FORENSICS - Psychodynamic theories of offending
- Created by: EmilyEther
- Created on: 14-01-19 12:39
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- Psychodynamic theories of offending
- Psychodynamic theory
- psyche
- ID - pleasure principles, drives for crime
- EGO - balances principles of ID and SE
- SUPER EGO - moral principle, social norms. developed during phallic stage, prevents criminality
- psychosexual stages
- oral, anal, phallic, genital, latent
- criminality is due to:
- weak super ego
- deviant super ego
- overly strong super ego - criminal behaviour allows punishment; or pressure from ID erupts occasionally
- psyche
- Research
- MEGARGEE - documented series of cases of violence by people regarded as passive and harmless. Eg. 11 yr old boy stabbed his bro 34 times - described as polite with no history of violence. Such cases show a sub-group of violent offenders
- BLACKBURN - people convicted of very violent crimes tended to have fewer previous convictions and scored lower on measures of hostility than those convicted of moderate assaults
- most psychologists believe crime is down to weak rather than overly strong S-E
- S-E develops during phallic stage
- which sex shows less identity with same sex parent - females -> not driven by castration fear
- women therefore have less developed S-E
- this should show that there are more female criminals -> NOT TRUE - more male criminals that females
- Evaluation (A03)
- assumes there should be more females criminals due to less developed S-E. FALSE -> more male criminals
- difficult to test (unfalsifiable) due to concepts like the unconscious mind - existence is difficult to prove
- allows us to make predictions that can be scientifically tested eg. link with MD and offending; lack of same sex role model & reduced super ego. BUT constructs themselves are diff to test
- psychodynamic therapies to treat offending have not been successful
- theory (not Freud) alpha bias against females
- complex factors - juvenile offending may be due to poverty, bad housing, lack of recreational facilities -> these don't place in theory
- FARRINGTON - most important risk factors for aged 8-10 boys for later offending were: family history of criminality, daring or risk-taking personality, low school attainment, poverty, poor parenting. Shows theory hasn't considered these factors - everything could be combined to give clearer picture
- cost saving interventions targeted at under 10 yr olds
- Gender Bias
- ALPHA BIAS - assumes real differences between males and females devalue to females -> women are 'failed men' (absence of penis)
- EJ: assumes all women will be criminals due to less developed S-E
- BETA BIAS - assumes there are no differences between men and women. Assumes findings from studies using only male PPs can be applied to females too (androcentric bias)
- assumes there are equal numbers of male and female criminals - NO - more male criminals
- ALPHA BIAS - assumes real differences between males and females devalue to females -> women are 'failed men' (absence of penis)
- Defence mechanisms
- displacement
- displacing anger from one situation or person onto someone else
- violence: you may take out anger on someone who doesn't deserve it
- sublimation
- strong id impulses expressed in a more socially accepted way
- football supporter wanting to murder but getting involved in hooliganism instead
- rationalisation
- explaining negative behaviour in an acceptable way
- used as justification for crimes
- woman killing prostitutes bc she thinks they are a threat to civilised society
- displacement
- Maternal deprivation hypothesis
- Bowlby = biological, evolutionary NOT A PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORIST
- can be considered psychodynamic: rel with mother, childhood experiences persisting into adulthood
- 44 thieves study: the thieves had had maternal deprivation for 6+ months before the age of 2. 14 of them had affectionless psychopaths, 12 of them had been separated
- affectionless psychopathy - LEWIS - 500 offenders - MD was poor predictor of future offending. Even if there was a correlation, it was not causal
- Key words
- INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION - The occurrence of (criminal) behaviour through successive generations of the same family
- RISK FACTORS: The factors that make it more likely for criminal behaviour to occur
- PROTECTIVE FACTORS: The factors that will prevent criminal behaviour
- CRITERIA OF SUCCESS: A set of nine criteria that are used to judge whether someone has successfully turned away from crime. Includes: No drug use in the last 5 years. No self reported offence
- Psychodynamic theory
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