Freud’s Case Study of Little Hans

• What was the aim?

  • to record a case of the Oedipus Complex
• Participant?

  • a Jewish boy from Vienna, Austria
  • 5 years old at the start of the study
  • Called Little Hans but his actual name was Herbert Graf
  • He suffered from a phobia of horses
• design?

  • it was a clinical case study - patient is undergoing therapy
  • no more than twice of therapy
  • Han’s Father had conversations with Hans and passed onto Freud who analysed them
• Case history? part 1

  • around 3, Hans developed a great interest in his penis - his ‘widdler’ he called it
  • his mother got cross and threatened to send a doctor to cut it off if he didn’t stop
  • Hans developed a fear of castration
  • at the same time he saw a horse collapse and die
  • at 3 and 1/2 his sister was born
• case history? part 2

  • when Hans was 4 he developed a fear of horses
  • he was specifically afraid that a white horse would bite him
  • Freud analysed that his fear of horses seemed to relate to their large penises which caused his dissatisfaction of his own penis
  • at the same time as his fear, conflict between Hans and his father developed
• Case history? part 3

  • Hans had been in the habit of getting into his parents bed and cuddling his mother
  • however, his father began to object this
  • Hans’ phobia developed that he couldn’t even leave the house and had anxiety attacks
  • he developed a fear of baths - plumber came in and he was scared that he plumber would cut off his ‘widdler’ - (daydream)
• case history? part 4


  • at the age of 5, Hans’ phobia lessened, initially becoming limited to white horses with thick pieces of harness and blinkers - (his fathers moustache and glasses) and then disappearing altogether
  • he had dreams about a large giraffe and a ‘crumpled’ giraffe
• What were the two fantasises?

  • Hans fantasised that he had several children. When his father asked who their mother was, Hans replied ‘why mummy, and your granddaddy’
  • The next day, Hans fantasised that a plumber had come and removed his bottom and penis, replacing them with new and larger ones
• results?

  • Horses represented Hans’ father
  • horses made good father symbols because they have larger penises
  • the anxiety Hans felt was castration anxiety, triggered by his mothers threat to cut of his ‘widdler’ and fear of his father caused by his banishing from parents bed
  • the large giraffe represents his father objecting to Hans
  • the ‘crumpled’ giraffe represents his mother, crumpling is her genitals
  • children fantasy = Oedipus complex - Hans replaces his father as mothers main love object
  • plumber fantasy = identification with father - Hans could see himself growing a large penis like his dad
• Conclusions?

  • Hans suffered a phobia of horses because he was suffering from castration anxiety and going through the Oedipus complex
  • Dreams and fantasies helped express this conflict and eventually he resolved his Oedipus Complex by fantasising himself taking on his father’s role and placing his father in the role of grandfather
• What is the Oedipus Complex?

  • make strong attachment to mothers
  • jealous of affection to fathers
  • aware of importance of dad, so repress feelings towards mum
  • associate more time with dad
• what is the Electra Complex?

  • girls suffer from penis envy
  • become aware of others in family having a penis
  • resent mum as she doesn’t have a penis
  • get emotional feelings for father
  • repress feelings for dad
  • associate more time with mum
• What was Freud’s interpretation of Hans?

  • boys pass through the phallic stage and have Oedipus Complex - supports psychosexual development theory
• stage 1 of the psychosexual development theory?

  • Oral - 0-1 years old
  • Nervous system isn’t fully developed
  • Nerve endings around mouth are very sensitive
  • If we have issues through stages, we develop fixations - oral indulgence/frustration
• stage 2 of the psychosexual development?

  • Anal - 1-3 years old
  • Nerve endings around anus are sensitive
  • At age 3: children finish potty training as more nerve endings fully develop
  • Fixations: anally retentive (fussy) or expulsive (untidy)
• stage 3 of the psychosexual development?

  • Phallic - 3-6 years old
  • nerve endings around genitals are sensitive
  • children are becoming aware of their sexuality
  • fixations: Oedipus/Electra complex
• what is the psychodynamic perspective?

  • all our behaviour is determined by our unconscious forces and drives - (sexual, agressive)
  • 3 parts of our personality: Id (unconscious), Ego (conscious), Super-ego (ethical, moral)
  • personality is shaped by childhood experiences in psychosexual stages of development
• method?

  • longitudinal study
  • clinical case study - focuses on one point (Hans)
  • subjective
• data collection?

  • qualitative reports of Hans’ behaviour, dreams and fantasies
  • may be inaccurate interpretations
• ethics?

  • used ‘Little Hans’ to protect his real identity
  • parents gave consent
  • parents didn’t tell Hans what was going on
  • psychoanalysis can cause harm
• validity?

  • interpretations of Freud may be incorrect
  • other interpretations like Bowlby and Classical conditioning can affect validity
  • leading questions is controversial - forcing it on Hans
  • Hans could have just grown out of these anxieties?
  • subjective = lacks internal validity
  • ecological validity but not generalisable
• reliability?

  • sample of 1 is too small to establish a consist effect
  • to be able to say that all children progress through the 5 stages of psychosexual development, Freud would need a larger sample
• ethnocentrism?

  • it is questionable whether the experiences of a middle class child in Vienna are likely to be typical of the experiences of children in less privileged parts of the world = ethnocentric
  • phobias are common in children across the world, perhaps findings don’t apply to children from this culture
• psychology as a science?

  • hard to defend as scientific
  • Freud’s opinions and interpretations can be subjective
  • Can be claimed that Freud is holding his interpretations in an unfalsifiable way - he could say that critics are in denial
• nature vs nurture?


  • Freud said that both ‘disposition and experience‘ can be expected to play a part in anxiety disorders such as those experienced by Hans
  • he could see phobias arising from a combination of both: nature (constitution) and nurture (‘accidental experiences‘)
• Reductionism/holism?

  • reductionist: Freud explained Hans’ phobias and fantasises in relation to his theory of psychosexual development
  • Holistic: Hans wasn’t restricted in the different aspects of his experience that he could reveal
• usefulness?

  • only useful to Hans