Psychodynamic Explanations

Question 1

What is this based on

Answer 1

an inadequate superego

Question 2

what did Blackburn (1993) argue

Answer 2

that if the superego is somehow deficient or inadequate then criminal behaviour is inevitable because the id is not properly
controlled

Question 3

how many types of inadequate superego have been proposed

Answer 3

3

Question 4

what are the 3 types of superego that have been proposed

Answer 4

Weak superego
Deviant superego
Over-harsh superego

Question 5

how does a child form a weak superego

Answer 5

If the same-sex parent is absent during the phallic
stage, the child cannot internalise a fully formed superego because there is no opportunity for identification. This would make offending behaviour likely

Question 6

how does a child form a deviant superego

Answer 6

If the superego that the child internalises has
immoral or deviant values this can lead to offending behaviour

Question 7

how does a child form an over-harsh superego

Answer 7

A healthy superego has rules, but is also forgiving of transgressions. An excessively punitive superego means an individual is crippled by guilt and anxiety. This may unconsciously drive the individual to perform criminal acts in order to satisfy the superego’s need for punishment.

Question 8

The […] is the last aspect of personality to form

Answer 8

superego

Question 9

when does the superego develop

Answer 9

at the end of the phallic stage of psychosexual development at 3-6 years old.

Question 10

major conflict 4 boys during the phallic stage

Answer 10

Oedipus complex
male child unconsciously wishes to possess their mother + get rid of their father.
-> boys experience castration anxiety, they fear their father
will remove their penis to punish them for their desire of their mother

Question 11

major conflict 4 girls during the phallic stage

Answer 11

Electra complex, no castration anxiety, so don’t internalise their mother’s superego to the same extent, and so their own superego is less well developed than a male superego.

Question 12

• An assumption of the Psychodynamic approach is the idea that girls develop a weaker superego than boys. The implication is that females should be more prone to criminal behaviour.
  what doesn’t support this

Answer 12

crime statistics

Question 13

• when hoffman (1975) tested children’s ability to resist temptation what did he find

Answer 13

hardly any gender difference, although girls were slightly more moral than boys.

Question 14

• There is very little evidence that children raised without a […] are less law-abiding as adults (or have less of a conscience).

Answer 14

a same-sex parent

Question 15

• If children raised by deviant parents go on to commit crime themselves this could be due to what other factors rather than a deviant superego.

Answer 15

genetics or learning

Question 16

The idea that some criminals have an unconscious desire for punishment is implausible - why ?

Answer 16

most offenders go to great lengths to conceal their crime and so
avoid punishment