Freud

• Id: desires to satisfy urges at any cost, selfish and animalistic
• Ego: result of the struggle between id and superego, rational and sensible
• Superego: conscious moral rules
• Early childhood is the basis for later behavior
• Unconscious mind controls behavior and criminality
• Balanced id, ego, and superego are important
• Weakly developed superego:

  • Individual feels less guilt about anti-social actions
  • Less inhibition about doting on id's urges
• Unforgiving superego:

  • Deep feelings of guilt lead to craving punishment
  • May engage in compulsive repeat offending for punishment
• Deviant superego:

  • Socialized into a deviant moral code
  • Superego does not feel guilty about committing illegal behavior
• Weakly developed superego leads to turning to crime due to lack of guilt

  Unforgiving superego leads to turning to crime to seek punishment

  Deviant superego leads to being socialized into criminal behavior, normalizing criminal urges