jealously over his fathers intimate relationship w his mother
Practical applications eg psychotherapy and idea of catharsis however Bushman role of catharsis in aggression found ppts engaged in catharsis and vented anger were more aggressive than those who did nothing

Question 18

Weaknesses of psychodynamic explanation

Answer 18

Scientific cred low- eg Little Hans case studies any findings are based on qualitative data open to subjective so low validity so no accuracy in causes of aggression and only 1 ppt
Not falsifiable not directly observable or measurable eg Thantos lacks empiricism needed for scientific status

Question 19

describe the superego

Answer 19

forms at end of phallic stage
works on morality principle
punishes ego with guilt
rewards ego with pride

Question 20

how does a weak superego develop?

Answer 20

absence of same sex parent during phallic stage so we fail to internalize moral values of this parent

Question 21

what is the consequence of a weak superego

Answer 21

morals not learned
more likely to act on pleasure principle as superego does not enforce guilt
behave to gain immediate reward as we don’t know right and wrong
lead to crime as won’t feel guilty

Question 22

how does an excessively strong superego develop?

Answer 22

same sex parent overly harsh
crippled by guilt and anxiety
commits crime to satisfy need for punishment

Question 23

what is the consequence of an excessively strong superego?

Answer 23

craves punishment in order to ease guilt
or won’t express antisocial influences until they build up until the desire overwhelms the ego and is suddenly expressed

Question 24

how does a deviant superego develop?

Answer 24

child internalizes morals of a criminal or deviant same sex parent

Question 25

what are the consequences of a deviant superego?

Answer 25

child develops skewed morals don’t feel guilt if they believe the behaviour is acceptable superego may not react to criminal acts

Question 26

what is the maternal bond?

Answer 26

what is the maternal bond?

Question 27

what is the consequence of a failed maternal bond?

Answer 27

forming an affectionless psychopathy personality type lack of guilt and empathy engage in delinquent acts cannot develop close relationships with others

Question 28

summarise Bowlby’s study

Answer 28

44 juvenile thieves and families 14 showed affectionless psychopathy characteristics 12 of 14 experienced separation from mother within first 2 years control = 2 had separation

Question 29

what are issues with Bowlby’s research?

Answer 29

researcher bias = preconceptions of what he expected to find reduces internal validity false conclusions unrepresentative sampling

Question 30

evaluate defence mechanisms (PEE) - deterministic

Answer 30

a weakness is that it is deterministic. for example, it suggests that individuals have no control over their offending and defence mechanisms which cause behaviour are determined by the ego’s response to unconscious conflicts. therefore, this means they have no free will which raises the question as to whether they should be punished.

Question 31

evaluate defence mechanisms (PEE) - application

Answer 31

a weakness is that there is a lack of practical applications. for example, if defence mechanisms were the cause of behaviour, psychodynamic therapy would help overcome the root cause. however, this is time consuming and an impractical way of reducing criminal behaviour which limits the usefulness of this explanation.

Question 32

what is a strength of Freud’s theory (PEE)? - supporting evidence (Glueck and Glueck)

Answer 32

a strength is the supporting evidence from Glueck and Glueck. they compared 500 young people in offender institutions and 500 controls and found that young offenders were 1.5x more likely to have experienced distant relationship with their mother.

Question 33

what is a weakness of Freud’s theory (PEE)? - unfalsifiable

Answer 33

a weakness is that the theory has unfalsifiable concepts. for example, the deviant superego and dominant id cannot be proved true as it is impossible to test scientifically. therefore, this limits the usefulness of the explanation as it lacks validity.

Question 34

what is a weakness of Freud’s theory (PEE)? - gender bias

Answer 34

a weakness is that the theory has gender bias. for example, it suggests that girls have weaker superegos as they are under less pressure to identify with the same sex parent due to lack of castration anxiety. however, the prison population is 95% male which suggests that males show more criminal behaviour, contradicting the prediction.

Question 35

what is a weakness of Freud’s theory (PEE)? - opposing study (Lewis)

Answer 35

a weakness is opposing research from Lewis. for example, 500 young people were interviewed and no reliable link was found between maternal deprivation and criminal behaviour. therefore, maternal deprivation may be only one factor contributing to the likelihood of criminal behaviour.

Question 36

what is a weakness of Freud’s theory (PEE)? - criticism of methodology

Answer 36

a weakness is that the assessment of childhood experiences is difficult as it is retrospective information. for example, self report data is open to distortions. therefore, the evaluation of the relationship between early experience of crime is complicated. additionally, the conclusions are dependent on social and cultural ideologies of childhood/acceptable behaviour; children and parents of different groups interact differently.

Question 37

what is an alternative explanation of criminal behaviour other than personality?

Answer 37

social learning theory - learning by observation of a criminal role model - vicarious reinforcement - bobo doll study