Psychodynamic Theory Evaluation

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  • Created by: Lissilou
  • Created on: 01-05-14 17:48

Psychodynamic Theory Evaluation

Advantages

  • Freud's study of a boy called Little Hans gives support to the theory. The boy had a fear of horses as they reminded him of his father. Once he had identified with his father by resolving the Oedipus conflict, the phobia disappeared and he began to act in a sex-typed way.

Disadvantages

  • As we are dealing with the subconscious mechanisms, it is virtually impossible to test out the theory. Therefore, it is unfalsifiable and unscientific. How can you test something that you can't find?
  • There are alternative, more plausible theories that can explain gender-appropriate behaviour which have much more evidence.

Evaluation

Although there has been studies that support it, as it's mainly in the subconscious there is no way to test the theory which leads it to be a very far-fetched theory, especially as there are more reasonable theories that explain gender-appropriate behaviour.

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