Psychodynamic Approach:

Boys notice that women do not have penises, so castration

fear occurs. The desire to posses the mother is repressed. The
Boys identify with their fathers and take on behaviours and
moral codes, in order to resolve the Oedipus complex. The
feelings for their mothers produce guilt and the only way of
removing this is 'becoming' their fathers.
Girls identify with their mothers to remove guilt and learns her
gender role so she can possess her father and gain a penis
substitute. Girls learn to repress their love for their father and
sublimate their sexual desire in a more socially acceptable
way.
Biological Approach:
Boys have the chromosomes XY and girls have XX, leading to
developmental differences in the foetus, such as the type of
hormones produced and which genitals develop.
Brain structure also varies within boys and girls.
The approach takes on the ideas of nature and nurture in
order to explain gender development.
Learning Approach:
Learning Theory suggests operant conditioning and vicarious
reinforcement lead to gender development.
Operant conditioning suggests that there is a difference in the
way that babies are treated with regards to their sex. They are
rewarded or punished for their behaviour accordingly.
Children are more likely to imitate someone of their own sex,
leading to gender roles based on what is socially acceptable.

Biological and Learning Approach Comparison

Similarities
Both use scientific research
methods, preferably experiments
rather than observations, and
look for cause and effect
relationships.
Both rely on animal research e.g.
rats in order to find cause and
effect relationships.

Differences
Biological focuses on nature and
learning on nurture and
environment after birth.
Biological looks at sex
assignment and learning looks at
behaviour development
connected with upbringing.

Both approaches can be used to

find therapies, e.g.
chemotherapy and classical
conditioning (flooding).
Both reductionist approaches as
they only focus on one aspect,
biological being simple
physiological influences on
behaviour and learning being
that simple environmental
factors influence behaviour.
Biological and Psychodynamic Approach Comparison
Similarities
Both examine biological features,
the biological approach looks at
genes and hormones, the
psychodynamic approach looks
at the id, ego and superego.
Both consider environmental
factors (parents and society in
development of superego and
issues like abuse in brain
development)
Both use case studies e.g. Money
and Little Hans
Both linked to the treatment and

Differences
Psychodynamic focuses on
mental aspects, biological on
physiological.
Psychodynamic looks at gender
development and biological at
sex assignment
Psychodynamic does not use
scientific measures (ego) but the
biological does (chromosomes)
Nature vs nurture debate,

diagnosis of mental disorders,

schizophrenia and
psychoanalysis.
Both think that mental disorders
are pre-determined e.g.
schizophrenia is linked to genes
and based on innate drives (id,
ego, superego and childhood
experiences) which cannot be
controlled.

biological is based on genetics

etc, psychodynamic on
experiences.

Learning and Psychodynamic Approach Comparison

Similarities
Both look at development
according to social norms,
psychodynamic by same-sex
parent behaviour and learning by
reinforcement
Both use the idea of
identification of same sex
behaviour
Neither approach focuses on
biological influences.

Differences
Psychodynamic allows for
biological influences in
explanations and the learning
states that behaviour is only
influenced after birth.
Psychodynamic is mainly nature,
learning mainly nurture.
Psychodynamic does not use
scientific measures whereas
learning does.