Freud’s Psychosexual Stages of Development

Freud’s Psychosexual Stages of Development Oral stage (Birth-1 year): pleasure is experienced through oral stimulation (e.g., sucking at mother’s breast). Freud believed that a person could become fixated at certain stages, and he thought if someone was fixated at the oral stage, this might manifest in an adult as excessive oral stimulation, like eating, smoking, or drinking Anal stage (1-3): at this point children are learning to control the elimination of their waste (toilet training). Learning the rules of toilet training can influence later behavior and attitudes towards rules and regulations. Pleasure is gained from waste expulsion, but the child can also experience frustration. Fixation at this stage can manifest as excessive orderliness, cleanliness, or messiness. Phallic (3-6): The focus is now on the genitalia, and children are aware of their bodies and the differences between male and female bodies. ·         Oedipus complex: the male child’s desire to possess the mother and kill the father. The male child is jealous of the father’s intimacy with the mother, and wants to kill the father so he can possess the mother. However, the ego recognizes that the father is stronger, resulting in fear of castration. The boy will begin to identify with the father, and by identifying with the father, the castration anxiety subsides (if he identifies with the father and takes on traits of the father, the father is less likely to castrate him). ·         Elektra complex (this was developed by Jung, Freud referred to it as feminine Oedipus attitude or negative Oedipus complex): The girl develops penis envy because without a penis, she cannot possess the mother. So, she redirects her desire towards her father, leading to development of heterosexual feminine identity. The heterosexual female identity culminates in childbearing, and the child replaces the penis. Latency (6-puberty): This period begins after the Oedipal conflict has been resolved and lasts until puberty; Freud did not see any big developmental milestones in this period. Fixation in this stage would result in sexual unfulfillment. Genital (puberty onwards): This stage begins with puberty: the maturation of the genitals and emergence of sexual impulses. Fixation at this stage could result in frigidity, impotence, and unsatisfactory relationships. Class, What do you see as an issue with this view of human development? 250 words   Part Two The Oedipus Complex In psychoanalytic theory, the term Oedipus complex denotes the emotions and ideas that the mind keeps in the unconscious, via dynamic repression, that concentrate upon a boy’s desire to sexually possess his mother, and kill his father. Sigmund Freud, who coined the term “Oedipus complex”, believed that the Oedipus complex is a desire for the mother in both sexes (he believed that girls have a homosexual crush for their mother). The Oedipus Complex derives its name from a character from Greek Tragedy. This short animation explains the complex and shows how Sigmund Freud and Edvard Westermarck had differing theories around human sexual development. The Oedipus Complex https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH_PRnY7Jkw What is Psychoanalysis? Part 3: The Oedipus Complex https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7zZPrY8tGs 250 words