What did Freud's case study of Little Hans claim to show, and why is it the classic evidence for the psychodynamic approach?
Classic research for the psychodynamic approach: Freud (1909), Analysis of a phobia in a five-year-old boy (Little Hans). Aim, method, results, conclusions and evaluation.
An Eduqas A-Level Psychology answer to the classic psychodynamic research, Freud's (1909) case study of Little Hans. Covers the aim, the case-study method via the boy's father, the horse phobia, the Oedipal interpretation, the conclusions about psychosexual development, and a balanced evaluation.
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What this dot point is asking
Freud's (1909) case study of Little Hans is the classic research evidence for the psychodynamic approach in Component 1. You must know its aim, method, findings and conclusions, evaluate it, and explain how it supports the psychodynamic assumptions about the unconscious and psychosexual development.
The answer
Aim and method
Findings and conclusions
Evaluation
- Rich, longitudinal data. A detailed, in-depth account of one child's development over time.
- Illustrative support. A vivid example of the unconscious, displacement and the Oedipus complex.
- Single case. Cannot be generalised to other children.
- Researcher and father bias. The father (and Freud) already believed the theory, so data collection and interpretation were biased.
- Subjective and unfalsifiable. The interpretation cannot be tested, and alternatives (for example a conditioned fear after seeing a horse collapse) fit equally well; using the theory to interpret evidence for the theory is circular.
Examples in context
Example 1. Why this anchors the psychodynamic approach. The case is built entirely on psychodynamic concepts: the unconscious, the phallic stage, the Oedipus complex, displacement and identification. It is the clearest illustration of those ideas in action, which is why Eduqas uses it as the classic evidence for the psychodynamic approach.
Example 2. The contrast with Watson and Rayner. Both studies explain a child's phobia, but Watson and Rayner give a controlled, observable conditioning account (Little Albert), while Freud gives an unobservable, interpretive Oedipal account. Comparing them shows the difference between a falsifiable, scientific explanation and an unfalsifiable one, the heart of the science debate.
Try this
Q1. Identify the method used in the Little Hans study. [1 mark]
- Cue. A longitudinal case study, with data gathered by Hans's father and interpreted by Freud.
Q2. Explain how Freud used displacement to interpret Hans's phobia. [3 marks]
- Cue. Hans's unconscious anxiety about his father (the Oedipal rival) was too threatening to face, so the ego displaced it onto a safer object, horses, producing the phobia.
Q3. State one methodological weakness of the study. [2 marks]
- Cue. It is a single, ungeneralisable case; or the data were collected and interpreted by a biased father who believed the theory; or the interpretation is subjective and unfalsifiable.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC Eduqas exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Eduqas 20198 marksDescribe the method and findings of Freud's (1909) study of Little Hans. [8 marks]Show worked answer →
A description item testing method and findings (AO1).
Method: a longitudinal case study of a single boy, "Little Hans", from about age 3 to 5. Freud did not observe Hans directly; the data came from letters and reports sent by Hans's father, who recorded the boy's behaviour, dreams and conversations, which Freud then interpreted.
Findings: Hans developed a phobia of horses, fearing especially that a horse would bite him or fall down. Freud interpreted this through the phallic stage and the Oedipus complex: Hans unconsciously desired his mother and feared his father as a rival, and this fear was displaced onto horses (the black around the horses' mouths and blinkers symbolising the father's moustache and glasses). Hans's reported fantasies (for example of being a father himself) were taken as resolution of the complex through identification with the father.
Markers reward the case-study method via the father, the horse phobia, and the Oedipal/displacement interpretation.
Eduqas 202212 marksEvaluate Freud's (1909) study of Little Hans. [12 marks]Show worked answer →
A balanced evaluation (AO3) reaching a judgement.
Strengths: the case study gives rich, in-depth, longitudinal qualitative data about one child's development, the kind of detail an experiment cannot capture; and it offers strong illustrative support for Freud's theory of psychosexual development and the unconscious.
Weaknesses: it is a single case, so it cannot be generalised; the data were collected and partly interpreted by the father, who already believed Freud's theory, introducing major bias; the interpretations are subjective and unfalsifiable (alternative explanations, such as classical conditioning after seeing a horse collapse, fit the facts equally well); and the analysis relies on Freud's own theory to interpret evidence for that theory, which is circular.
A strong answer concludes that the study is a rich illustration of psychodynamic ideas but is methodologically weak, biased and unfalsifiable, so it cannot prove the theory. Markers reward developed points with a judgement.
Related dot points
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Sources & how we know this
- Eduqas GCE A Level in Psychology (A290) specification — Eduqas (2015)