psychosexual stages Flashcards
psychosexual stages of development
Freud found that different parts of our bodies become particularly sensitive as we grow, and he called these erogenous zones.
Freud believed that we pass through 5 different stages of development, and within each stage our sexual energy (libido) is focused on a particular body organ.
oral stage
Approximately birth to 1 year
The mouth is the focus of sensation and pleasurable experiences - it is the organ of pleasure.
The least contentious of the stages as there is biological evidence to show that babies do have more nerve endings in this area therefore it makes sense for babies to derive pleasure from suckling.
Freud suggested that an individual could become fixated in this stage if they were over or under fed as a baby.
anal stage
Approximately 1 to 3 years
The organ of pleasure is now the anus.
The child derives pleasure from retention (holding) or expulsion (letting go) of faeces.
In this stage the child becomes aware of the demands of reality, as the parent begins to impose potty training on the child. For the first time the child has restrictions imposed on its behaviour.
Too strict or too lax potty training can result in the child becoming fixated in this stage.
The child may also come to realise that they can exercise power over the parents by the retention or expulsion of faeces. There are 2 possible outcomes to this fixation, either anally retentive (organised) or anally expulsive (messy).
phallic stage
Approximately 3 to 6 years.
The organ of pleasure is now the genitals, as the child becomes fully aware of gender differences; it becomes obsessed with its own genitals.
According to Freud, this is the most important stage of development and is where the Oedipus complex occurs.
latency stage
Approximately 6 to 12 years
The child develops their mastery of the world around them. The conflicts and issues of the previous stages are repressed. This is clear from the fact that children cannot remember much of their early years.
genital stage
Genital stage
Approximately 12 years onwards
This stage marks the beginning of mature adult sexuality.
The calm of latency is disrupted as the id makes powerful demands in the form of heterosexual desires.
The opposite sex is now needed to satisfy the libido.
This stage directs us towards sexual intercourse and the beginnings of adult life.
fixation
Conflict can occur in each stage (except latency), as if the child receives too much or too little stimulation the libido might become fixated in this stage and this would seriously affect the development of the adult personality.
conflict
The Oedipus complex, which occurs at the phallic stage. According to Freud, boys develop a sexual attraction towards their mother during this stage and a hatred of their father.
