Psychodynamic Explanations for Offending

• Psychodynamic explanations originate from the work of Sigmund Freud. Although Freud himself did not address the issue of offending behaviour, other psychologists have attempted to apply some of his key theories to this behaviour.
• Psychodynamic explanations describe innate instincts and unconscious drives that influence the mind and impact on behaviour.
• Freud describes the unconscious mind as a controlling force on all human behaviour. This idea suggested behaviour was driven by an instinctual energy that has come to be known as the ‘libido’.
• According to Freud the libido controls behaviour at an unconscious level. This is evident in his theory of psychosexual development.
• Freud’s theory of psychosexual development is made up of 5 key stages that determine a child's development. These stages are the oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital stage.
• Freud believed that fixation during the psychosexual stages of development, leads to characteristic behaviours in adulthood.
• During the phallic stage children experience either the Oedipus (boys) or Electra (girls) complex. They resolve this by identifying with the same-sex parent and internalise their behaviours. This might explain why children imitate their parents behaviours.
• Freud developed a tripartite theory of personality which included the Id, Ego and Superego.
• The Id instinct is known as the pleasure principle and seeks to satisfy the libido with immediate gratification. This stage occurs between the ages of 0-2 years.
• The Ego is the mediator who tries to balance the demands of the Id instinct and the Superego. This is known as the reality principle and occurs between the ages of 3-4 years.
• The Ego engages in secondary process thinking, which is rational, realistic, and orientated towards problem-solving.
• If the Ego fails in its attempt to use the reality principle, and anxiety is experienced, unconscious defence mechanisms are employed, to help ward off unpleasant feelings such as anxiety.
• The Superego is known as the morality principle and has the function of persuading the Ego to turn to moralistic goals rather than simple, realistic ones and to strive for perfection.
• The Superego is developed during the phallic stage which is approximately 5-6 years old.
• The Superego which works on the morality principle exerts its influence by punishing the Ego through guilt or wrongdoing, whilst rewarding it with pride for good moral behaviour.
• The Superego consists of 2 systems; the conscience and the ideal self. The conscience can punish the Ego through causing feelings of guilt.
• The ideal self (or ego-ideal) is an imaginary picture of how you ought to be, and represents career aspirations, how to treat other people, and how to behave as a member of society.
• Behaviour which falls short of the ideal self may be punished by the Superego through guilt.
• The Superego's function is to control the Id's impulses, especially those which society forbids, such as sex and aggression.
• The Superego is the product of nurture and it is developed through interaction with parents and is concerned with knowing what is right and wrong.
• According to Freud unconscious aspects of the Superego include the standards that we try to live up to (our ego-ideal), which lead to the experience of guilt or ‘conscience’ when we fail.
• One psychologist that uses Freud’s psychodynamic explanations is Blackburn (1993). He argued that if the Superego is inadequate then offending behaviour is inevitable.
• Blackburn (1993) argued that if the Superego is deviant, the Id instinct is given free rein to control immediate instincts which may be inappropriate behaviours.
• One suggestion for offending behaviour is a weak or deviant Superego.
• An underdeveloped or weak Superego suggests a lack of identification with the same-sex parent. This means the Superego is unable to control the Id’s instincts and need for immediate gratification.
• The absence of a same-sex parent during the phallic stage means there is no chance to identify with that parent and internalise their moral code, so the Superego is not sufficiently punitive and does not cause guilt.
• If a same-sex parent with whom the child identifies in the phallic stage of development is immoral, the child will internalise a deviant moral code.
• An overdeveloped or strong Superego makes a person feel guilty all of the time so may engage in criminal behaviour in order to be punished.
• An over-harsh Superego is based on identification with a parent who has firm rules but forgives transgressions.
• If the Superego is so overcontrolling it stops even trivial behaviour that it regards as immoral, resulting in a build-up of pressure until the person is overwhelmed. This may explain why some offenders erupt into violence.
• A deviant Superego develops when a child internalises the moral values of a deviant parent. This will increase the likelihood of offending behaviour.
• The effect of an inadequate superego is to allow primitive, emotional demands to become the uppermost in guiding moral behaviour. This means that lack of guilt is relevant to understanding the offending behaviour.
• According to Freud (1936) thoughts and desires that cause anxiety or guilt are managed by the Ego. Offending behaviour results from Ego defences which are employed to manage these negative feelings.
• Defence mechanisms such as denial, displacement and sublimation are unconscious processes which protect the ego from harm. These mechanisms may be employed by offenders to reduce their feelings of guilt.
• Sublimation is a defence mechanism where a strong, socially unacceptable desire is expressed in an alternative form of behaviour. For example a desire to kill a sibling, may be sublimated to animal cruelty.
• Another psychologist following on from Freud's work is Bowlby (1952) and his idea of maternal deprivation. He argued that a break in the maternal bond during childhood increases the likelihood of delinquent behaviour.
• Bowlby's work on attachment explains how the theory of maternal deprivation can affect a child's development later in life.
• Bowlby claimed that if a child loses a continuous and loving relationship with their mother in the first two years of life, the results are irreversible affectionless psychopathy, intellectual retardation and delinquency.
• Bowlby argued that the ability to form meaningful relationships in adulthood was dependent upon the child forming a strong emotional bond with a mother figure.
• Bowlby proposed that disruption of the attachment relationship with the mother in early childhood affects a child's internal working model. This framework forms the foundation for expectations and behaviours in future relationships.