psychodynamic to explain gender development

• Psychodynamic explanation


  Repression of the Oedipus complex (in boys) and the Electra complex (in girls) during the phallic stage of development causes gender identity
• Freud only put forward the Oedipus Complex theory
• Gender roles acquisition


  1. Identification with the same sex parent

  2. Resolution of the Oedipus or Electra conflict

  3. Internalisation and adoption of the gender-related behaviours and attitudes of the parent of the same gender

  4. Behaving in gender-typical ways
• Oedipus Complex


  • Boy unconsciously develops sexual desires for his mother and is jealous of his father
  • Boy develops castration anxiety because he is concerned that his father will learn about his feelings
  • Boy identifies with his father and internalises his behaviours
  • Boy adopts his male gender identity by copying his father's behaviours
  • Boy adopts his father as his super-ego
• Electra Complex


  • Girl has sexual desires for her father and also has penis envy
  • Girl is angry at her mother because of her relationship with her father and because she blames her for not having a penis
  • Girl represses her desire for her father and substitutes the wish for a penis with the wish for a baby
  • Girl identifies with her mother, adopts her as her super-ego and internalises her female gender role
• Psychodynamic explanation of gender development

  Supported by Freud's case study of 'Little Hans'
• Little Hans' case study

  1. Hans' father sent information to Freud through letters

  2. Hans had developed a phobia of horses

  3. Hans had a fascination with his 'widdler'

  4. Hans noticed that horses often had much larger penises than him

  5. Freud's interpretation was that Hans was at the phallic psychosexual stage of development

  6. Freud suggested that Hans' phobia represented his repressed castration anxiety

  7. Freud proposed that Hans' phobia disappeared once he resolved the Oedipus complex and identified with his father, adopting him as his super-ego
• Strength of Little Hans' case study

  • Freud believed this case study provided evidence for the role of the Oedipal complex in male gender development
• The Little Hans case study does not provide strong evidence for the psychodynamic explanation of gender development
• The psychodynamic explanation of gender development is not easy to empirically test
• Oedipus and Electra complex


  Contribute to gender development through unconscious conflict in the phallic stage of development
• The unconscious, id, superego, Oedipus/Electra complex etc. are not empirical and Freud's hypotheses were not fully operationalised
• Freud's claims about gender development are not directly verifiable and it is possible that his assumptions might be incorrect
• Limitations of the psychodynamic explanation of gender

  • Lacks scientific rigour
  • Many psychologists reject it