Critically evaluate the psychoanalytic approach

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Critically evaluate the psychoanalytic approach – Vicki Holgate

Sigmund Freud the founder of psychoanalysis  (1896-1939) worked on many ideas and cases that were to do with the mind and the body. Freud spent most of his life in Vienna where he expressed and distinguished the concepts of the unconscious, infantile sexuality and repression.

Freud identified psychosexual stages, which are: -

Oral stage – (approx 0-2 years) During the first year of life the libido is gratified through stimulation of the mucous membrane of the mouth (breast feeding, sucking behaviour). The child will enjoy sucking and biting.

Freud suggested that if a child is weaned too early or too late they can have a fixation by using sucking sensations. Freud though did not give any indication when the correct time is to wean a child in order to overcome these fixations. He did though suggest that the fixations could be apparent in later life in the form of pen sucking or biting of the nail and smoking, as they are all types of oral stimulation/activities. Freud also said that too little stimulation in this early age could lead to the child in adult life having uncaring, self-centred attitude. And the other way with too much stimulation can lead to self controlled, gullible and unrealistic goals. These are both long lasting affects in later life if this stage is not correctly overcome.

Anal stage – (approx 2-4 years) Pleasure is focused on the passing or excreaton of faces. On this stage Freud said that if parents were too pushy and strict with toilet training then the child may become anally retentive – resulting in excessive tiredness and cleanliness and very self controlled. If the child enjoyed the training this could lead to an anally expulsive personality – messy, untidy and sadistic. However where did Freud provide this evidence that this is caused in later life if the child does not pass through this stage sufficiently?

Phallic stage (approx 3-6 years)– Child becomes aware of new pleasures – playing with themselves. Girls and boys development takes a different path from this stage as Freud believed that children now begin to have sexual feeling towards their parents and that the same sex parent is now a rival. (Known as Oedipus complex). Boys feel hostile towards their father as they fight for attention from their mothers. Boys feel that the father may castrate them but then turn the other way and act the same way as their father in order to possess his mother. This is where they learn the moral code of conduct and all sexual desire is now repressed. For girls (Electra complex) realise that they don’t have a penis and experience penis envy and results in them looking at their mother as a rival. They do then identify with their mothers and begin to demonstrate their behaviour and moral grounds. Any fixation in the philliac stage can lead to obsession with power, authority a lack of feeling towards others and a variety of sexual problems.

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Latency/puberty stage (6 years to puberty) - marks the beginning of adolescence. The period of latency is characterized by indifference to sexually related matters. During this time, the child's identification with the parent of his own sex becomes stronger. The child imitates his or her behaviour -- speech, gestures, mannerisms, as well as beliefs and value systems. The child also incorporates more and more of the beliefs and values of his culture. Thus, the super-ego is developing to a greater extent. (It began to develop during the late anal and phallic stages. The child comes to distinguish between acceptable and ...

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Quality of Writing Quality of written communication is high, the candidate expresses herself clearly and succinctly. Spelling and grammar are excellent, there are very few errors for such an extended piece of work. Appropriate vocabulary and language are used for GCSE level, and for the subject matter.

Level of Analysis The extremely broad nature of the essay means that it would be difficult to examine every facet of the pschoanalytic approach to psychology, but this candidate's effort is commendable. Her discussion of the stages of development and the id, ego and superego is detailed and covers most, if not all of the content for these areas. Some topics are limited in their discussion(levels of the mind, dream analysis) but the major points are included, although development of these areas would improve the essay. The critical evaluation of the psychoanalytic approach is strong, with the bulk of it coming at the end of the essay, although some is included throughout. Occasionally the candidate poses questions in order to critique the approach - "However where did Freud provide this evidence that this is caused in later life if the child does not pass through this stage sufficiently?" - but fails to make any attempt at answering them, meaning that it has little effect in the essay. The inclusion of Grünbaum, a noted critic of Freud and his theories shows the candidate's knowledge of psychology is of a high standard, and the recognition of Jung, although brief, demonstrates thorough knowledge of the psychoanalytic approach, because the candidate has not limited herself to Freud's work alone. However, this section of the essay could be expanded.

Response to Question The essay is extensive in its response to the question. The extent to which the candidate discusses different aspects of the Psychoanalytic approach is somewhat unbalanced - the stages of development are discussed in a high level of detail compared to the levels of the mind or dream analysis. The evaluation of the approach is detailed and to a high standard.