1 Psychology 320: Gender Psychology Lecture 18

2 1. How does psychodynamic theory explain gender development? Psychodynamic Theory of Gender Differences:

3 By the end of today’s class, you should be able to: 1. describe the Topographical Model of the Mind. 2. describe the Structural Model of Personality. 3. describe the Stage Theory of Psychosexual Development.

4 How does psychodynamic theory explain gender development? Sigmund Freud proposed psychodynamic theory in the late 19 th century, when pervasive social thought maintained that females were inferior to males. In his theory, Freud attempted to explain personality development and account for female inferiority. Among the primary theories that Freud proposed are:

5 1. The Topographical Model of the Mind: Maintains that the mind is comprised of three components.  The conscious component: Information one is currently aware of.  The preconscious component: Information contained in memory; readily accessible.  The unconscious component: Information that has been actively repressed; expressed in symbolic form.

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7 2. The Structural Model of Personality: Maintains that personality is comprised of three components.  The id: Encompasses all biological drives or instincts.  The ego: Attempts to express the drives of the id in an effective and safe manner; the “executor” of personality.  The superego: Encompasses values, morals and ideals that are internalized from others (e.g., one’s parents).

8 3. The Stage Theory of Psychosexual Development: Maintains that personality develops in discrete stages, largely involving events in the unconscious component of the mind. The Stage Theory of Psychosexual Development makes a number of assumptions:

9  in each of the first 3 stages, the individual is confronted by an unconscious conflict that revolves around her/his need to obtain sexual gratification.  in each of the five stages, an erogenous zone becomes the focal point of attention through which the individual obtains sexual gratification.  personality development occurs in 5 stages.

10  fixation occurs when the conflict associated with a specific stage is not well resolved.  successful personality development occurs when the individual navigates through the 5 stages without becoming “fixated” at any one stage.

11  individuals who become fixated at different stages develop different personality characteristics.  fixation at one stage makes it more difficult to resolve conflicts at subsequent stages.  gender differences emerge between females and males during the third stage.

12 1. Oral Stage  0 – 18 months.  Erogenous zone: Mouth.  Sexual impulses are largely expressed through nursing at the mother’s breast.  The stages of psychosexual development are:

13 Freud (1916/1961) wrote: “Sucking at the mother’s breast is the starting point of the whole of sexual life, the unmatched prototype of every later sexual satisfaction, to which fantasy often enough returns in times of need. This sucking involves making the mother’s breast the object of the sexual instinct. I can give you no idea of the important bearing of this first object upon the choice of every later object, of the profound effects it has in its transformations and substitutions in even the remotest regions of our sexual life.”

14  Main conflict occurs when the infant is weaned from the breast.  Fixation occurs if the infant is prematurely weaned or experiences trauma while being weaned.  Two personality types result from fixation at this stage: the oral-incorporative character and the oral sadistic character.

15 2.Anal Stage  18 months – 3 years.  Erogenous zone: Anus.  Sexual impulses are largely expressed through defecation.

16  Fixation occurs if the child is subjected to strict and rigid toilet training practices.  Main conflict occurs when the child is toilet trained.  Two personality types result from fixation at this stage: the anal retentive character and the anal expulsive character.

17 1. How does psychodynamic theory explain gender development? Psychodynamic Theory of Gender Differences: