Psychodynamic explanation of gender development Flashcards
AO1: What is the psychodynamic explanation of gender development?
It suggests that gender identity develops during the phallic stage (around ages 3-6) through unconscious conflicts and identification with the same-sex parent
AO1: What is the Oedipus complex?
A psychodynamic concept where boys experience unconscious sexual desires for their mother and jealousy towards their father leading to castration anxiety and identification with the father
AO1: What is the Electra complex?
A psychodynamic concept where girls experience penis envy and unconscious attraction towards their father leading to rivalry with their mother and eventual identification with her
AO1: What is identification in psychodynamic theory?
The process by which a child adopts the characteristics values and behaviours of the same-sex parent to resolve unconscious conflict
AO1: What is internalisation in psychodynamic theory?
When the child takes on the same-sex parent’s gender identity and moral values as part of their own personality
AO3: What is a criticism of the research supporting the psychodynamic explanation?
It is based on case studies like Little Hans which are subjective unscientific and not generalisable
AO3: Why is the psychodynamic explanation considered unscientific?
Because it involves untestable concepts like unconscious desires making it unfalsifiable and lacking scientific credibility
AO3: How is Freud’s theory gender biased?
It is androcentric focusing mainly on male development and relying on concepts like penis envy which reflect outdated and patriarchal views
AO3: What alternative explanations challenge the psychodynamic theory?
Cognitive theories like Kohlberg’s and social learning theory provide more evidence-based explanations of gender development through active learning and modelling
