3.5: Psychodynamic Explanation Of Gender Development Flashcards
what is the electra complex?
occurs during the phallic stage of development, when a girl blames her mother for her lack of penis (penis envy), but eventually resolves this through a wish to have a baby and comes to identify with her mother and internalise female gender values
define identification
a form of influence where an individual adopts an attitude or behaviour because they want to be associated with a particular person or group
define internalisation
occurs when an individual accepts the attitudes or behaviour of another
what is the oedipus complex?
occurs during the phallic stage of development, when a boy wishes his father dead because they are rivals for the mother’s love; this leads to anxiety, which is eventually resolved by identifying with the father and internalising the father’s gender identity
summarise the psychodynamic approach as an explanation of gender development
Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality development - ego represses anxiety-provoking thoughts to unconscious mind
Psychosexual stages - libido attached to body parts, 3rd stage is phallic stage (age 3-6), libido attached to genitals, gender development occurs
in both genders attraction to opposite-sex parent resolved when child identifies with same-sex parent and internalises gender identity and gender concepts
oedipus complex in boys - attraction to mother leads to wish that father was dead, guilt leads to repression, eventual resolution through identity with father
electra complex in girls - disenchantment with mother due to lack of penis and penis envy, resolved through desire to have baby
unresolved phallic stage leads to fixation, phallic character not capable of close love, may be associated with amoral behaviour and homosexuality
evaluate the psychodynamic approach as an explanation of gender development
support from case studies - little hans wanted his mother and repressed fears of castration until he came to identify with his father; Levin reported link between bipolar patients and electra complex
child sexual awareness - children aged 4 not aware of genitals (Bem); however, Okami et al found a link between early sexual awareness and later sexual activity
lacks predictive validity - children from one parent or same-sex families should have difficulty with gender development but they don’t (e.g. Patterson)
alternative psychodynamic explanations - chodorow focused on mothers only, closeness with daughters (supported by Goldberg and lewis) and greater independence for sons
reinterpretation - Lacan suggested penis envy symbolised male power
what 3 things make up freud’s psychoanalytic theory?
the oedipus complex
the electra complex
unresolved phallic stage
describe the 3 key components of the oedipus complex
freud, 1905 - during the genital stage, boys experience the oedipus complex
1. boys desire their mothers.
at the age of 3 or 4, a young boy becomes aware of his sexuality and desires his mother, wanting her sole attention
2. Boys then see their fathers asa rival for their mothers love and, as a result, wish their father dead.
this wish creates anxiety and fear of castration. such fears are repressed
3. the complex is eventually resolved because they boy begins to identify with his father.
it is through identification with the father that a boy internalises his father’s gender identity and takes this as his own gender identity
this gender identity and identification leads to masculine behaviour as young boys take on attitudes and expectations of their fathers
describe the 3 key components of the electra complex
first proposed by Carl Jung - concerned with conflict between a child and the same sex parent because they are in competition for the opposite sex parent
freud proposed a similar idea which he called the feminine oedipus attitude
1. a young girl is initially attracted to her mother but this ends when the girl discovers that her mother doesn’t have a penis, believing she was castrated, and so as a result she experiences penis envy
2. the girls sexual desires are transferred to the father
3. the complex is resolved when the girl converts her penis envy to a wish to have a baby, and this reduces her anger towards her mother.
the girl can now identify with her mother and take on the relevant gender behaviour
the end resolution is less satisfactory for girls because their identification with the same sex parent is less strong - freud believed there was little reason to identify with a woman because women had a lower status so why would anyone want to identify with them
summarise freud’s theories surrounding the unresolved phallic stage as a psychodynamic explanation of gender development
in freudian theory, each psychoxexual stage is resolved through conflict.
he believed that successful resolution leads to a healthy psychological outcome - in the case of the genital stage the healthy outcome is identification with the same sex parent and internalisation of an appropriate gender identity and sex-role stereotypes
both frustration and overindulgence, either or, may lead to what psychoanalysts call fixation at a particular psychosexual stage
freud also claimed fixation could be a root cause of amoral behaviour and homosexuality
