Gender: Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory Flashcards
What are the three basic assumptions of the psychodynamic approach?
-the unconscious mind drives our behaviour
-instincts motivate our behaviour
-early childhood experiences influence later behaviour
Recap the 5 psychosexual stages , in order in terms of what ages they occur
Oral-birth to 18 months
Anal-18 months to 3 years
Phallic-3 to 6 years
Latency-6 to 11 years
Genital- 11 years +
Make 3 points about early development
-Freud described children in the prephallic stage as bisexual-they are neither masculine or feminine (passive stage)
-for all children , their primary love object is their mother
-gender development occurs in the phallic stage ( 3 to 6 years)
What names are given to the complexes that apply to boys and girls?
Boys- Oedipus complex
Girls-Electra complex
Make 3 points about the Oedipus complex
-boys develop a jealous hatred of their father as he stands in the way of the boy possessing the mother
-they recognise their father is more powerful and fear they may be castrated as punishment for their feelings towards their mother-castration anxiety
-this means the boy gives up his love for his mother and identifies with the father which allows him to take on a masculine identity
Make 5 points about the Electra complex
-age 3 to 4 girls experience a sense of loss that they don’t have a penis or the symbolic power it brings-penis envy
-they blame their mother for their lack of a penis
-the girl desires her father as he has a penis and she doesn’t so they resolve this envy by converting it into desire to have children
-girls see themselves as being in competition with their mother for their fathers love
-girls identify with their mother and take on a feminine identity
Freud says that what is a way of resolving a complex?
identification with the same sex parent
(boys identify with father so adopt attitudes and behaviours of father , vice versa for girls
What does internalisation mean?
the process of taking on board the gender identity of the same sex parent
What did Freud believe would be the result of not resolving the complex?
that it could lead to confusion about sexual identity and homosexuality
Make 3 points about the differences between male and female identification and internalisation
-boys actively identify with father and throw off the passivity of the phallic stage to become dominant males
-girls passively identify with their mother and retain passivity of prephallic stage to become timid and inferior
-female identification is less strong as they have already been castrated so have less to lose than males
Freud saw which type of development as being the norm?
male development
Give one piece of supporting evidence for the use of the psychoanalytic theory as an explanation for gender development
+Little Hans case study
-Hans was fearful that his father would castrate him for desiring his mother , his father had a moustache that looked similar to the black bits around horses mouths so he developed a phobia of horses
-he overcame his phobia by dreaming his genitals were replaced with larger ones and that he also had several children
Freud concluded he resolved his complex by identifying with his father and so internalised his male gender
Give three weaknesses of the case study of Little Hans as supporting evidence
-the situation was very unique therefore difficult to generalise
-findings were subjectively interpreted to fit the idea of the Oedipus complex
-data was provided retrospectively by a parent-biased
Who else provides supporting evidence?
Snortum (1969)-46 males exempted from military service due to being homosexual were found to have an overly close bond with a controlling mother compared to a control group , as well as rejecting detached fathers
this supports the idea that not resolving a complex may lead to homosexuality
Who provides contradictory evidence ?
Golmbok 1983-found children from one parent families were no more likely to have a confused gender identity than those from a two parent family , which suggests resolving a complex isn’t necessary for gender development
