Psychology (A2 level): please help!!!!?

[looi]

We've just been taught about Freud and the 5 psychosexual stages. There are a few things which I'm unsure about, all of which apply to the phallic stage of development.

1) What are the possible causes of a fixation at the phallic stage? I thought that perhaps this could be due the fact that the child did not get enough attention from the same-sex parent throughout the period when the child identified with them, or due to the fact that the same-sex parent was not a strong-enough role model for the child? Is this correct please and are there any other reasons for a fixation at the phallic stage?

2) What impact does a fixation at the phallic stage, have on a person's adult personality?

3) And lastly... I am unsure how a psychologist would go about the process of free association and dream analysis.

Thanks for all your help.

[Sunnybear]

Without doing research on your psychology question, here are my thoughts. These, of course, won't fit the actual theories Freud believed. Though his work is often not esteemed, supposedly it hasn't been challenged or changed. Could it be there's actually some truth behind some of his reasoning? Not all of it is widely accepted, and some of it sounds "out there," but there are a few points he makes that make some sense. Whether you agree with his logic or not, you have to understand his theories for your class.

1. We are all sexual beings. From the time a baby or toddler realizes he or she has genitalia there's a fascination with it.
2. Some people have a hyper sex drive. Some outgrow their fascination with sex and have a more "normal" or acceptable approach. It's like anything else, you have to develop a sense of discipline.
3. When I interpret dreams I ask questions about what's going on in a person's life or things that might have happened. A little understanding of psychology and a little of what I call "uncommon sense" makes it possible to figure out what details of the dream might mean.

After browsing the internet here are just a few things I came up with.
1. "As the child becomes more interested in his genitals, and in the genitals of others, conflict arises. The conflict, labeled the Oedipus complex (The Electra complex in women), involves the child's unconscious desire to possess the opposite-sexed parent and to eliminate the same-sexed one." http://www.victorianweb.org/science/freud/develop.html I don't buy into this because children can benefit from both a male and female parent and choose who to model (or which traits to model from each parent).
2. "Fixation at the phallic stage develops a phallic character, who is reckless, resolute, self-assured, and narcissistic--excessively vain and proud. The failure to resolve the conflict can also cause a person to be afraid or incapable of close love; As well, Freud postulated that fixation could be a root cause of homosexuality." http://www.victorianweb.org/science/freud/develop.html
3. free association: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_association_(psychology) Sounds like the patient is supposed to ramble on and on until he or she discovers the root cause. "Freud developed the technique as an alternative to hypnosis, both because of its perceived fallibility and because he found that patients could recover and comprehend crucial memories while conscious. However, Freud found that despite a subject's effort to remember, a certain resistance kept him or her from the most painful and important memories. He eventually came to the view that certain items were completely repressed, and off-limits to the conscious realm of the mind." (same link) I think there's some truth to that. I don't remember most of my childhood, but I don't think anything all that traumatic happened. Just a lot of yelling and anger.

"Initially, free association can be difficult, because people are accustomed to editing their thoughts, presenting them in a logical, linear fashion, and leaving out potentially embarrassing material. However, the technique becomes more comfortable with practice and with encouragement by the therapist. The more closely the patient can replicate his or her stream of consciousness, the more likely it is that defenses will be lowered and repressed material brought to light. Besides the content of the thoughts themselves, the connections between them may also offer important information to the therapist." http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g2699/is_0001/ai_2699000136

[piggingheck]

Did they remember to tell you that much of Freud's work has been discredited and that if he were publishing today he would be written off as a quack?

[Maya]

http://wikilivres.info/wiki/index.php/Sigmund_Freud
http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/f#a391
http://www.psychiatrie-und-ethik.de/infc/1_gesamt_en.html
http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/IES/index.html
http://www.royby.com/philosophy/pages/love_sex_truth.html
http://www.sexuality.org/
http://www.biresource.org/pamphlets/scales.html
http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/Entrance_Page/E_Learning_Courses/e_learning_courses.htm