Psychodynamic explanations

This contains both AO1 and AO3

How does the psychodynamic approach explain behaviour?

Criminality is caused by conflict in childhood effecting the personality (superego, id, ego)

How does an inadequate superego cause criminality?

Ronald Blackburn

• criminal behaviour is due to a smaller superego and a bigger id which is not controlled by the ego

How does a weak superego explain criminality?

caused by an absent father (no where to learn morals)

How does a deviant superego explain criminality?

Criminal behaviour is due to family criminality

How does an over harsh superego explain criminal behaviour?

Individual feels guilt and overcompensates by committing crimes ➙ seeks punishment

How does the maternal deprivation theory explain criminal behaviour?

Bowlby 44 thieves

• good adults help to form positive relationships lack of this causes affection less psychopaths

Psychodynamic explanations AO3: strength

• Support for the link between the superego and offending

• Grote carried out a freudian style analysis of 10 offenders. In all those assessed, the formation of the superego was disturbed

• Each offender felt guilt and need for punishment supposing the overhears superego as a reason for criminality

• Reliability

Psychodynamic explanations AO3: counterpoint

• However there is evidence which suggests the opposite

• Parents who rely on harsher firms of discipline tend to raise children who are more rebellious so you might expect harsh parenting to cause guilty, punishment seeking people.

• However this is not always the case suggesting there are other factors aside from parenting which may cause criminality

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Psychodynamic explanations AO3: limitation

• Maternal deprivation does not explain criminality

• Hilda Lewis analysed data which showed that maternal deprivation was a poor predictor of future offending

• Even if there is a link prolonged separation doesn't always cause criminality

• Therefore there must be other explanations such as poverty, socialisation etc

Psychodynamic explanations AO3: limitation

• Gender bias

• Freud assumed that girls form a weaker superego because they don't form close relationships with their mother due to the lack of fear of castration

• Hoffman found that there was barely any

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