Psychodynamic Explanation: Freud's Theory Flashcards
Key assumptions of psychodynamic theory:
- Events in our childhood have a great influence on our adult lives, shaping our personality
- Events that occur in childhood can remain in the unconscious, and cause problems as adults
- Psychosexual stages of development
What are the five stages of psychosexual development?
- Oral
- Anal
- Phallic
- Latent
- Genital
What anagram can be used to remember the psychosexual stages of devlopment?
- Old
- Age
- Pensioner
- Love
- Gin
What age does oral stage occur?
0-1 years of age
What age does anal stage occur?
1-3 years of age
What age does phallic stage occur?
3-5 years of age
What age does latent stage occur?
6-11 years of age
What age does genital stage occur?
12+ years of age
Description of oral stage:
Focus of pleasure is the mouth, mother’s breast is object of desire.
Success of completion of oral stage:
Weaning – eating independently
Consequence of not completing oral stage:
Oral Fixation = sarcastic, critical, bite nails, may smoke
Description of anal stage:
Focus of pleasure is the anus. Child gains pleasure from withholding and expelling faeces
Success of completion of anal stage:
Potty training
Consequence of not completing anal stage:
- Anally retentive = very tidy, stubborn, likes order and being in control, perfectionist
- Anally expulsive = Thoughtless, messy
Description of the phallic stage:
- Focus of pleasure is the genital area.
- Child experiences the Oedipus or Electra Complex.
Success of completion of phallic stage:
- Boys identify with father, taking on his gender role and moral values
- Girls identify with their mother and replace their desire for their father with desire for a baby
Consequence of not completing the phallic stage:
Phallic personality – narcissistic, reckless, possibly homosexual
Description of latency stage:
Earlier conflicts are repressed, sexual urges are sublimated into sports and hobbies, same sex friendships.
Success of completion of latency stage:
No particular requirements for successful completion
Consequence of not completing the latency stage:
Nothing
Description of genital stage:
Sexual desires become conscious alongside the onset of puberty
Success of completion of genital stage:
Develop healthy adult relationships
Consequence of not completing genital stage:
Difficulty forming heterosexual relationships
Why must these consequence be resolved?
Ensure healthy psychological development; this includes gender identity, which should occur at approximately age 5.
Is gender flexible before the age of 3?
Yes as no clear difference between girls and boys
Is gender flexible after phallic stage?
No, as understanding of gender develops
Why does the phallic stage increase understanding of gender?
- Child seeks pleasure from playing with genitals
- Pay attention to others genitals and begin to see the difference
- Developing gender identity
Define the Oedipus complex:
Freud’s explanation for how a boy resolves his love for his mother and feelings of rivalries for his father by identifying with his father
Define the Electra complex:
Proposed by Carl Jung where girls attraction to and envy their father is resolved by identification with their mother
What happens during the Electra complex?
-Girl experience penis envy which is substituted with desire to have children
What happens during the Oedipus complex?
boys have high castration anxiety which is fear of punishment from fathers for their desire of their mother
What happens towards the end of the phallic stage?
- Children resolve conflict by identifying with same sex parents
- Develops superego (adopting parents moral), gender identity and role
Why does identification becomes internalisation?
- Boys = repression (pushing desire for mother and hostility for father UNCONSCIOUSLY)
- Girls = weak identity with mother (Internalising mother’s love role indicates hope to attract father)
Define internalisation:
adopting the attitudes and behaviours of another
Describe the case study of Little Hans (1909):
Little Hans was a five-year-old boy who had become very frightened when he saw a horse fall in the street. He thought it was dead. He then developed a fear of horses.
How did Freud interpret case of Little Hans (1909)?
- used the Oedipus complex
- Hans has sexual longings for mother
- Horse represent father (Hans wanted him dead)
How did Freud gather information of the Little Hans case study (1909)?
- Letters to the father (subjective)
- Only met Hans a few times
Does the Oedipus/Electra complex support non-nuclear families?
No, having this type of family has no affect on their gender identity
Stevenson & Black (1988):
Boys whose fathers are absent during the age of 5 (when their Oedipus complex develops) show less sex-typed behaviour than boys whose fathers were present throughout
Does Stevenson & Black (1988) support the psychodynamic approach?
Yes
Mussen & Rutherford (1963):
Found that boys with warm and supportive fathers identify better than those with overbearing and threatening fathers
Does Mussen & Rutherford (1963) support psychodynamic approach?
No
Blakemore and Hill (2008):
Found that boys with more liberal fathers tend to be more secure in their masculine identity.
Does support Blakemore and Hill (2008) psychodynamic aproach?
No
What is the major limitation to the psychodynamic explanation? (to do with Oedipus/ Electra complex?
- Inadequate account of female development.
- Girls were a mystery to Freud
- Penis Envy is cultural complex - androcentric assumption
