Psychodynamic Explanation of Gender Development

Question 1

what does Freud’s psychoanalytic theory involve?

Answer 1

• pre-phallic children
• oedipus complex
• electra complex
• identification and internalisation
• little hans

Question 2

what are pre-phallic children? and when does gender development take place?

Answer 2

• the third of the psychosexual stages - phallic stage - is where gender development takes place between ages 3-6
• prior to the phallic stage children have no concept of gender identity
• they have no understanding of male or female, so don’t categorise themselves or others in that way

Question 3

what happens in the phallic stage?

Answer 3

• focus of pleasure switches to genitals, so children in this stage experience oedipus complex(boys) or electra complex(girls)
• this is crucial for formation of gender identity

Question 4

what is the oedipus complex?

Answer 4

• in the phallic stage, boys develop incestuous feelings towards their mothers
• they harbour a jealous and murderous hatred for their fathers, who stand in the way of the boy possessing his mother
• the boy recognises that his father is more powerful than he is and fears he may be castrated for having feeling towards his mother = castration anxiety
• to resolve this conflict, the boy gives up his love for his mother and begins to identify with his father

Question 5

what is the electra complex?

Answer 5

• in the phallic stage, girls experience penis envy, seeing themselves and their mother as being in competition for their father’s love
• girls develop double resentment towards their mother
• 1= mother is a love rival standing in way of father, 2 = mother is blamed by their daughter for having no penis
• Carl Jung - girls over time accept that they will never have a penis and substitute penis envy with the desire to have children, identifying with mother as a result

Question 6

what is identification?

Answer 6

children of both sexes identify with the same gender parents as a means of resolving their respective complexes

Question 7

what do girls and boys adopt?

Answer 7

• boys adopt the attitudes and values of their fathers
• girls adopt the attitudes and values of their mothers

Question 8

what is internalisation?

Answer 8

• both boys and girls internalise a second hand gender identity at the end of the phallic stage

Question 9

what is the case study of Little Hans?

Answer 9

• little hans illustrates the oedipus complex
• Hans = 5 years old with a fear of being bitten by horses
• Hans’ fear stemmed from an incident when he had seen a horse collapse and die in the street
• Freud’s interpretation = Hans’ fear is represented by fear of castration
• Hans displaced the fear of horses onto his father

Question 10

what are weaknesses of psychodynamic explanation??

Answer 10

Point: A limitation is that the psychodynamic explanation lacks scientific credibility.
Evidence: For example, Freud’s methods have been criticised for their lack of scientific rigour and the untestable nature of many of his concepts.
Explain: His use of subjective case studies and concepts like penis envy, which are largely unconscious and cannot be scientifically tested, contrasts sharply with other gender explanations based on objective, verifiable evidence.
Link: Therefore, this questions the validity of Freud’s theory, as it is not based on sound scientific evidence and is considered pseudoscientific.

Point: However, the relationship between absent fathers and problems of gender identity is generally not supported.
Evidence: For example, Bos and Sandfort (2010) compared children raised by lesbian parents to those from traditional families.
Explain: The study found that children with lesbian parents felt less pressure to conform to gender stereotypes and did not exhibit differences in psychosocial adjustment or gender identity.
Link: Therefore, this contradicts Freud’s theory, suggesting that fathers are not necessary for healthy gender identity development.

Question 11

what is a strength of psychodynamic explanation?

Answer 11

Point: A strength of Freud’s theory is that there is some support for the role of the Oedipus complex in gender development.
Evidence: For example, Rekers and Morey (1990) found a connection between father absence and gender identity issues in boys.
Explain: They rated the gender identity of 49 boys aged 3-11 years and discovered that 75% of those judged to be ‘gender disturbed’ had neither their biological father nor a substitute father living with them.
Link: Therefore, this suggests that being raised without a father may negatively impact gender identity, aligning with Freud’s predictions.