A psychodynamic therapist wished to investigate the childhood origins of generalized anxiety. She conducted unstructured interviews with four of her long-term clients, asking them to describe their earliest childhood memories. She then analysed their descriptions, interpreting references to 'shadows' and 'lost keys' as symbolic evidence of repressed conflicts from the phallic stage of psychosexual development.
Referring to the study described above, explain why psychodynamic researchers have often been criticised for neglecting the rules of the scientific approach.
248 exam-style questions on AQA A Level Psychology Approaches in Psychology, covering Learning approaches, Cognitive approach, Biological approach, Psychodynamic approach (A-level only), Humanistic Psychology (A-level only), and Comparison of approaches (A-level only). Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.