Freud

• background

  Freud's psychosexual stages of development:

  • oral stage: the child derives satisfaction from sucking at the mothers's breast
  • anal stage: the child receives pleasure from the anus and holding back their stool
  • phallic stage: children become aware of their genitals and differences between boys and girls

  at this stage, parents develop a sexual desire for their opposite sex parent and are fearful of their same sex parent (oedipus complex)
• aim


  to investigate the case of Little Hans, a young boy who was experiencing a phobia, and to provide evidence to support his theory of psychosexual development
• sample

  • case study on little Hans, an Austrian child who's parents were supporters of Freud
  • he was nearly 3 when the study began
  • the reports lasted from 1906 to 1908
• procedure

  • Hans' father recorded details of his son's behaviours and conversations, and made his own interpretations. he would then send these in a weekly letter to Freud
  • Freud replied with his own interpretations of the behaviours and conversations, and would give guidance on what Hans' father should be discussing with Hans, and which behaviours to look out for
• results

  Hans' phobias

  • his phobia of horses and being bitten by a horse, showing his fear and jealousy of his father
  • his fear of cart horses falling over
  • his fear of the bath, jealous of his sister taking his mother's attention

  Hans' dreams and fantasies

  • attempts to 'seduce' his mother, evidence of him having an Oedipus complex
  • the giraffe fantasy, he fantasised about taking his mother away
  • the plumber fantasies, resolving feeling towards his father
  • playing with his imaginary children
• conclusions

  For Freud, the study provided support for...

  • his psychosexual stages of development
  • that boys during the phallic stage develop an Oedipus complex (little Hans wanted his father gone so that he could have the affections of his mother all to himself)
  • that phobias are the result of unconscious anxieties which have been displaced onto external objects (the fear of his father finding out about his desires displaced into a fear of horses)