psychodynamic theories

Created by

Dpatel

Cards (13)

Psychodynamic Theories
Focuses on urges and the role of the unconscious mind and how childhood experiences affect later life and criminality
Freudian Personality Structures
Superego (last to develop) - morality principle (guilt)
Ego - reality principle
ID (first to develop) - pleasure principle (primitive desires)
ID
Instinctive, animal-like, selfish and pleasure seeking. If dominant, can lead to impulsive, antisocial and criminal behaviour
Superego
Responsible for: conscience, ethics, morals, and sense of right and wrong
Ego
Responsible for: Keeping the urges and demands of the id and superego balanced, so that neither can dominate our personality. Enables self-awareness and learning through consequences
If the ego is unable to balance the demands of the id and superego 
Our personality may not be stable
Superego Imbalances
Weak superego = less guilt, dominant ID, no remorse
Harsh superego = high levels of guilt, craves self-punishment
Deviant superego = family commits crime, no guilt as it is the norm
Maternal Deprivation (Bowlby) 
Early separation of a child from their primary caregiver during a critical period can have irreversible damaging consequences for the child's development, including lack of emotion/remorse, inability to form attachments, affectionless psychopathy, delinquency, and problems with cognitive development
what year was the 44 Thieves Study conducted (Bowlby) 
1944
17/44 thieves had maternal deprivation in the 44 Thieves Study
14/17 thieves showed affectionless psychopathy in the 44 Thieves Study
Bowlby's study shows a link between disruption to attachments in the first 5 years and later maladjustment, though it is not the only cause of criminality
44 Thieves Study
Strength: Highlights importance of positive attachment in first 5 years, greater stability through daycare, changed hospital visiting hours
Weakness: Retrospective recall inaccurate, Bowlby conducted self-reports, conclusions correlational, oversimplified concept