The Psychodynamic The Psychodynamic Approach Approach Gender IdentityGender Identity

IntroIntro

• The psychodynamic approach emphasises the importance of change and development in behaviours. It believes that this development is mainly driven by unconscious forces.

• The most famous psychodynamic explanation is that of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory and this can be used to explain Gender Development.

Key PointsKey Points

• Psychosexual stages– The first 2 stages are concerned with

pleasure, gender is said to be flexible and there are no clear differences between boys and girls at all.

– In the phallic stage the child becomes aware of the physical differences between male and female. The complexes that happen at this stage spark Gender Identity.

Oedipus Complex (BOYS)Oedipus Complex (BOYS)

• Mother is the first love object. Therefore wish to possess their mother for themselves.

• These lustful feelings lead the boy to view their father as a rival.

• Boys also fear their father and the punishment he may bestow. Castration Anxiety

Electra Complex (GIRLS)Electra Complex (GIRLS)

• The same desire as boys is reversed in girls.

• Father is the love object, however the resentment for mother is said to lie with penis envy.

• A girl feels cheated that she has no penis, like the male of the species.

• They substitute the desire for a penis with a desire for a baby.

ComparisonComparison

• While boys fear aggression from their father, girls fear losing the love of their mother.

Identification

• The children resolve this conflict with the defence mechanism of identification with the same sex parent.

• This is where the super-ego is developed.

Read the handoutRead the handout

• Make notes on the process of identification.

• Read the ‘Little Hans’ Case study.

• Highlight the + and negative – evaluation points in two different colours.

Answer The Summary Answer The Summary Questions Questions

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