Psychodynamic explanation of gender development Flashcards
What are the 2 key concepts of Freud’s gender development theory?
Identification and internalisation
Which psychosexual stage did Freud propose gender develops in?
The phallic stage
What is identification?
When an individual adopts an attitude because they want to be associated with a particular person/group
What is internalisation?
When an individual accepts the behaviour of another
What age does the phallic stage occur?
3-6 years
What 2 complexes did Freud suggest through which gender identity is resolved?
Electra complex and oedipus complex
Does the Oedipus complex apply to boys or girls?
Boys
Does the Electra complex apply to boys or girls?
Girls
According to the Oedipus complex, who do boys desire?
Their mothers
According to the Oedipus complex, who do boys see as their rivals?
Their fathers
According to the Oedipus complex, why do boys see their fathers as rivals?
As they want their mother’s sole attention
According to the Oedipus complex, why do boys suffer castration anxiety?
Because they wish their fathers would die and worry he realises this
How is the Oedipus complex resolved?
Boys begin to identify with their father
According to the Oedipus complex, how do boys develop their gender?
They internalise their father’s gender identity
According to the Electra complex, who are young girls initially attracted to?
Their mothers
According to the Electra complex, why do girls stop being attracted to their mothers?
They realise she doesn’t have a penis
According to the Electra complex, why do girls blame their mothers?
They blame her for being the reason they don’t have a penis
According to the Electra complex, who is their sexual desire transferred to?
Their father
When the Electra complex is resolved, what is penis envy changed to?
The desire to have a baby
How does the Electra complex explain gender identity?
When girls are no longer angry at their mothers, they identify with them + internalise her behaviours
What did Freud claim that phallic fixation led to?
Amoral behaviour + Homosexuality
What are the 4 AO3 points for the psychodynamic explanation of gender development?
1) Little Hans case study
2) Child sexual awareness
3) Alternative psychodynamic explanation
4) Lacks predictive validity
How old was Little Hans?
5 years old
What did Little Hans have a phobia of?
Horses
What did Freud interpret Little Hans’ phobia of horses as?
Repressed sexual desire for his mother
What did Little Hans ask his mother to do?
Touch his penis
What did Little Hans’ mother threaten to do?
Chop his penis off
Why did Little Hans associate touching with horses?
Because he overheard a father tell his daughter not to touch horses as they may bite her
What did Freud assume that children knew about genitalia?
That they knew what the female and male genitalia looked like
How does Bem’s research contradict Freud’s theory of penis envy?
The majority of children aged 3-5 had no idea what the genitalia of the opposite sex looked like
Who proposed an alternative psychodynamic explanation of gender development?
Chodorow
Why did Chodorow propose mothers and daughters were closer than mothers and sons?
Because they are same-sex
Why did Chodorow propose boys are more independent?
Because they don’t identify with their mother
What has research about physical closeness during playing found?
That mothers and daughters are more physically close than mothers and sons when playing
What can Freud’s gender development theory not explain under any circumstances?
Typical gender development in children with one parent or same-sex parents
Who conducted a review of research into the gender development of children of lesbian mothers?
Patterson
What did Patterson find about the gender development of children of lesbian mothers?
That their sexual identities develop in much the same way as they do among children of heterosexual parents
