9 Jun 2022

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Psychodynamic theory of Crime

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Academic level: College

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Psychodynamic theory advocates believe that shaping a person's personality by unconscious intellectual processes starts in childhood. Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, proposed this hypothesis (Blasko et al., 2015). Freud identified that his patients had psychological signs that had no biological basis. However, the patients were not able to avoid their indications regardless of their conscious attempts. Freud thought that if there were no stopping signs of conscious wish, they would emerge from the unconscious. Consequently, the causal of indications is by the unconscious choice clashing with the conscious will, an interaction he coined psychodynamics. 

Synthesis of the theory 

The three formations that makeup somebody's personality: the id, ego, and superego, are vital in this theory. The id is the actual appearance of one's mental structure present at birth. The id, basing on Freud, shows the unconscious biological drives for sex, food, and various necessities in a person's life. The perspective that the id is concerned with instant satisfaction while ignoring the concern of the rest is more enjoyable. It is the satisfaction theory and has much emphasis when describing criminal conduct (Blasko et al., 2015). News stories and studies about criminals who do not care about anyone but themselves are all too familiar. Is it possible that these criminals, both male and female, are motivated by a desire for immediate gratification? The ego, which develops early in a person's life, is the second component of their personality. Children, for example, frequently throw tantrums when they learn that the fulfillment of their wishes is not immediate. The ego, according to Freud, equates to the id's demands by directing a person's actions or behavior to keep him or her within social areas. The reality principle leads to the ego. The superego, the third aspect of personality, evolves as a person integrates society's moral values, parents, and essential others, like friends and clergy. The superego's concern is morals. It functions to judge people's actions and behavior. The ego is a bridge between the appetite id's instant gratification and the superego's tight morality. It is reasonable to believe that all youths and grownups know what is wrong and right. Psychodynamic theory supporters argue the perpetrator commit crimes as a result of the underdevelopment of their superego. 

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To sum up, the theory claims that perpetrators are provoked and aggravated. There is a drawing of criminal's experiences that are back to the happenings of their youthfulness. An offender's ego is weak and absent due to a careless, sad, or poor upbringing, which its marking is most commonly by an absence of caring and nurturing (Halsey, 2018). Most importantly, research shows that a weak ego is associated with low or non-existent social etiquette, immaturity, and reliance on others. Furthermore, research shows that people with inferior egos are more likely to misuse drugs. The misuse motivates perpetrators to engage in criminal activities, thus necessitating crimes. 

Critical analysis 

Psychodynamic theory, on the other hand, has several flaws. For starters, critics often accuse it of being deterministic, implying that a person cannot practice conscious free wishes. It means that psychodynamic theory asserts that predetermining behavior assumes that people have personal aversions by insisting on the unconscious and the origin of personality in youthfulness experiences. Also, Psychodynamic theory faces criticism for being not scientific, meaning that it is difficult to substantiate the theory. There is a focus of various Freud's hypotheses on isolated scenarios found in therapy, and they are challenging to test today (Kehyayan, 2018). It is challenging to study the unconscious will, for example, empirically. Freud's psychodynamic theory helps determine someone's behavior based on personalities, but it also has some weaknesses, as analyzed by critics. 

References 

Blasko, B. L., Friedmann, P. D., Rhodes, A. G., & Taxman, F. S. (2015). The parolee–parole officer relationship as a mediator of criminal justice outcomes.  Criminal Justice and Behavior 42 (7), 722-740. 

Halsey, M. (2018). Child victims as adult offenders: Foregrounding the criminogenic effects of (unresolved) trauma and loss.  The British Journal of Criminology 58 (1), 17-36. 

Kehyayan, A., Matura, N., Klein, K., Schmidt, A. C., Herpertz, S., Axmacher, N., & Kessler, H. (2018). Putative markers of repression in patients suffering from mental disorders.  Frontiers in psychology 9 , 2109.

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