freud theory
- Created by: ashfarmer456
- Created on: 03-03-23 12:19
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- Freud's Theory
- Claims
- Best way to understand behaviour is to examine childhood.
- Suggested much of our mind was in an unconscious region.
- It's our unconscious mind that controls our behaviour.
- Traumatic childhood- leave mark in the unconscious mind.
- Conscious mind- awareness.
- Preconscious mind- accessible memories.
- Unconscious mind- drives and repressed trauma.
- ID- unconscious level- selfish urges.
- Superego- preconscious level- discipline.
- Ego- conscious-preconscious- reality.
- Components
- Healthy personality needs a balance between all 3 parts.
- When they are imbalanced, the result is a disturbed personality.
- Childhood trauma can lead to imbalance.
- This can lead to criminal behaviour.
- Claims that child needs progress from ID to the ego.
- He states children don't make this transition.
- Credibility
- Cognitive psychology has identified unconscious processes, such as memory.
- Cn start to make links to parts of the brain and their functions. E.g. limbic system is brain's emotion centre.
- Taken from unrepresentative sample- his patients and himself.
- Lacks objectivity- can't study unconscious mind.
- Reductionist- based that childhood trauma leads to imbalanced personality.
- Deterministic- implies childhood trauma leads to criminality.
- Analysis
- Albert Fish
- Killed at least 5 people by sexually assaulting them, torturing them.
- Fish began visiting public baths, where he would watch other boys undress.
- He was frequently abused in an orphanage.
- Fish began to enjoy the physical pain the beatings brought.
- Fish's mum secured a job and was able to move back in with her.
- He used to sexually assault men as he watched naked men when he was younger and liked it.
- So, he had traumatic experiences as a child, which lead to an imbalanced personality.
- Albert Fish
- Refuting Evidence
- Unrepresentative sample- all males and convicted criminals.
- Freud knew his patients- couldn't be objective.
- Subjective- different analysts came to different conclusions.
- Clarke and Clarke (1976)
- Studied children from deprived backgrounds.
- Used a longitudinal study.
- Found there were many factors contributing to a child becoming a criminal.
- Not just whether or not they were deprived.
- Supporting Evidence
- Research has supported that most criminals come from unstable homes.
- John Bowlby (1946)
- Studied 44 juvenile delinquents.
- Compared them with disturbed juveniles who had no criminal record.
- 39% delinquents experienced separation from mother during first 5 years.
- Compared to 5% of control group.
- Studied 44 juvenile delinquents.
- Fisher&Greenberg (1996)
- Concluded there's evidence to support Freud's concepts of personalities.
- Some of his ideas on depression and paranoia.
- Claims
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