Psychodynamic Explanations AO1

• what does the psychodynamic explanation focus on in terms of offending behaviour?

  • influence of early childhood experiences and how they impact later development
  • focus on role of the superego in personality development and the role of maternal deprivation
• what does the psychodynamic explanation suggest about the superego?

  • superego formed at end of phallic stage of development when children resolve the Oedipus complex in boys and Electra complex in girls
  • superego works on morality principle and is concerned with an individuals understanding of guilt, right and wrong, their conscience and morals
  • Blackburn - offender behaviour may occur if there is a problem with the way the superego develops during the phallic stage
  • can cause - weak superego, deviant superego, over-harsh superego
• what is the weak superego?

  • if the same-sex parent is absent during phallic stage, an individual has not fulfilled the Oedipus or Electra complex stage of psychosexual development, and therefore has no opportunity for identification
  • this would cause the individual to experience less guilt and moral thinking than people who have identified with the same-sex parent
  • makes offending more likely
• what is the deviant superego?

  • the individual does have the opportunity to identify with the same-sex parent, however, the same-sex parent holds deviant morals and values, meaning that the child internalises them too
  • e.g. the boy who is raised by a criminal father is not likely to associate offending behaviour with feeling guilty
  • increases likelihood of offending
• what is the over-harsh superego?

  • if an individual has an excessively harsh parent, this may lead them to have an excessively harsh superego who is crippled by guilt and anxiety
  • this may (unconsciously) drive the individual to perform criminal acts in order to get caught and satisfy the superegos overwhelming need for punishment
  • may also create a build-up of pressure in an individual which may cause an outburst of inappropriate behaviour when it becomes overwhelming
  • more likely to commit violent offending behaviour
• what are the effects of an inadequate superego?

  • allow primitive, emotional demands to become uppermost in guiding moral behaviour
  • psychodynamic approach is therefore different to other approaches as it deals with the emotional life of the individual e.g. role of anxiety and guilt in development of offending behaviour, which can lead to lack of guilt, particularly relating to maternal deprivation
• what role does Bowlby's maternal deprivation play in explanations for crime?

  • failure to establish a warm, continuous relationship with a mother-figure during childhood (critical period) means a child is likely to experience a number of damaging consequences
  • affectionless psychopathy - lack of guilt, empathy and feeling for others, makes it unlikely that an individual will develop a healthy internal working model for relationships or the ability to see things from others perspectives
  • more likely a person will commit criminal acts without guilt or concerns about repercussions