Psychodynamic explanations

• As we progress through childhood and the psychosexual stages of development, our personality is being formed via our id, ego, superego. This explanation focuses on our superego and the role that plays in our morals and sense of right or wrong, and therefore has been linked to criminal behaviour.
• Blackburn proposed that if the superego is somehow underdeveloped or deficient then criminal behaviour would occur. He suggested there are 3 possible types of inadequate superego.
• Underdeveloped or weak superego: caused by an absent same sex parent in the phallic stage. Absent same sex parent means they cannot internalise a fully formed superego
• Overdeveloped or harsh superego: either causing the person to become anxious and guilty by nature, causing them to unconsciously seek punishment and do so by committing criminal acts or by preventing the release of anxiety through defence mechanisms (due to guilt) causing an overabundance of unresolved conflicts to occur, overwhelming the ego, and being expressed in extreme criminal behaviour.
• Deviant superego:caused by the internalisation of an immoral superego from deviant parts. A boy raised by a criminal father is not likely to associate guilt with wrongdoing. 
• Another psychodynamic explanation comes from Bowlby and research into 44 juvenile thieves. 

  Reported that 39% of a group of juvenile delinquents has experienced significant disruption to their attachments, compared to 5% of a non-delinquent group. 
• A strength: claims about maternal deprivation is supported by research. Bowlby conducted the ‘44 thieves’ study, investigated boys who had experienced separation from their primary giver before the critical period. Bowlby found that these boys were more likely than others to develop affectionless psychopathy and go on to commit more crime than those who had a continuous attachment with their primary caregiver. strength-theory can contribute to the rehabilitation of offenders, recidivism rates can be lowered if these strategies are implemented in places like prisons. 
• A strength of the psychodynamic explanation is that there is research support for the idea of the ‘overdeveloped supergo’. Research investigated violent offenders and found that those with no prior history of violent crimes or behaviours, exploded and become violent without warning. This suggests that it is possible for an overdeveloped superego to lean to an overwhelming amount of tension and emotions that may cause behaviour to become criminal.
• A weakness of the psychodynamic explanation is the conflict between overharsh superego and unsolved crime rates. Although the theory of offending suggests that individuals with an overly harsh superego may subconsciously commit crime to get caught and be punished, most criminals make great attempt to remain hidden and not get caught. This means that the theory may not be entirely valid and the number of cases where the offender is not caught, contrasts with the explanation 
• A weakness of the psychodynamic explanation is that it has low scientific credibility. In contrast to biological theories, the psychodynamic theory is unable to offer any objective or testable ideas about offender behaviours. The theory relies on several conceptual ideas such as the ‘phallic’ stage’, ‘Oedipus complex’ and ‘superego’ none of which are testable. This means that there are more scientific theories, such as biological theories, that can be empirical tested.