Psychodynamic explanation Flashcards
Describe the phallic stage of development
The third psychosexual stage that occurs from 3-6 years old where the child’s source of libido is their genitals (penis / clitoris), and they experience pleasure from engaging in masturbation.
Describe how Freud suggest a child’s gender identity developed
He believed that children were born gender-neutral and their gender identity developed in unconscious psychosexual stages, beginning with the two gender-neutral stages (oral and anal), when there is no visible difference between the behaviour of boys and girls. Freud proposed that children’s perception of gender identity developed in the phallic stage as they navigate the conflict to establish their own gender identity.
Outline how a child resolves their gender identity during the phallic stage
A child’s gender identity is resolved either through the Oedipus complex (in boys) or the Electra complex (in girls).
Describe the Oedipus complex
When a boy develops sexual desires for his mother and harbour a hatred for his father because he sees him as a rival for the mother’s love, however he fears his father will punish him (castration anxiety) for his lust for his mother and thereby represses these feelings and identifies with his father in the process, internalising his gender role and moral values.
Explain castration anxiety
When boys fear their fathers will punish them by castrating them if they find out about their incestuous desire for their mother.
Describe the Electra complex
When a girl develops sexual desires for her father and views the penis as the primary love object and blames her mother for her lack of a penis (penis envy), but over time this is resolved by the girl repressing her desire for her father and substituting the wish for a penis with the wish for a baby, thereby she identifies with her mother and internalises her gender role.
Explain penis envy
When girls experience distress due to the belief they had a penis, and they blame their mother for removing it (through castration).
Explain the role of identification and internalisation during the Oedipus and Electra complex
In order to resolve their unconscious conflicts children will identify with and internalise the gender-related behaviours and attitudes of their same sex parent.
Explain the study that supports the psychodynamic explanation for gender development
Little Hans (1909).
Little Hans was a 5 year old boy with a severe phobia of white horses with blinkers and black spots around it’s mouth. Freud saw Hans’ phobia as an expression of the Oedipus Complex and his repressed fear of his father. Specifically, Freud believed he feared that the horse (his father) would bite (castrate) him as punishment for his incestuous desires for his mother. The fear of his father is displaced onto the horse with blinkers representing glasses and black bits his fathers facial hair
1 Strength and counter for psychodynamic approach to explaining gender
Research support:
Freud’s explanation of gender development means that, for boys, ‘normal’ development depends on being raised by at least one male parent. Rekers and Morey (1990) showed support for this by rating the gender identity of 49 boys aged 3-11 based on interviews. Of those who were judged to be gender disturbed , 75% had neither a biological or substitute father living with them. This increases the validity of Freuds theory as it supports the idea that due to identification with the father in the Oedipus complex, those raised with no father will have negative impacts on their gender identities.
Stevenson and Black (1988) found a significant association between father absence and feminine gender roles in boys under 7 years of age. Father absence was associated with feminine gender orientation and preference, while it was associated with masculine gender adoption (i.e. sons of absent fathers seemed to think in a feminine way but behave in a masculine way). It is therefore assumed that father-absent boys have a feminine gender identity due to identification with the mother during childhood, and masculine behaviour as a reaction against this socially inappropriate feminine identity.
COUNTER - Generally though, the relationship between absent fathers and problems of gender identity is not supported. A study by Bos and Sandfort (2010) compared data from 63 children where both parents were lesbians and 68 children from ‘traditional’ families. Children raised by lesbian parents felt less pressure to conform to gender stereotypes but there were no differences in terms of psychosocial adjustment or gender identity. This contradicts Freud’s theory as it suggests that fathers are not necessary for healthy gender identity development, thus bringing the psychoanalytic theories regarding gender development and identity into question.
Case study method:
use of case studies to support his research on the Oedipus complex undermine the reliability of his theory. Specifically, the intensive study of Little Hans was used as the basis of Freud’s evidence for the complex, however, it is not possible to claim universality from a small number of individuals who exhibited abnormal characteristics. It is highly unlikely that other psychologists would have come to the same conclusion, suggesting the subjective nature of Freud’s research on gender development is built upon unreliable foundations.
2 Limitations of psychodynamic explanations of gender development
Pseudoscientific:
Psychodynamic theory believes the development of one’s gender is based upon unconscious conflicts (e.g. experiencing either castration anxiety and penis envy) that occur during the phallic stage. However, these conflicts are not open to empirical testing and therefore lack falsification. This means there is no way to objectively verify their existence, as they are not directly observable. This questions the validity of Freud’s theory as there is little objective, evidence to support them, and such affords psychodynamic theory the status of a pseudoscience.
