Individual Differences LAST UNIT FOR COMPONENT 2! Aims for today! • What are the assumptions of the individual differences approach? • Freud’s theories (e.g. Oedipus complex, Phallic Stage) • Picture poster • Little Hans Case Study Approach Assumptions •The individual explanation, centres on a single person and their behaviours are unique to them •Due to a combination of biological and experiential factors, such as DNA, cognitions and development •Our individual disposition affects our behaviour and each person has their own unique experiences and history What characteristics / experiences make you different to the person sat next to you? Approach assumptions •In order to understand human behaviour we need to study how we differ from each other as well as how we are the same. •Individuals differ in their behaviour and personal qualities so not everyone can be considered ‘the average person’. Key Theme – Understanding Disorders •One of the biggest areas involved in looking at differences this is that of understanding disorders •By looking at differences we can know about disorders and the better we become at treating them. •This leads to the implication of the area being ‘by researching concepts of normality and abnormality we can diagnose and treat abnormal behaviour’. What is normal / abnormal? Understanding Disorders Why do we need to differentiate normal from abnormal? What are the problems of doing this? The core studies Understanding disorders Classic Freud (1909) Little Hans Contemporary Baron-Cohen et al. (1997) Autism in adults Aims for today! • What are the assumptions of the individual differences approach? • Freud’s theories (e.g. Oedipus complex, Phallic Stage) • Picture poster • Little Hans Case Study Psychodynamic Perspective The Psychodynamic Model Assumptions – 1. Much of our behaviour is driven by unconscious motives 2. Early childhood experiences can have an effect on later development. 3. If there are any problems in 5 stages of development this can affect adult behaviour (we become ‘fixated’ at a stage). 4. Mental disorders arise from unresolved “unconscious conflicts”. Tripartite Personality Superego ◦ Develops during phallic stage ◦ Regulate behaviour so it is acceptable Ego ◦ Mediates Id and Superego conflicts Id ◦ Instinctual drives (Thanatos and Eros) ◦ Me, me, me! Personality Stages Oral (ages 0-18 months) Pleasure is gained from breast feeding and eating. Anal (1-3 years) Expelling and playing with faeces What is Psychoanalysis? Part 3: The Oedipus Complex YouTube Fixation: anal retentive – extremely tidy and organised anal expulsive – messy, creative, disorganise Phallic (3-6 years) Curiosity and pleasure from the genitals, becomes directed at opposite sex parent (Oedipus and Electra complexes) Latency (5 – 13 years) Focuses on social and cognitive development Genital (13+ years) Re-emergence of libido but is directed outside the family Activity Use your pictures (mum/dad/child + leader/altruistic/selfish) to create a poster to illustrate the main points from Freud’s theories. Aims for today! • What are the assumptions of the individual differences approach? • Freud’s theories (e.g. Oedipus complex, Phallic Stage) • Picture poster • Little Hans Case Study Activity Visit each person in the class and pick up a piece of case study evidence! Complete your case notes! What evidence is there? Look through your case notes, what evidence is there for the: Phallic stage? Oedipus complex? Strengths – Extra info for Y2 First to suggest our childhood influences our adult behaviour. This concept has since been supported by other psychologists e.g. Bowlby, Ainsworth. Also first to suggest that unconscious process affect our behaviour. E.g. repression of childhood sexual abuse Evidence of defence mechanisms e.g. Archer Limitations – Extra info for Y2 Gender bias / Zeitgeist ◦ The theory was developed during the Victorian period when women were not perceived as being equal to men. Freud’s theory reflects this time period by stating that women are inferior to men for example with his suggestion of penis envy in the oedipal complex. However, a modern interpretation of this suggests that women are not envious of men's anatomy but rather their power and status in society. This may not apply to our modern Western culture and therefore the theory may be out of date and not relevant to society. Limitations Unfalsifiable The abstract concepts mean that it is impossible to measure and therefore prove or disprove. Therefore the psychodynamic theory of abnormality is not very useful to psychologists as we cannot tell what exactly the problem is or whether there has been any improvement. Freud mostly developed his theory from case studies on older children and