Psychodynamic explanations

Question 1

Inadequate superego

Answer 1

According to the Psychodynamic Approach, offenders have an ID which is insufficiently controlled/moderated because of problems with the development of the superego

Question 2

What is the superego

Answer 2

The superego is the last aspect of personality which forms and operates on the morality principle

It develops towards the end of the phallic stage of psychosexual development at 3-5 years old

Question 3

what two major conflicts at during the phallic stage:

Answer 3

There are two major conflicts at during the phallic stage:

Oedipus complex: Boys have a desire for the mother and a hatred for the father who they see as their rival. They fear if the father finds out, they will be castrated by the father. To resolve this, the boy eventually internalises with the fathers superego, creating their own

Electra complex: Girls have a desire for the father and a hatred for the mother. They envy a penis and believe the mother castrated them. Eventually, the desire for the penis eventually is turned into the desire for a baby. Girls do not internalise with the mother’s superego to the same extent, so the girls own superego is less internalised than the male superego

Question 4

three types of inadequate superego:

Answer 4

1. Weak Superego –The superego is weak due to failure to identify fully with a same-sex parent.
2. Deviant Superego – The superego is deviant due to identification with a deviant same-sex parent.
3. Over-Harsh Superego –An over-harsh superego is excessively punitive meaning the individual is crippled by guilt and anxiety. Crimes are committed to fulfil the unconscious desire for punishment.

Question 5

Inadequate superego eval (+)

Answer 5

+ This theory takes both nature and nurture into account as it combines innate drives such as those in the id (nature) and the effects of early experience (nurture)

Question 6

Inadequate superego eval (-)

Answer 6

• This theory has a lack of falsifiability. The id and superego are unconscious and therefore cannot be empirically tested.
• Viewing the cause of offending as within the person neglects the complexity of the social conditions of offending, such as deprivation, lack of education,
  poverty etc.
• According to Freud male identification with the same-sex parent is stronger, therefore males should be more moral than females. This is simply not supported by crime statistics, the evidence is that more males offend than females.
• This theory adheres to psychic determinism as it suggests that offenders cannot be held responsible for their crimes. If problems are rooted in childhood
  experience behaviour cannot change.
• If children raised by deviant parents go on to commit crime themselves this could be due to genetics or learning rather than a deviant superego
• The idea that some criminals have an unconscious desire for punishment is implausible, most offenders go to great lengths to conceal their crime and so avoid punishment.