Psychoanalytic Theory of Crime

Psychoanalysis, developed by Sigmund Freud in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is the original model of clinical psychotherapy. Since Freud’s time, numerous thinkers have contributed to the theory and numerous schools exist under the psychoanalytic umbrella. Although there are significant differences between psychoanalytic theories, they have a number of tenets in common, specifically:

• 1.
  An assumption that a significant amount of mental processing occurs outside of awareness. The mental space in which this processing occurs is called the unconscious.
• 2.
  The assumption that numerous mental processes occur simultaneously and some conflict with each other; the mind makes compromises between them.
• 3.
  Childhood plays a significant role in the development of adult personality.
• 4.
  Mental representations of self, others, and relationships guide interactions with others and influence psychological symptoms in psychopathology.
• 5.
  Psychological development ...