Psychodynamic Explanation

• Psychodynamic explanations


  Explanations of offending behaviour based on Freudian psychoanalytic theory
• Main psychodynamic explanations of offending behaviour

  • Inadequate superego
  • Maternal deprivation
• Superego


  Part of the personality that operates according to the morality principle and represents our internalised sense of right and wrong
• Inadequate superego


  • The superego is weak, harsh, or deviant
• Development of the superego

  1. Formed at the end of the phallic stage when the child identifies with the same-sex parent

  2. Child adopts the same-sex parent's sense of right and wrong
• Weak superego


  Occurs when the same-sex parent is absent during the phallic stage, so the child does not have the opportunity to identify with them
• Harsh superego


  Occurs when the same-sex parent is very strict, and the child identifies with them strongly, leading to crippling guilt and anxiety
• Deviant superego


  Occurs when the child identifies with a criminal same-sex parent, adopting their deviant moral attitudes
• Maternal deprivation


  Loss of emotional care normally provided by a mother figure
• Maternal deprivation


  • Prolonged separation from the mother figure in infancy or childhood can cause serious and long-term psychological damage
  • This only occurs if it happens before age 2.5 and there is no substitute mother figure
• Affectionless psychopathy


  Lack of affection, guilt and empathy, leading to increased likelihood of offending behaviour
• Bowlby's study of 44 juvenile thieves found that 12 out of 14 affectionless psychopaths had experienced prolonged separations from their mothers during the first 2 years of their lives
• Bowlby's study has been criticised for potential researcher bias
• Lewis (1954) found that maternal deprivation was a poor predictor of future offending behaviour
• The link between maternal deprivation and offending behaviour may not be causal, as other factors like genetics could explain the link