Methodological Issues Freud

Question 1

Data

Answer 1

Qualitative - conversations, dreams, fantasies

Subject so bias

Question 2

Ethical guidelines (harm, consent and deception)

Answer 2

Protected his identity by calling him little Hans
However invasion of privacy as intense questioning over personal matter
Parents gave consent to publish it
Wasn’t deceived when his father asked he said I will send it to a professor who will take away your nonsense for you

Question 3

Internal validity

Answer 3

Freud may not be correct

Leading questions lead to social desirability bias

Question 4

Population validity

Answer 4

Can’t generalise to other disorders and the wider population

Question 5

Sample

Answer 5

Sample was too small to conclude all children go through psychosexual stages

Question 6

Sample

Answer 6

Can’t be generalised to other children

Freud published it as strongest study which supported his theories

Question 7

Ethnocentrism

Answer 7

Is because experiences of Hans aren’t typical of children in other parts of the world
However phobias are common in children across the world so findings might not only apply from children from one culture

Question 8

Research method

Answer 8

Case study can’t be generalised
Not typical of other children
Lack of external validity
Gather lots of rich data to understand Hans
Subjective - father asked leading questions
Longitudinal study. Not experiment so no cause and effect lack of control