EVALUATION

• EVALUATION?

  + evidence

  + therapy

  -lacks scientific credibility

  -gender bias
• EVIDENCE?

  • evidence of unconscious mind in case studies

  FREUD - LITTLE HANS EXPERIMENT

  • evidence of displacement and phallic stage
  • Hans displaced fear of father onto horses
  • suggests approach reasonable account of behaviour
  • but case studies are unique and not generalisable to wider population due to smaller samples
• THERAPY?

  • psychoanalysis form of therapy used to treat phobias, OCD, depression
  • many case studies showing evidence of concepts
  • e.g. repression in abuse victims
  • approach useful in treatment of psychological disorders
  • however, treatments not successful for more complex disorders (e.g. schizophrenia)
• LACKS SCIENTIFIC CREDIBILITY?

  • lacks scientific credibility
  • does not generate testable hypothesis
  • lacks falsifiability
  • cannot empirically test unconscious as it cannot be operationalised
  • not able to observe use of defence mechanisms
  • open to bias and subjectivity
  • however principles of approach still used
• GENDER BIAS?

  • suffers from gender bias
  • Freud's idea of penis envy suggests women psychologically defined by fact they are not men
  • girls lack of castration threat = less pressure to identify with parent = weaker gender identity
  • approach is androcentric (male behaviour is normal, females are weak)
  • however approach was dominant in early 1900s where sexism was prominent
  • lack of temporal validity is expected