Psychodynamic approach

• Inadequate superego

  Blackburn argues that if the superego was deficient or inadequate then offending behaviour would be inevitable because the Id isn't properly controlled.

  • Weak superego
  • Deviant superego
  • Over-harsh superego
• Weak superego

  If the same-gendered parent is absent during the phallic stage, a child cannot internalise a fully-formed superego as there is no opportunity for identification.

  Makes offending behaviour more likely.
• Deviant Superego

  If the Superego a child internalises has immoral or deviant values it would lead to offending behaviour.

  E.g. a boy who has a criminal father is not likely to associate guilt with wrongdoing.
• Over-harsh Superego

  Overly harsh parenting style leads to an over-harsh superego which is crippled by guilt and anxiety.

  This may drive the individual to perform criminal acts to satisfy the Superego's overwhelming need for punishment.
• Theory of Maternal deprivation

  Bowlby's theory that if a child doesn't form a strong relationship with a mother figure means they are likely to face damaging consequences later in life.

  One of the consequences is affectionless psychopathy which means they are likely to engage in acts of crime.
• Strength - research support for maternal deprivation

  Bowlby's 44 thieves study.

  Interviewed 44 juvenile thieves and their families.

  14/44 had affectionless psychopathy.

  12/14 had prolonged separation from their mother in infancy.
• Strength - research support for inadequate Superego.

  Goreta

  Conducted Freudian style analysis on 10 offenders in psychiatric treatment.

  All had disturbances in Superego formation.

  They all experienced guilt and need for self-punishment due to over-harsh superego.
• Limitation - gender bias for inadequate superego

  Freud's theory is gender biased

  Assumes girls develop a weaker superego as identification with same-gender parent is not as strong.

  Implicates women should be more prone to offending than men but tates of imprisonment show opposite to be true.
• Limitation - correlation, maternal deprivation

  It is an association between maternal deprivation and affectionless psychopathy.

  No cause and effect is established. May be other existing variables.

  Lewis - analysed data from 500 interviews of young people and found maternal deprivation to be a poor predictor.