Evaluation

1. Evaluation Support for the Oedipus complex Hans was sexually aroused by his mother He was jealous of his father and feared castration by him (the horse biting the finger) He fantasised about taking mother away from father He tried to ‘seduce’ his mother by asking her to touch his penis He ‘admitted’ he wanted to marry his mother Resolution came with the plumber fantasy, where he wanted to be like his father, and the fantasy of fathering his own children with his mother as the father becomes grandfather.

2. Strengths 1 – Case Study • Case studies, such as this one carried out by Freud, are particularly useful in revealing and treating the origins of abnormal behaviour. • Some forms of psychotherapy rely on building up a long and detailed case history as an aid to understanding and then helping the client.

3. Strengths 2 – Father as analyst • The case study provided a very in-depth picture producing lots of qualitative data. • In fact Freud argued that it was the special relationship between Hans and his father that allowed the analysis to progress and for the discussions with the boy to be so detailed and so intimate.

4. Criticism 1 – Case Study • This case study only relates to one individual and we therefore have to be careful generalising from the findings. • We have no way of assessing how typical Little Hans is. Therefore we have to ask whether this study is unique to the relationship between Little Hans, his Father and Freud or whether we can generalise it to other cases.

5. Criticisms 2 – Misrepresentation and bias • Firstly, Freud and Hans’ father were looking to ‘prove’ the phallic stage and the Oedipus complex. Therefore they are probably guilty of misrepresenting much of Hans’ behaviour. • Any child could have become afraid of horses after seeing one fall over and thrash around - this could have been quite traumatic for a little boy. • Hans was studied for years by his own father, who admired Freud’s work. • This surely raises the question of objectivity. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to remain unbiased in a case like this.

6. Criticisms 3 – Leading Questions • Police and Lawyers know full well the problems of leading questions. Not so Freud or Hans’ father! • For example, Hans’ father said “When you saw the horse fall over, did you think of daddy?’ Hans replied ‘Yes, it’s possible’. • This is a blatant example of putting words in Hans mouth. • We know from Samuel & Bryant the effects of adults asking questions of children.

7. Criticisms 4 – Unusual Therapy • No searching through ‘past memory’ Hans father simply asked Hans! • Accounts were made at the time of analysis and treatment. • It is thought that Freud only saw Hans on 1 or 2 occasions.

8. Other explanations 1 - Castration • Perhaps Hans dreams about widdler’s & widdling were caused by his fear that his mother might cut off his penis? Not father fear. • But - Freud’s theory was that mothers were the primary love object of little boys, (not that Mother could be feared)

9. Other explanations 2 - Identity • Erich Fromm (& Social Learning Theory) • It was because Hans’ father took such an interest in him that Hans identified with his father and wished to be like him

10. Other explanations 3 - Separation • Bowlby • Hans may have been afraid of being separated from his mother (separation anxiety) • His fear of horses could have been from the fact that they were the main form of transport at the time likely to take his mother away! • A deeper look at the case reveals that Hans mother was quite disturbed herself, and was threatening to leave frequently. • When Hans’ sister was born, he was kept away from her. This may have made the anxiety worse. • So maybe the feelings of ‘fear of leaving’ were projected onto the horse, rather than ‘fear of father’

11. Other explanations 4 - Learning • Hans had seen a horse fall down in the street when with his mother (CS) - equivalent to road accident today • He ‘learned’ to be afraid of horses! • Loud noise=UCS, Horse falling=CS, Fear of horses=CR.

12. Other explanations 5 – Genetics and Environment • Hans’ father and mother had both been treated by Freud (this was how they met). • Maybe Hans had psychologically disturbed ‘genes’ inherited from his parents. • The family life of Hans was turbulent. The parents divorced and remarried. Maybe this emotional turmoil, rather than psychosexual development, was responsible for Hans’ psychological disturbance.

13. Ethics 1 – Perpetuating child abuse • Real-life applications. Freud possibly helped perpetuate child abuse with the notion that children actually want to be intimate with their parents. • This is a case where psychology has awful implications for society in that it has made people more reluctant to believe children reporting sexual abuse • Remember, Jung and Adler, two hugely influential colleagues of Freud’s, split with him because of his obsession with putting sexual meaning to everything.

14. Ethics 2 – Psychological harm • Hans was interviewed when he was 19 • He had no recollection of any of the discussions - “No long term effects” • Hans said when he read the case study • “it came as something from the unknown”