Freud - Understanding disorders

Theory

Stages of psychosexual development :

- Oral (pleasure from the mouth e.g. sucking) 0-1 years

- Anal (pleasure from bowel movements) 1-3 years

- Phallic (pleasure is focused on their genitals e.g. Oedipus/Electra complex) 3-6 years

- Latency (sexual impulses repressed, interest in friendships/learning) 6 years - puberty

- Genital (sexual interests mature) Puberty onwards

Oedipus complex - boys experience a desire for their mother, see their father as a rival.

Background

- Freud used psychoanlaysis to interpret Hans behaviour

- Freud used the case study to support his ideas about infantile sexuality, the Oedipus complex, the origins of phobias and the effectiveness of psychoanalytic therapy.

Research Method

- Longitudinal case study ( Little Hans was monitored over long period of time, 3-5 years old)

- Data was gathered by his father who observed and questioned Hans, data was sent to Freud for psychoanalysis

Sample

- Little Hans monitored from 3-5

- Supported Freud's theory of psychosexual development and Oedipus complex

Procedure

- Before Hans was 3 showed interest in his "widdler" and had tendency to masturbate. Mother threatened to cut it off.

- At three and a half, Hans wished his mother would drown his baby sister in the bath. Jealousy due to less attention.

- Developed a fear of being bitten by a white horse ,linked to : overhearing a father say to his child the white horse will bite his finger and seeing a horse pulling a carriage fall down and kick it’s legs about.

- His fear was then generalized to carts and buses

- Hans was scared his mother would go away due to fantasies (giraffe, plumber and parenting)

Results

- Little Hans fear of horses, considered a subconscious fear of his father.

- Dark around the mouth of a horse + blinkers, resembled his fathers moustache and glasses. Feared him due to OC.

- Fascination with widdler as he was in the phallic stage

- Girraffe fantasy representation of him trying to take his mother away from his father. OC.

- Fantasy of becoming a father due to OC.

- Plumber fantasy was him identifying with is father and resolving the OC.

Conclusions

His study provided support for:

- His theory of psychosexual development

-His suggestion that boys in the phallic stage experience OC

-His theory that phobias come from unconscious anxiety, which is displaced on harmless objects