| Aims of Freuds study | - Child sexuality + Oedipus Complex
- To explain phobias + treat it through psychoanalysis |
| Theory of the study | - Sexuality is evident from birth
- Psychosexual stages |
| Background to study | - Hans developed a phobia
- Freud said caused by unconscious mind, dreams + fantasises in phallic stage
- Hans father contacted Freud to psychoanalyse him |
| Research method | - Case study - longitudinal study
- Data was collected by father regularly observing and questioning hans |
| Sample | - Hans
- Study for 2 years
- Aged between 3-5
- Involved father, mother and sister
- Middle class, Vienna family (Austria) |
| Main features of this case | - Little Hans was very interested in his widdler
- Mother threatened to cut it off
- Little Hans resented his sister, developed fear of bath
- Fear of white horses
- Fear that mother would desert him
- Little Hans reported frequent fantasies |
| Idiographic | - Drawing conclusions that can only apply to certain people |
| What did Hans want to do? | - Fantasies about his mother + wanted to sexually posses her |
| How was the data collected | - Data was collected by father regularly observing and questioning hans
- Sent to Freud via letter |
| Strengths of data collection | - In depth study about Hans' fears, dreams and fantasies
- Interviewed by father = less likely to be stressed, answered willingly |
| Weaknesses of data collection | - Father was follower of Freud, may have asked leading questions to get answers to support Freuds theories
- Emotional involvement may have influenced what he said |
| Who was Hans father | - A friend and supporter of Freud
- Orchestra composer |
| Procedure | - Data collected by father, regularly observed + questioned Hans
- Both Freud + father offered interpretations of Han's behaviour |
| How many times did Freud meet Little Hans? | - Twice
- Once= Therapeutic session
- Other= Social visit to deliver a present |
| What were the sources of Han's anxieties during his early life according to Freud | - Mother, Father and Sister |
| Why was Han's mother a source of his anxiety in Freuds study? | - He had sexual fantasies about her
- But she had threatened to cut off his penis which led to castration anxiety |
| Source of Han's anxiety | - Han's saw his father as a rival, wished him dead
- But at the same time he loved his father, created a conflict of emotions |
| Hans Phobias | 1: Afraid of horses
- White horse that would bite
- Black bits around mouth and dark circles around its eyes
2: His mother would let him go in the bath |
| Freuds interpretations of Little Hans phobias | - White horse fell down in street, father told girl horse could bite
- Black around horses mouth + blinkers worn over eyes REPRESENTED his fathers black moustache + glasses
- Hans mother would let him go in the bath + he would be separated from his mother |
| Symbolism in fear of horses | - Oedipus complex jealous + hostile
- Fear that horse would bit him represented fear that his father might castrate him as he wanting to possess his mother |
| Little Hans' dreams and fantasties | - Giraffe Daydream
- Plumber fantasy
- Parenting fantasy |
| Giraffe daydream | - Big + crumpled giraffe
- Big giraffe called out as Hans took the crumpled one away
- Then it stopped calling out |
| Explanation of the giraffe daydream | - Re-enactment of what happened in morning when Hans climbed into bed with his parents
- The father (big giraffe) objected and called out as Hans took crumpled giraffe (mother away)
- Wants mother to himself |
| Plumber fantasy | - The plumber came and took away Hans' behind + widdler
- Replaced them with larger ones |
| Explanation of plumber fantasy | - Hans wanted to be like his father
- End of the Oedipus stage |
| Parenting fantasy | - Hans is the father of his imaginary family
- Mother was Hans' wife
- Hans father was their grandfather |
| Explanation of the parenting fantasy | - Hans sexual desires for his mother
- His fear of his father being removed as he was the grandfather |
| Results of this study | - All unconscious, in phallic stage
- His fantasies were the resolution of the Oedipus complex |
| Conclusions | - Overcame phobias by acknowledging his feelings of resentment
- Supports all of Freud's theories |
| Psychoanalytic methods | - Dream analysis
- Interpretation and decoding of psychoanalytic symbols |
| Data | - Qualitive |
| Qualitive data | - Analysis of behaviour |
| Validity | - High chance of misinterpretation
- Father was follower of Freud, may have asked leading questions to get answers to support Freuds theories
- Father bias, may not have reported everything |
| Strengths of the case study method in this study | - Detailed descriptions of behaviours
- Longitudinal method, allows qualitative data to be collected |
| Weaknesses of the case study method in this study | - Not generalisable, one individual
- Bias |
| Castration anxiety meaning | - Hans was afraid of being castrated by a horse
- Bite off his widler |
| Controls in this study | - Not very controlled
- Lacks objectivity, second-hand data through father
- Psychoanalysis, not trying to prove anything, not scientific |
| Confounding variables | - Subjective, biased observations of father
- Little Hans aware of his father observing him, demand characteristics |
| Ethics | - Discussing unconscious motivations may have increased his anxiety
- Especially as it was conducted by his father |
| Ecological validity | - Natural environment, not in artificial lab conditions |
| Ethnocentrism | - Ethnocentric – middle class, Vienna
- Not ethnocentric - phobias are common in children across the world, may not apply just to this culture |
| Nature vs nurture | - Freud stated that nature + nurture affects disorders |
| Reductionism vs Holism (REDUCTIONISM) | - Explained phobias + fantasies in psychosexual development
- He reduced the explanation to this alone |
| Reductionism vs Holism (HOLISM) | - In-depth case study over 2 years in an unstructured way |
| Usefulness | - Supports theories, but only study with a child
- Many criticisms of the psychoanalytic method
- Other explanations, attachment theory, classical conditioning |
| How does Hans resolve his subconscious conflict? | - He identifies with his father and imitates his behaviour |
