Psychosexual Stages
- According to Freud, children go through 5 psychosexual stages
- They must go through all 5 stages to become well-adjusted adults
- During each stage the child fixates on a different part of the body
- During each stage the child goes through conflict which they must resolve to move through the stage successfully
- If they do not resolve the conflict in each stage, it can result in adult fixation
The 5 Psychosexual Stages
| Stage | Description | Consequences of unresolved conflict |
|
Oral 0-1 years |
The mouth is the focus of pleasure Conflict can arise when weaning off bottle or breast |
Oral Fixation: Smoking, overeating, biting nails, critical and sarcastic verbalisations |
|
Anal 1-3 years |
The anus is the focus of pleasure Conflict can arise when toilet training |
Anal retentive: Neatness, perfectionism Anal expulsive: Messiness, insensitivity |
|
Phallic 3-6 years |
The genital area is the focus of pleasure Conflict can arise and cause the Oedipus or Electra complex (see below) |
Vanity, overambition, narcissism, impulsivity |
| Latency | Earlier conflicts become repressed | None |
| Genital |
The genitals are the focus of pleasure Sexual desires become conscious with the onset of puberty |
Difficulty forming heterosexual relationships |
Oedipus complex
- Boys desire closeness with the opposite sex parent i.e. their mother
- The same-sex parent (the father) is a rival who the boy wants out of the way
- Boys fear that their father will castrate them (castration anxiety)
- To reduce anxiety boys use defence mechanisms and identify with their father
- This reduces the threat and the boy internalises male characteristics and comes out of the Oedipus complex
Electra complex
- Girls desire closeness with the opposite sex parent i.e. their father
- Girls do not fear their same-sex parent (the mother) as they believe that they have already been castrated; instead they experience penis-envy
- Girls fear losing their mother's love
- To reduce anxiety the girls identify with their mother
- This reduces the threat and girls internalise female characteristics and come out of the Electra complex
