Psychodynamic explanations for offending

What two people does this approach involve?

Bowlby (maternal deprivation theory)

Freud (tripartite)

FREUD: In his psychoanalysis theory, what are the three components of personality?

The id - primitive wants, pleasure principle

The superego - determines which behaviours are acceptable, causes feelings of guilt, functions as a moral compass

The ego - mediates between the impulsive demands of the id and moralistic demands of the superego, reality principle

Which of the tripartite is related to offending behaviour, and why?

The superego, as its concerned with right and wrong.

What are the three ways the superego could cause offending behaviour, according to Freud?

Weak/underdeveloped superego

Harsh/overdeveloped superego

Deviant superego

Explain how a weak/underdeveloped superego could lead to offending behaviour.

A weak superego has little control of the id, so is more likely to act in ways that gratify the id’s desires.

The cause of a weak superego is not identifying with a same-sex parent as a child (Oedipus/Electra complex).

Explain how a harsh/overdeveloped superego could lead to offending behaviour.

A harsh superego is as a result of very strong identification with a strict parent, causing excessive guilt and anxiety.

A harsh superego would make an individual commit a crime in the hope that they’re punished - reducing their feelings of guilt.

Explain how a deviant superego could lead to offending behaviour.

If the same-sex parent an individual identifies with is deviant.

BOWLBY: Explain Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory.

Bowlby said that prolonged separations between a mother and child in the critical period (before 2 and a half years) would have long-term emotional consequences.

What did Bowlby say was a potential long-term consequence of maternal deprivation?

Affectionless psychopathy.

This is someone who lacks understanding of other people’s feelings.

Explain Bowlby’s ‘44 thieves’ study: why he did it and procedure

Bowlby observed that a number of delinquent thieves in his Child Guidance Clinic had experienced early and frequent separations with their mother and they also displayed signs of affectionless psychopathy.

To test this hypothesis, Bowlby compared 44 of the thieves with 44 control patients.

Explain Bowlby’s ‘44 thieves’ study: findings

He found that none of the control participants experienced early separations, whereas 39% of thieves had experienced early separations.

He also found that 86% of affectionless thieves had experienced frequent separations.

Positive eval

RWA - Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory shows the importance of emotional care for children in stopping criminality. This helped reduce crime over time.

Negative eval

Bowlby’s findings weren’t causal - children could’ve been born affectionless and caused the separations with their mothers.

The psychodynamic approach isn’t scientific - it isn’t falsifiable (it can’t be tested). No evidence for the superego existing.

Alpha bias - Freud’s theory was gender biased. He said that the Oedipus complex was much more important than the Electra complex - making girls less morally developed. If Freud’s view was correct, we’d see more women as criminals. This is not the case.

Conclusion

The psychodynamic approach is a theory that lacks evidence (Freud), although Bowlby’s theory has led to positive real-world changes.