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Summary KRM 310 Study unit 4 semester test 1 in depth summaries
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KRM 310Study Unit 4 Psychological Perspectives
Psychology and determination: (5 marks)
Psychological and psychiatric theories explain criminal behavior primarily in terms of the personality
attributes of the offender.
These theories do also consider biological and environmental factors.
Behavior can be explained by examining the relationships between the offender’s biological and
psychological characteristics to determine what may have caused the criminal behavior.
Psychological theories argue that criminal behavior originates in the personalities of the offenders rather
than in their biology or their situation.
Psychological theories have been classified into 3 areas:
1) Psychodynamic or psychoanalytic examine unconscious behaviors that are believed to cause
criminal behavior.
2) Behavioral theories examine the learning processes that lead to criminal behavior.
3) Cognitive theories look at how thought processes (thinking and morals) affects one’s behavior.
Freudian psychology (psychodynamic theory): ( 15 marks CS)
Sigmund Freud believed that behaviors could be explained by traumatic experiences in early childhood.
He believed that the early childhood experiences left a mark on the individual that was buried deep in the
unconscious.
There are 3 levels to the mind:
Conscious the aspect of the mind that people are most aware of (daily thoughts).
Preconscious contains elements of experiences that are outside our awareness but can be brought
back to consciousness at any time (memories).
Unconscious contains biological urges and desires that cannot readily be experienced as thoughts.
Part of the unconscious contains feelings about sex and hostility, which people keep below the surface of
consciousness by a process called, repression.
Freud developed a technique called psychoanalysis the patient would be put into a relaxed position and
allowed to talk freely about whatever came to his or her mind. By exploring the associations among the
issues, the patient raised, Freud believed the individual would be able to reconstruct their earlier events
and bring them to consciousness. Once the patient was conscious of these events, Freud argued that they
would lose their power and the patient would gain conscious control and freedom in his or her life.
The conceptions of the conscious and unconscious were divided into 3 categories:
1. ID the reservoir of biological and psychological drives, the urges and impulses that underlie all
behavior. This includes the libido - the full force of sexual energy within the individual. It is a
permanent unconscious and responds to the “pleasure principle”, which causes a person to seek and
maintain his or her own pleasure regardless of the expense of others.
2. Ego the conscious state of the personality and it operates on the “reality principle”, which orients
the person toward the real world in which he or she lives. It attempts to mediate the conflict between
the demands of the ID and the prohibitions of the superego.
3. Superego the force of self-criticism and conscience. The moral aspect of people’s personalities and
is used to judge one’s behavior. Forms part of the unconscious.
Freud explored how the ego handled the conflict between the ID and superego and found that the basic
conflict stems from guilt.
, How the individual deals with this conflict:
1. Sublimation negative drives are diverted to activities approved of by the superego (work off
aggressive feelings by doing something athletic).
2. Repression drives are pushed back into the unconscious state in an effort to deny that they exist.
Repression can result in…
3) Reaction formation the person acts out in extreme ways regarding certain issues (prudish
behavior by seeking to repress intense sexual desires).
4) Projection individuals with repressed desires attribute those desires or behaviors to others.
Psychosexual stages of development:
o The most basic human drive is present at birth and is called Eros it is the instinct to preserve
and create life and is expressed sexually.
1. Oral stage (0-1 years)
The child attains pleasure by sucking and biting.
2. Anal stage (2-3 years)
The focus of sexual attention is on the elimination of bodily wastes.
3. Phallic stage (4-5 years)
The child focuses his or her attention on their genitals.
Males begin to have sexual feelings for their mothers, a phenomenon called the Oedipus Complex.
Females develop feelings for their father, and this is called the Electra complex.
4. Latency (6 years)
Feelings of sexuality are repressed until the genital stage
5. Genital stage (puberty)
Marks the beginning of adult sexuality.
If conflicts are encountered in any one of these stages, the child can become fixed at the point and
then later, as an adult, will exhibit behavioral traits characteristic of those encountered during infantile
sexual development.
The psychological perspective on ego development attributes criminal behavior to disturbances or
malfunctions in the ego or superego.
The ID is viewed as a constant biological source of drives and urges, and it is similar in all individuals.
Freudians would argue that criminals have underdeveloped superegos that lead them to have constant
feelings of guilt and anxiety.
Freudians would most likely deal with criminal behaviors in the same way as they would psychological
disorders – transference.
Transference the healing process in which the analyst attempts to get patients to replay the earlier
events in their lives that are thought to generate the problems.
Within this process, the patients are led to learn to cope with those earlier issues in order to correct
current behavioral problems.
Behavioral psychology: (5 marks)
Behavioral theories maintain that human behavior is developed through learning experiences.
Behavior theorists focus on the actual behaviors people engage in during the course of their daily lives.
Behaviors are shaped by other people’s reactions to us.
Behaviors are constantly being shaped by life experiences and can be reinforced by rewards or eradicated
through punishment.
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