psychological explanations: psychodynamic

description of the theory

Tripartite Personality & Superego (Freud)

• Personality has 3 parts: Id (instinct), Ego (reality), Superego (morality).

• Superego develops during the phallic stage through identification with the same-gender parent after resolving the Oedipus/Electra complex.

• Superego punishes the Ego via guilt and rewards it via pride.

• If the Superego is inadequate, the Id is unchecked → increases risk of offending.

Three Types of Inadequate Superego (Blackburn, 1993)

1. Weak Superego

   • Due to absence of same-gender parent during the phallic stage

   • Prevents internalisation of moral values → no guilt → offending likely

2. Deviant Superego

   • Superego internalised from a criminal or immoral parent

   • The child feels no guilt for wrongdoing → offending is morally acceptable

3. Over-Harsh Superego

   • Extremely punitive upbringing → child feels constant guilt and anxiety

   • May unconsciously seek punishment through criminal behaviour to satisfy Superego

Emotional Drivers in Offending

• Offending seen as emotionally driven, especially by unconscious guilt, anxiety, and the desire for punishment.

• The role of emotion is unique to the psychodynamic approach compared to other theories (e.g. cognitive or learning theories).

maternal deprivation

Maternal Deprivation Hypothesis (Bowlby, 1944)

• Secure emotional bond with a mother figure in early years is essential for healthy psychological development.

• Failure leads to irreversible emotional damage, particularly affectionless psychopathy:

  • Lack of guilt, empathy, or remorse → increased risk of delinquent behaviour

44 thieves study

44 Juvenile Thieves Study (Bowlby, 1944)

• Sample: 44 juvenile thieves & a control group.

• 14 classified as affectionless psychopaths, and 12 of those had experienced maternal separation.

• Only 2 in the control group had similar separation.

Bowlby concluded prolonged maternal deprivation → increased risk of delinquency and emotional dysfunction.

Research Support (Superego) + counterpoint

• Goreta (1991): Freudian analysis of 10 offenders → all showed signs of Superego disturbance, with unconscious guilt and desire for self-punishment.

• Supports link between an over-harsh Superego and criminal behaviour.

COUNTERPOINT

• Kochanska et al. (2001): Harsh discipline → children more likely to be rebellious, less guilty, less self-critical.

• Contradicts the idea that a harsh Superego leads to guilt and offending.

Weakens support for Superego-based offending

Gender Bias in Freud’s Theory

• Freud claimed girls have a weaker Superego due to lack of castration anxiety and weaker identification with their mothers.

• Implies women should offend more — but men are far more likely to be imprisoned.

• Hoffman (1975): Girls often showed stronger moral behaviour than boys.

Suggests Freud’s theory contains alpha bias and is outdated.

Questionable Causality in Maternal Deprivation

• Hilda Lewis (1954): Studied 500 young people → no strong link between maternal deprivation and later offending.

• Bowlby’s findings are correlational, not causal. Other factors (e.g. poverty, neglect, trauma) may explain both separation and delinquency.

Undermines Bowlby’s theory as a standalone explanation for offending.

Emotional Focus & Lasting Contribution

• Strength: Psychodynamic theory was first to link early childhood and emotion with offending.

• Focus on guilt, anxiety, unconscious motives adds depth to our understanding of criminal behaviour.

Although outdated, it influenced modern theories on early intervention and attachment in preventing crime.