A03: Psychodynamic Explanations - Psychological explanations

• Evaluation


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• + Psychodynamic: Support for link to Superego A03

  Goreta (1991) conducted a Freudian-style analysis of ten offenders referred for psychiatric treatment. In all those assessed, disturbances in Superego formation were diagnosed.

  • Each offender experienced the need for punishment manifesting itself as a desire to commit acts of wrongdoing and offend (possibly due to an over-harsh Superego).

  This evidence seems to support the role of psychic conflicts and an over-harsh Superego as a basis for offending.
• -Psychodynamic: COUNTERPOINT: Support for link to Superego A03

  If this theory were correct we would expect harsh, punitive parents to raise children who often experience guilt. Evidence suggests that the opposite is true-such children rarely express guilt (Kochanska et al. 2001).

  • This calls into question the relationship between a strong, punitive internal parent and excessive feelings of guilt within the child
• -Psychodynamic: Freudian theory is gender-bias A0 = PART 1

  Psychodynamic theory assumes girls develop a weaker Superego than boys coz they don't identify as strongly with their same-sex parent as boys do & they don't experience castration anxiety, so have less need to identify with their mothers.

  • This due to fact that resolution of the Electra complex is less satisfactory & coz Freud believed there little reason for anyone to identify with a woman coz of her lower status.
• -Psychodynamic: Bowlby's theory is base don an association A03

  Lewis (1954) analysed 500 interviews with young people, maternal deprivation was a poor predictor of future offending and the ability to form close relationships in adolescence.

  • Even if there is a link there are countless other reasons for it, for example maternal deprivation may be due to growing up in poverty.

  This suggests that maternal deprivation may be one of the reasons for later offending behaviour, but not the only reason.
• Psychodynamic: Contribution A03

  Psychodynamic explanations were first to link moral behaviour/offending to early childhood and emotional factors.

  • However, unconscious concepts are not open to empirical trusting. Arguments such as the inadequate Superego can only be judged on their face value.

  This suggests that although psychodynamic explanations have made a useful contribution to the debate, the lack of a credible scientific basis is an issue.
• -Psychodynamic: Freudian theory is gender-bias A0 = PART 2

  • However, there are 20 times more men than women in prison and Hoffman (1975) found no gender differences in children's moral behaviour.
  • Additionally, research found hardly any evidence of gender differences in morality in children & where there was, girls tended to be more moral than boys.

  According to Freud, women should be more prone to criminal behaviour than men, but this is not the case

  • Suggests there alpha bias (exaggerating differences between men & women and devaluing women)
• -Psychodynamic: Freudian theory is gender-bias A0 = PART 3

  Suggests there alpha bias (exaggerating differences between men & women and devaluing women) at the heart of Freud's theory, means not appropriate as an explanation of offending behaviour.

  • . Thus, his psychodynamic explanation can't be considered to be entirely externally valid as it may not apply to half the population due to this bias.
• -Evidence undermine inadequate superego A03 Psychodynamic:

  Little evidence that kids raised without same-sex parent less law abiding or fail to develop as conscience as adults.

  • 1st: If kids raised by deviant parents & go on to be criminals themselves, this could due to genetic or socialisation rather than formation of deviant superego.
  • 2nd: idea criminal behaviour reflects an unconscious desire for punishment, implausible as many criminals: extreme lengths to avoid punishments.

  Suggestions contradict predictions of Blackburn's types of inadequate superego, implying explanation not valid.
• -ve: Psychodynamic: A03: Other variables:

  Bowlby's 44 thieves: correlational=show separation & emotional problems (affectionless psychopathy) association.

  • Other variables cause affectionless psychopathy:
  • E.G, genetic or differential association. Discord in family home may cause both variables as kid taken from home for safety, discord may cause them become affectionless.

  So, maternal deprivation is only one of possible reasons for offending behaviour. May not be only one or most decisive. So can't support internal validity of maternal deprivation theory as cause & effect not determined.
• -ve: Explanation lacks falsifiability: A03 Psychodynamic explanation

  Psychodynamic explanations suffer from a lack of falsifiability.

  • The many unconscious concepts mean that the explanations are not open to empirical testing. In the absence of supporting evidence, arguments like the inadequate superego can only be judged on their face value rather than their scientific worth.

  Therefore, psychodynamic explanations are pseudoscientific rather than scientific and may contribute little to our understanding of crime and how to prevent.

  Counterargument suggestion: Bowlby's 44 thieves study.