Freud

• What are the three level of conscientiousness and what are they?levels

  1. Conscious -> At the surface of our conscious thoughts

  2.Pre-conscious -> Our accessible memories are under the conscious surface

  1. Unconscious -> Thoughts that can affect our behaviour which we have no awareness of.
• What 3 ways do the unconscious mind reveal itself and what are they?

  -Dream analysis _ Free Association -> Laying on a couch and saying whatever comes to mind until unconscious mind starts to reach the surface-> helps interpret symbolic meaning of dreams

  -Projective tests -> Showing people an inkblot image and asking them what they first see -> can interpret their personality and unconscious conflicts by their responses

  -Slip of the tongue -> When you say something but meant to say something else, can reveal unconscious thoughts and conflicts
• What did Freud say causes mental health problems?

  The inability to resolve conflicts between the ID and Superego
• How many stages did Freud come up with?

  5
• What was the first stage?

  The Oral Stage - Cold desires satisfactions from sucking mums breast or other substitutes like a dummy
• What is the second stage?

  The Anal Stage - Child receives pleasure from the butt and holding in their stool until it builds up and bring violent muscular contractions
• What is the third stage?

  Phallic Stage - Child (age 3-6) becomes aware of their genitals + differences between boys and girls (i.e. their genitals)
• What is the fourth stage?

  Latency stage (Age 5-Puberty) - Childs energies are directed elsewhere such as developing interests, sports, hobbies and friendships
• What is the fifth stage?

  Genital stage (Puberty and above) - Increase in sexual instinct desire but are towards other people, (but often other people who resemble their parents), not their parents
• What were Freuds Study aim?

  To investigate the case of Little Hans, a young boy who was experiencing phobias

  To provide evidence to support his theory of psychosexual development
• What method did Freud use and what is it?

  Case study method + longitudinal -> A method that takes place over a long period of time (in this study 3 years) and involves only one participant who's studied in detail
• Who was the sample?

  Hans

  -From Vienna, Austria

  -Just under 3 years old at start of study -> Reports on him lasted around 1906-1908 (When he was 5 years old)
• What was Freud's sampling method?


  -Calling friends and supporters to send information about their children's development

  -Hans parents were supporters as Han's mother was a previous patient of Freuds
• What was the procedure?

  -Hans father recorded details of Han's behaviours + conversations -> made his (fathers) own interpretations -> send these + details and convos to Freud in a weekly letter

  -Freud sent letters back with his own interpretations of Han's behaviour + conversations and gave his (Han's) father guidance of what his father should discuss with Hans + which behaviours to look out for
• What data collection method was uses?

  Primary self-report data
• What were Han's phobias and Freud's interpretations? (findings)

  • Phobia of horses biting him -> scared his penis would be cut off (castration anxiety) after his mum threatened 15 months earlier to get doctor A to chop it off because he had his hands on it
  • Fearful or horses, especially ones that wore blinkers and black bits around their mouth -> Horse represents his father since the blinkers were like his glasses and the muzzle was similar to his moustache
• What were 4 dreams/fantasises he had + Freuds interpretations (In order)

  • After a bath, Hans was being powdered around his penis by his mum who was trying not to touch it. Hans asked 'Why don't you put your finger there?' and she replied 'Because it isn't proper' -> Hans desires his mother and this was a seduction attempt
  • Hans was pre-occupied with his poo which was shown by his following his mum and Berta (a girl he was playing with0 to the toilet -. Han's believed the interest in defecation represented Hans concerns about pregnancy + potential competition for his mums affection.
• What were Freu'd conclusions?

  -Psychosexual stages of development were proven

  -Boys during phallic stage develop an Oedipus complex

  -Phobias are the result of unconscious anxieties that have been displaced onto external objects
• What was one advantage of the sample in Freud's study?

  Can collect lots of qualitative data about Hans and how he developed his phobia
• What was one disadvantage of the sample in Freud's study?

  Only studied one person -> couldn't see if it was just Little Hans or if there was a pattern -> Not reliable
• What was one advantage of collecting data on Little Han's through self-report?

  Han's father lives with him. so he knows Han's well and sees him everyday so it can be reliable
• What was one disadvantage of collection data on Little Hans through self-report?

  Information gathered may not be accurate or detailed because it (the study) wasn't conducted in person with Freud there
• What ethical guidelines did Freud uphold?

  Consent = given by parents

  Deception = Han's knew he was being studied and his parents knew the aims

  Debrief = Hans received therapy after the study
• What ethical guidelines did Freud break?

  Consent = wasn't old enough to understand what was happening

  Protection from harm = Could've been disturbing for the family as lots of things that happened had normal explanations, but Freud made them think something was wrong with Hans

  Confidentiality = Hans real name was leaked
• Was the study ethnocentric?

  -YES = Only studied one person in one place -> development can differ depending on culture and upbringing

  -NO = About unconscious mind which is universal
• Was the procedure standardises and replicable? (Internal reliability)

  No - Only done on one person + weren't many controls in place
• Were the results showing a consistent effect + was the sample large enough to show this?

  -No - Only studied one person -> won't show consistent effect because other children may develop very differently than Hans .
• Was Freud's interpretations correct of Little Han's fears + Phobias? (Internal validity)


  No - There are more realistic, obvious explanations for them
• Could the way the questions were asked affect what Little Hans said? (Internal validity #2)

  Yes - leading questions were asked e.g. 'when the horse fell down, did you think of your daddy?
• Is the sample diverse enough to be representative? (Population + External validity)


  No - only studied one boy -> didn't take into account social, cultural differences etc + limited age, gender, locations etc.
• What is an Oedipus Complex?

  -When children develop a sexual desire for their opposite sex parents and are fearful of their same sex parent
• What is Castration Anxiety/Complex?

  A boys fear that his penis will be chopped off as punishment for his unconscious desires for his mother.
• What does Psychoanalysis mean?

  Type of therapy that involves talking to the patient and analysing their thoughts and dreams to bring unconscious conflicts into the open.