individual differences exam qs

Question 1

From Freuds study of little Hans outline one strength and one weakness of the way in which the data was gathered (4)

Answer 1

One strength is that the conversations had between Hans father and Hans given to Freud by letter gives us qualitative data in support of the Oedipus complex
One weakness is that it was gathered by Hans father who was a Freud fan, therefore researcher bias is a problem as he may want to try his hardest to prove Freuds theories

Question 2

2) a) Explain one strength of the case study method being used in Freuds study of Little Hans [2]
b) Explain one weakness of the case study method being used in Freuds study of little Hans (2)

Answer 2

a) Case studies investigate one person meaning lots of detailed qualitative data is gathered - in this case, in support of the Oedipus complex
b) investigating one person reduces the generalisability of results. In this case, the plumber fantasy was highly unique to Little Hans

Question 3

3) From Freuds study of little hans:
a) Briefly describe one of Little Hans’ dreams or fantasies (2)
b) Outline Freud’s explanation of this dream or fantasy (2)

Answer 3

a) One fantasy was the plumber fantasy. He described how a plumber came and first removed his bottom and widdler and then gave him another of each but larger
b) Freud says that this is the point of attempting to identify with his father as he now had a bigger widdler and bottom like father - this is the identification with the aggressor

Question 4

In this study by Freud Little Hans was referred to as Little Oedipus.
a) identify two features of the Oedipus complex (2)
b) Outline one piece of evidence from this study that supports the suggestion that Little Hans was a ‘little oedipus’ (2)

Answer 4

a) Unconsciously, a young boy sexually desires his mother and he wants to kill his father and fears his father is going to castrate him
b) Seduction attempt - Hans was being powdered by his mother and asked her why she wouldn’t powder his widdler which shows he is trying to seduce his mother

Question 5

From Freuds study of Little Hans:
a) Outline Little Hans’ giraffe fantasy (2)
b) Outline how Little Hans’ giraffe fantasy was interpreted by his father (2)

Answer 5

a) There was a big giraffe with a long neck and a crumpled one and the big one called out for the crumpled one as Hans sat on top of the crumpled one
b) A reworking of the morning exchanges in the parental bed as his father (big giraffe) objected Hans getting into the bed as he had taken the crumpled giraffe (his mother)

Question 6

6) From Freuds study of little Hans:
a) outline Little Hans’ plumber fantasy (2)
b) outline how Little Hans’ plumber fantasy was interpreted by his father (2)

Answer 6

a) He described how a plumber came and removed his bottom and widdler and gave him another one of each but larger
b) Identification with the aggressor as he now had a big bottom and widdler like his father

Question 7

7) a) Describe one of Little Hans’ phobias (2)
b) explain how Freud interpreted this phobia (2)

Answer 7

a) He had a phobia of horses - specifically that a white horse would bite him
b) The horse could represent his father and the castration anxiety he possesses due to his father

Question 8

8) Describe the Oedipus complex in relation to Little Hans (4)

Answer 8

The Oedipus complex states a boy possesses an intense sexual desire for his mother - Hans asks his mother why he she doesn’t powder his widdler after his daily bath which is seen as the seduction attempt.
The Oedipuscomplex also states that a boy sees his father as a rival for his mothers love - Hans takes the crumpled giraffe (mother) away from the big giraffe (father) in the giraffe fantasy

Question 9

9) Describe why Freud suggests little Hans’ fear of horses symbolised his fear of his father (4)

Answer 9

The father wore glasses and horses have blinkers and the father has a moustache whilst horses have a bit in their mouth - they possess similar features

Question 10

10) From Freuds study of Little Hans:
a) How was the data collected in freuds study of Little Hans’ (2)
b) Describe one problem with the way Freud interpreted the data (2)

Answer 10

a) It was collected through correspondence from Hans’ father
b) It lacks validity as Freud wanted to prove the Oedipus complex so he may have interpreted it in a way that would help him prove his theories

Question 11

11) Outline one reason why Freuds study of little Hans may lack validity (3)

Answer 11

Researcher bias as Little Hans father is a Freud fan so he could be trying to prove the Oedipus complex theory by collecting data that would help to prove his theories

Question 12

12) From Freuds study of Little Hans’:
a) Describe the explanation given for the phobia of horses (2)
b) Describe an alternative explanation for this phobia (2)

Answer 12

a) Fear of horses symbolised fear of father because father wore glasses and horses have blinkers and father had a moustache whilst horses have a bit in their mouth
b) He could’ve learnt his phobia through classical conditioning - he associated horses with fear because he saw a horse fall in the street and kick its legs so developed a phobia of them

Question 13

13) Describe what Freuds study of Little Hans’ found in relation to the key theme ‘understanding disorders’ (4)

Answer 13

Freuds study aimed to investigate a Horse phobia and use it to prove the existence of the Oedipus complex. There was one participant called Little Hans’ who was 3.5 years old from Austria. Data was collected via conversations between Hans and his father who wrote letters to Freud. One finding was that Little Hans phobia of horses actually represented a fear of his Dad due to the Oedipus complex as dad resembled s horse due to father wearing glasses and horses have blinkers and horses have a bit in their mouth whilst father had a moustache

Question 14

14) Suggest how Freuds study of little Hans is relevant to the individual differences area (3)

Answer 14

In order to understand the complexity of human behaviour we have to focus on the differences between people rather than what we have in common. Hans was a unique case as he possessed a phobia of horses which represented his fear of castration of his father. Hans was afraid to go out due to his phobia of horses so he would stay at home in his mothers bed.

