Psychodynamic explanations of crime

What are the two psychodynamic explanations for crime?

The inadequate superego & maternal deprivation theory

According to the inadequate superego theory, what are the three types of inadequate superego?

• Weak

• Deviant

• Over-harsh

Upon which principle does the superego work?

Morality

Who developed the theory of the inadequate superego?

Blackburn

Which part of the tripartite personality would most likely take over if the superego isn’t functioning correctly?

The Id

What is meant by the weak superego?

The same-sex parent is absent during the phallic stage, so the child cannot internalise a fully-formed superego as there is no opportunity for identification, making immoral or criminal behaviour more likely

What is meant by the deviant superego?

The superego that the child internalises has immoral or deviant values, leading to offending behaviour (e.g. a boy raised by a criminal father is not likely to associate guilt with wrongdoing)

What is meant by the over-harsh superego?

• The superego the individual internalises is excessively harsh, meaning they are crippled by guilt & anxiety

• This may unconsciously drive the individual to perform criminal acts in order to satisfy the superego’s overwhelming need for punishment

Who developed the maternal deprivation hypothesis?

Bowlby

When would deprivation need to occur for there to be long-term & irreversible consequences for the child in later life?

Critical period (2-2.5 years old)

What is a personality type developed from maternal deprivation?

Affectionless psychopathy

What are the characteristics of affectionless psychopathy?

Lack of guilt, empathy & feeling for others

Discuss psychodynamic explanations of offending (16 marks)

Write your AO1 paragraph

• One psychodynamic explanation is the inadequate superego, proposed by Blackburn. The superego works on the morality principle & exerts its influence by punishing the ego through guilt for wrongdoing, whilst rewarding it with pride for moral behaviour.

• Blackburn argued if the superego is inadequate, then criminal behaviour would be inevitable, as the Id would have free rein & not be controlled properly. There are three types of inadequate superego:

  • the weak superego - if the same-sex parent is absent during the phallic stage, the child cannot internalise a fully-formed superego, as there is no opportunity for identification, thus making criminal behaviour more likely.

  • the deviant superego - if the superego the child internalises has immoral or deviant values, this would lead to offending (e.g. a boy raised by a criminal father is not likely to associate guilt with wrongdoing).

  • the over-harsh superego - an excessively harsh superego means the individual is crippled by guilt & anxiety. This may unconsciously drive the individual to perform criminal acts in order to satisfy the superego’s overwhelming need for punishment.

• Another psychodynamic explanation is the maternal deprivation theory, proposed by Bowlby. He argued maternal deprivation during the critical period (2-2.5 years) would have long-term & irreversible consequences for the child in later life.

• One of these is the development of affectionless psychopathy, which is characterised by a lack of guilt, empathy & feeling for others. Such maternally deprived individuals are likely to engage in acts of delinquency & cannot develop close relationships with others, as they lack the necessary early experience to do so.

Discuss psychodynamic explanations of offending (16 marks)

Write your strength AO3 PEEL (real world applications)

• Point: One strength of psychodynamic explanations of offending is they have real-world applications for crime prevention.

• Evidence: For example, Blackburn’s theory of the inadequate superego can be used in parenting classes to ensure children do not develop a weak or over-harsh superego. In adoption, care is taken not to give the child a deviant same-sex parent to identify with.

• Explain: This is useful as parents can be taught to provide consistent discipline & moral guidance, so children develop a balanced superego. Additionally, Bowlby’s ideas about attachment have influenced childcare practices & care is now taken to reduce maternal deprivation.

• Link: Therefore, psychodynamic explanations are valuable, as they highlight how early childhood experiences influence later offending & provide practical strategies that may help prevent the development of criminal behaviour.

Discuss psychodynamic explanations of offending (16 marks)

Write your strength AO3 PEEL (44 juvenile thieves study)

• Point: One strength of Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation is its empirical basis.

• Evidence: For example, in the 44 juvenile thieves study, Bowlby found 14 had affectionless psychopathy & of these 14, 12 had experienced maternal deprivation.

• Explain: This provided early support for a link between disrupted attachment & later delinquency, & the study helped establish the idea that early emotional experiences can have long-term behavioural consequences.

• Link: As such, Bowlby’s research lends some empirical credibility to maternal deprivation as an explanation for crime.

Discuss psychodynamic explanations of offending (16 marks)

Write your limitation AO3 PEEL (Osborne & West)

• Point: One limitation of Blackburn’s theory is the principles upon which it is based are centred upon the unconscious, which suffer from falsifiability & have been heavily criticised by other psychological perspectives.

• Evidence: For example, Osborne & West’s study showed that where children who are raised by deviant parents go on to commit crime, this could be the result of genetics or socialisation, rather than internalising a deviant superego.

• Explain: There is little evidence that children raised without a same-sex parent are more likely to be offenders & the unconscious desire for punishment seems implausible given that most offenders go to great lengths to conceal their crimes.

• Link: Overall, psychodynamic explanations are regarded as pseudoscientific & contribute little to our understanding of crime & how this can be prevented.