Specific Phobia Essay Example

desires. According to Freud when the impulses of the id are forced into the unconscious, it creates anxieties in people.

Freud believed that specific phobia is a defence against these anxieties. His evidence to support this theory was drawn from a case study on ‘Little Hans’, who had a fear of horses. According to Freud’s theory on psychosexual development Little Hans was going through the Oedipus Complex so was very frightened that his father would punish him for the feelings he had for his mother, and projected his fear on to horses which resembled his father with the blinkers and muzzle representing glasses and a moustache.

Freud believed that once Little Hans had identified with his father the phobia would disappear. Despite the extensive research in both the biological and psychodynamic models it is not possible to draw from the findings a conclusive reason for the development of specific phobia. Though there seem to be many findings from the biological model to support the theory that genetics are the origin, that people can inherit specific phobia from a parent, passed down in their genes, it is also possible that these findings are the result of sharing experiences.

In families where the child has the same specific phobia as the parent it is likely that as so much time is spent together that the child has copied the phobia after the parent has revealed great fear in front of them for example, the parent may have a fear of spiders and so cries out at the sight of one. If the child is present and see the parent showing fear at the sight

of a spider they in all probability will too develop a specific phobia.

This would mean that the results from biological studies on families and specific phobias can’t be used specifically to find the origin of specific phobia. Also with the psychodynamic model there is no concrete evidence of specific phobia originating as a defence to anxieties created by the repression of desires. In the case study the main source of data was collected by Hans’ father and recorded to Freud in letters.

When talking to his father Hans revealed that he had seen a very bad accident involving a horse falling down when attached to a cart, Hans’ mother confirmed this. He also spoke of two other minor incidents involving horses, both had instilled fear. This implies the specific phobia was the result of seeing actual incidents involving horses which frightened Hans and he was not actually projecting his fear of his father on to horses.