Psychodynamic explanation - Freud's psychoanalysis theory

Question 1

what is the concept of prephallic children?

Answer 1

• gender development occurs at phallic psychosexual stages (3-6)
• pre-pahllic kids are bisexual and focus of pleasure is genitals

Question 2

what is the oedipus complex?

Answer 2

• boys develop incestuos feelings for mother and hate dad as love rival
• fears castration so learns to identify with father

Question 3

what is the electra complex?

Answer 3

• girls experience penis envy and compete with mother for fathers love
• mother is love rival and blamed for lack of penis
• identify with mother and spire to be one themselves
  (freud not as clear on women)

Question 4

what is identification and internalisation?

Answer 4

• freud said kids of both sexes identify with parent of same sex to resolve complexes (identification)
• aport gender identity of that parent (internalisation)

Question 5

what is the case of little hans?

Answer 5

• evidence of oedipus compex
• boy who feared being bitten by horse
• displaced fear of father casttrating him onto fear of hose (defence mechanism)

Question 6

• research doesn’t support oedipus complex

Answer 6

• sons of punishing fathers had stronger gender due to high anxiety
• Blackmore found boys with liberal fathers have more secure masculinity

Question 7

• inadequate account of female development

Answer 7

• Jung forced to complete freud theory on females
• penis envy reflects patriarchal victorian era
• Horney said mens “womb envy” is more powerful
• wrongly based on idea that women want to be men

Question 8

• lack of scientific rigour

Answer 8

• concepts untestable as its unconscious nature

- popper said the theory was pseudoscience