Freudian Theory: Psychosexual Stages

byYennifer Castillo

Taylor LeeRayven Osby

Marvin Williams

Who is Freud?

 

Sigmund Freud was born on May 6, 1856 in Czech Republic.

Freud is known as the founding father of psychoanalysis and a method for treating mental illness. 

Freud believed that we explain our behaviour to ourselves or to others because we rarely give a true count of our motivation.

Theories: The Conscious and Unconscious Mind

The Id, Ego, and Superego Life and Death Instincts

Psychosexual Development  Defense Mechanisms 

Psychosexual Stages

Psychosexual Development is a central element of the psychoanalytic sexual drive theory, that human beings, from birth, possess an instinctual libido (sexual energy) that develops in five stages.:

• Oral

• Anal

• Phallic

• Latency

• Genital

Oral and Anal Stage

Oral Stage (0-1 year of age)

During this stage, the mouth is the pleasure center for development. Freud believed this is why infants are born with a sucking reflex and desire their mother's breast. If a child's oral needs are not met during infancy, he or she may develop negative habits such as nail biting or thumb sucking to meet this basic need.

Anal Stage (1-3 years of age)

During this stage, toddlers and preschool-aged children begin to experiment with urine and feces. The control they learn to exert over their bodily functions is manifested in toilet-training. Improper resolution of this stage, such as parents toilet training their children too early, can result in a child who is uptight and overly obsessed with order.

Phallic and Latency Stage

Phallic Stage(3-6 years of age)

During this stage, preschoolers take pleasure in their genitals and, according to Freud, begin to struggle with sexual desires toward the opposite sex parent (boys to mothers and girls to fathers). For boys, this is called the Oedipus complex, involving a boy's desire for his mother and his urge to replace his father who is seen as a rival for the mother’s attention. At the same time, the boy is afraid his father will punish him for his feelings, so he experiences castration anxiety.

Latency Stage(6-12 years of age)

During this stage, sexual instincts subside, and children begin to further develop the superego, or conscience. Children begin to behave in morally acceptable ways and adopt the values of their parents and other important adults.

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”Genital Stage (12+ years of age)

During this stage, sexual impulses reemerge. If other stages have been successfully met, adolescents engage in appropriate sexual behavior,

which may lead to marriage and childbirth.

Criticism/Evaluation

Although Freud’s Psychosexual Development Theory can be backed up with visual evidence and reasonable explanations, it is absurd to say that infants, toddlers and children under the age of 12 years old experience sexual desires.

One can argue that infants crave breast milk not because of sexual desire or pleasure from sucking but because of hunger and nutrition.

Out of all of the stages, the Genital Stage is the most reasonable and accurate, but can be explained through biology. At the age of 12 most boys begin to produce sperm and girls receive their menstrual cycles. These hormones is what causes their sexual attraction.

Resources

http://www.simplypsychology.org/psychoseual.html

https://www.dred.com/early-signs-of-genital-warts.jpg

http://www.slideshare.net/jamiedavies/week-21-psychosexual-stages

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud