Freud’s Psychosexual Stages in psychology
Sigmund Freud - The psychosexual stages are five different developmental periods—oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital stages— during which the individual seeks pleasure from different areas of the body that are associated with sexual feelings. Freud emphasized that a child’s first five years were most important to social and personality development.
In Freud’s theory, there is often conflict between the child and parent. The conflict arises because the child wants immediate satisfaction or gratification of its needs, while the parents often place restrictions on when, where, and how the child’s needs should be satisfied.
Freud emphasized the importance of a child’s first five years in influencing future social development or future personality problems.
1 Oral Stage Period: Early infancy—first 18 months of life.
Potential conflict: The oral stage lasts for the first 18 months of life and is a time when the infant’s pleasure seeking is centered on the mouth.Pleasure-seeking activities include sucking, chewing, and biting.
If child were locked into or fixated at this stage because his oral wishes were gratified too much or too little, he would continue to seek oral gratification as an adult.
2 Anal Stage Period: Early infancy— 1 to 3 years.
Potential conflict: Does an infant’s experience during breast feeding have lasting effects? The anal stage lasts from the age of about 1 to 3 and is a time when the infant’s pleasure seeking is centered on the anus and its functions of elimination.
If child were locked into or fixated at this stage, he would continue to engage in behavioral activities related to retention or elimination. Retention may take the form of being very neat, stingy, or behaviorally rigid. Elimination may take the form of being generous or messy.
3 Phallic Stage Period: Early childhood— 3 to 6 years.
Potential conflict: The phallic (FAL-ick) stage lasts from about age 3 to 6 and is a time when the infant’s pleasure seeking is centered on the genitals.
During this stage, child (he) will compete with the parent of the same sex (his father) for the affections and pleasures of the parent of the opposite sex (his mother). Problems in resolving this competition (called the Oedipus complex ) may result in he going through life trying to prove his toughness.
4 Latency Stage Period: Middle and late childhood—from 6 to puberty.
The latency stage, which lasts from about age 6 to puberty, is a time when the child represses sexual thoughts and engages in nonsexual activities, such as developing social and intellectual skills.
At puberty, sexuality reappears and marks the beginning of a new stage.
5 Genital Stage Period: Puberty through adulthood.
The genital stage lasts from puberty through adulthood and is a time when the individual has renewed sexual desires that he or she seeks to fulfill through relationships with members of the opposite sex.
If he successfully resolved conflicts in the first three stages, he will have the energy to develop loving relationships and a healthy and mature personality.
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