Psychology Approaches : Psychodynamic approach (2)

What are Freuds psychosexual stages?

Oral , anal, phallic, latency , genital

Basis of Freuds development theory

What is fixation in psychosexual development?

BEcoing stuck in a stage due to unresloved conflict

Explains adult personlity traits

What causes fixation?

TRama, inconsistent parenting, unmet needs

Links childhood experience to adult outcome

What is the oral stage?

0 - 1 years focused on the mouth

Founfation for oral fixation traits

What are oral fixation traits?

Smoking , overeating, nail biting , sarcasm neediness

Shows consequences of early feeding conflicts (e.g transition from breast to bottle is too abrupt or delayed)

What is the anal stage?

1- 3 years, pleasure focused on the anus , toilet training conflicts

Explains anal retentivness and anal expulsive traits

What is anal retentive fixation?

Neatness, perfectionism, orderliness

Liked to strict toilet training

What is anal expulsive fixation?

Messiness, chaos and emotional outbirst

Lined to lax toilet training

What is the phallic stage?

3-6 years, pleasure focused on genital Oedipus/electra conflict

(an unconscious desire for the opposite-sex parent)

Key stage for persnailty development

What is phallic fixation?

VAnity, narcissism , impulsivity

Shows consquences of unresolved oedipal conflict

What is the latency stage?

6 - puberty , earlier conflicts repressed , sexual energy dormant

Period of emotional stability

What is the genital stage?

Puberty onwards, sexual desire becomes conscious

Represents healthy adult sexuality

What is genital fixation?

Difficulty forming hetrosexual realationships

Shows impact of unresolved earlier conflicts

What is the Oedipus complex?

A boys unconscious desire for his mother and rivalry with his father

Central conflict of the phalic stage

What is the Electra complex?

A girls unconscious desire for her father and resentment of her mother

Freuds explnation of female development

How are the Oedipu / Electra complexes resolved?

By identifying with the same sex parent

Explains development of superego

Who was Little Hans?

A 5 year old boy with a horse phobia studied by Freud

Key case study supporting the Oediphus complex

What did Freud interpret Hans horse phobia as?

The displacedfear of his fathe r

Evidence for displacement and unconscious symbolism (the black stuff around its mouth resembled his fathers mustache)

How did Hans resolve his phobia?

IT fafef as he entered the latency stage

Freud saw this as resloving the Oedipus conflict

How do defence mechanisms support therapy?

They help therapists uncover hidden conflict and trama

Shows strong real world application

How do psychosexual stages show staying power (theory still influences psychology today)?

TRaits like oral / anal fixation are still recognised today

Suggesting Freuds ideas have lasting influence

Why is Freuds reasurch methodically weak?

BAsed on subjective case studies with no scientific controls

Reduces reiabilty and scientific validity

Why are alternative explanations for behaviours linked to fixation?

Traits may come from learning or nerodevelopment , not fixation

autism or anxiety explaining neatness, conditioning explaining phobias, and genetics or learning explaining addiction.

challenges freauds explanatory power

Why is the theory unfalsifiable?

Concepts like repression or Oedipus are complex so cannot be tested

because they involve unconscious processes that cannot be observed, measured, or falsified. This makes them unscientific and reduces the validity of the psychodynamic approach.

Making the theory unscientific