adults. Therefore it is difficult to generalise to wider populations and he may have made invalid assumptions about childhood. Freud (1909) Little Hans Aim To document the case of and treat Little Hans: •who was suffering from anxiety •a lively interest in his widdler •developed a phobia of white horses Method Longitudinal Case study (lasted two years) and studied Little Hans in depth over this period ◦ One interview was conducted during the study with Freud ◦ Data was sent to Freud using letters from the father: ◦ The Father asked his son (Hans) questions and documented the conversations adding his own interpretation of his sons behaviour ◦ He observed his sons behaviour and explained this to Freud ◦ He also noted down Hans’ dreams and comments made ◦ Freud interpreted the information he was sent and then sent letter to Hans’ father on how to deal with Hans’ behaviour 25 Sample •Little Hans (Herbert Graf) was studied from age 3 to age 5. •Han’s father Max Graf was an Austrian author, critic, musicologist and member of Freud's circle and his mother was a patient of Freud’s and met Max through Freud. Method / Data Collection ◦ Data was gathered by Little Han’s father (a firm believer of Freud’s ideas) regularly observing and questioning Hans about his thoughts, dreams and fantasies. He then sent records of the events and conversations via letter to Freud who interpreted the information and replied to Little Hans’ father with advice on how to proceed. ◦ Freud replied giving directions as to how to deal with the situation, based on his interpretations of the father’s written reports and conversations – Freud advised on how to adopt his psychoanalytic techniques to Max Graf - which involves the interpretation of thoughts and fantasies with the intention of bringing the unconscious into awareness and by doing so helping the patient (Little Hans) to develop a better understanding of their behaviour. ◦ Freud met Little Hans only twice, on one occasion for a therapeutic session (interview) and on another when he paid a social visit to deliver a birthday present to Hans. Procedure (brief) Just before he was three, Hans started to show a lively interest in his ‘widdler’ and the presence/absence of this organ in others – human and non-human. At this time he had a tendency to masturbate, bringing threats from his mother to send for Dr A. to cut it off. When he was three and a half, Hans gained a baby sister, Hanna, whom he resented and subsequently, subconsciously, wished his mother would drop in the bath so she would drown. Procedure (brief) Later Hans developed a fear of being bitten by white horses. This seemed to be linked to two incidents: ◦ (i) Overhearing a father say to a child, “Don’t put your finger to the white horse or it will bite you.” ◦ (ii) Seeing a horse that was pulling a carriage fall down and kick about with its legs. His fear was then generalised to carts and buses. Both before and after the development of the phobias (of the bath and horses), Hans was both anxious his mother would go away and prone to fantasies and daydreams. These included: ◦ The giraffe fantasy. ◦ 2 plumber fantasies (only need 1). ◦ The parenting fantasy. Having received ‘help’ from his father and Freud, after the plumber and parenting fantasy, both the ‘illness’ and analysis came to an end. Hans’s widdler obsession (evidence of his Oedipus complex) Hans showed ‘lively’ interest in his penis (which he called his ‘widdler’) – because of his Oedipus complex At age 3 ½ he was told by his mother that if he touched his penis again, the doctor would come and cut it off - Hans was repressing his desire to masturbate as his parents had told him not to, so this was causing his castration anxiety When 4½, Hans was being bathed and asked his mother to touch his ‘widdler’ and that her touching it would be great fun – desire for his mother related to his Oedipus complex 30 Aims for today! • What are the assumptions of the individual differences approach? • Freud’s theories (e.g. Oedipus complex, Phallic Stage) • Picture poster • Little Hans Case Study Recap Test 1. Describe the sample in Freud’s study [2] 2. Outline one weakness of the sample used in Freud’s study [2] 3. Describe one of Hans’ plumber fantasies. [2] 4. Outline how Freud interpreted one of Hans’ plumber fantasies. [2] 5. Describe the giraffe dream [2] 6. Describe how Freud explained the giraffe dream [2] 7. Describe how the data was collected. [4] 8. Suggest one reason why this data may not be considered valid. [2] 9. Describe why Freud suggested that Hans’ fear of horses symbolised his fear of his father [2] 10. Explain the research method used in Freud’s study [2] 11. One weakness of the research method used in this study [2]