Question 15

1) From the study by Baron-Cohen et al on autism, explain what is meant by the term ‘Theory of mind’ (2)

Answer 15

Theory of mind states that at the root of the disorder is an inability to imagine the thoughts and feelings of others

Question 16

2) the study by Baron-Cohen et al on autism involved three groups. Describe two of these groups (4)

Answer 16

One group were 16 Asperger syndrome participants with 13M and 3F. Another were ‘normal’ ps (50 of them) with 25M 25F

Question 17

3) From the study by Baron-Cohen et al explain why people with Tourettes syndrome were included (2)

Answer 17

To demonstrate that the absence of Theory of Mind is a core defecit unique to autism

Question 18

4) From the study by Baron-Cohen et al on autism,
a) Briefly describe the eyes task (2)
b) Describe how the validity of this task was checked (2)

Answer 18

a) Ps had to choose between 2 emotions as to which best matched 25 pairs of eyes
b) Concurrent validity was checked using Happe’s strange stories

Question 19

5) From the study by Baron-Cohen et al on autism, identify one of the word pairs in the ‘Eyes task’ (2)

Answer 19

‘happy thought’ and ‘sad thought’

Question 20

6) From the study by Baron-Cohen et al on autism, identify IV and DV in the ‘eyes task’ (2)

Answer 20

The IV was the autistic, ‘normal’ or tourette’s participants
The DV was the eyes task result (out of 25)

Question 21

7) From the study by Baron-Cohen et al on autism, identify one of the hypotheses in this study (2)

Answer 21

Aspergers Syndrome ps will perform significantly worse on the eyes task than ‘normal’ and tourette’s syndrome ps

Question 22

8) From the study by Baron-Cohen et al on autism, outline the findings in relation to one of the hypotheses in this study (2)

Answer 22

Aspergers syndrome ps did perform significantly worse on the eyes task with a mean score of 16.3 whilst normal ps scored 20.3 and Tourette’s syndrome ps scored 20.4 as a mean

Question 23

9) In the study by Baron-Cohen et al on autism, the autistic and Aspergers syndrome participants were found to be unimpaired on two control tasks. Describe these two control tasks (4)

Answer 23

One was the gender recognition task - ps looked at the same sets of eyes in eyes task but were asked the gender of the person in the photo
Basic emotion recognition task - ps looked at pics of whole faces displaying the 6 basic emotions

Question 24

10) From the study by Baron-Cohen et al on autism in adults:
a) Identify one difference between the performance of the autistic adults and the Tourettes syndrome adults (2)
b) Outline what this study tells us about advanced theory of mind (2)

Answer 24

a) ASC ps performed significantly worse than TS ps
b) Theory of mind is the core deficit in people with autism as autistic ps struggled to identify emotiona from eyes compared to TS and normal ps

Question 25

11) Suggest how Baron Cohen et als study on autism is relevant to the individual differences area (3)

Answer 25

Area assumes that in order to understand the complexity of the human mind and behaviour we must focus on and investigate the differences between people rather than what we have in common. Baron-Cohen looks at the 3 different groups of ps (ASC, TS, normals) and their ability to perform the eyes task. He found that individuals with HFA/AS perform significantly worse on the eyes task (16.3) compared to individuals with no clinical condition (20.3) and TS ps (20.4)

Question 26

12) Describe what Baron-Cohen et als study on autism found in relation to the key theme ‘understanding disorders’ (4)

Answer 26

Baron-Cohen asked 3 groups of participants (ASC, normal, TS) to complete the eyes task, Happes strange stories and two control tasks to see if those with autism lack a theory of mind and whether this core deficit is unique to them. Baron-Cohen found that adults with autism performed the worst on the Eyes task compared to TS and normal ps suggesting that they have impaired theory of mind

Question 27

1) Outline one way in which Freuds study of Little Hans and the study by Baron-Cohen et al into autism are similar (4)

Answer 27

Both studies produce useful practical applications. This means that results from the study can be applied to real life in order to improve behaviour. Freuds psychoanalysis can be useful in talking therapy whereas Baron-Cohen designed transporters to assist children with autism in identifying emotion

Question 28

2) Outline one way in which Freuds study of Little Hans and the study by Baron-Cohen into autism are different (4)

Answer 28

Baron-Cohens sample is much bigger than Freuds, meaning that baron-cohens findings can generalise to a wider population. Freud only used a single participant - a 3.5 year old boy from Austria. Baron-Cohen used 76 ps in total - 50 normal, 16 ASC, 10 TS