THE 5 STAGES OF FREUD'S PSYCHOSEXUAL DEVELOPMENT - PSYCHOLOGY - 2025

The stages of human psychosexual development described by the famous Viennese psychologist Sigmund Freud describe the supposed development of the personality throughout childhood and the different phases we go through during it.

According to Freud, in each of these stages the child focuses his sexual energy in a specific erogenous area. This sexual energy, also known as libido, is the source of most behaviors in the child, despite the fact that it moves him unconsciously.

Bases of Freud's theory

Despite the fact that the theory of psychosexual development has always been controversial within the world of psychology (even during the time it developed it), it cannot be denied that it has had a great influence on the evolution of this discipline as an object of study. study of science.

According to Freud, the human mind develops in different phases that we all have to go through, from our childhood to our adult life. The five phases are as follows: oral, anal, phallic, latent, and genital.

During each of these phases, our sexual energy or libido is fixed in a specific area of ​​the body, from which the phases receive their name.

These areas become more important as the person develops, either as sources of potential pleasure, frustration, or both.

Freud attached special importance to these areas because he believed that life was based on two factors: tension and pleasure. Both were related to libido, tension being the accumulation of sexual energy, and pleasure its release.

Conflicts in each of the phases

As the child develops, a series of conflicts appear in his mind that he has to overcome to advance to the next phase successfully. These conflicts are related to the struggle between the three components of the mind according to Freud: the id, the ego and the superego.

The id is the fundamental force that moves the behavior of children. It is about the unconscious mind, made up of all the desires, instincts and drives that each person feels.

The other two components are developed throughout the five phases to channel these primary desires in ways that are socially acceptable.

During this process, in each of the phases there is a psychological conflict that must be resolved so that the child can advance in its development. The more difficult the conflict is to resolve, the more it will affect the individual's personality during adult life.

When a person presents some unresolved conflict, according to Freud this can cause all kinds of psychological disorders over the years.

Therefore, the role of the psychologist is to detect what may be the cause of fixation at a particular stage, and resolve it through the use of therapy.

Each of the stages will be described below.

Oral stage

During the oral stage, which occurs between the time of birth and one and a half years of age, the child relates to the world mainly through his mouth.

This organ is essential for survival, so the baby receives great pleasure from activities such as sucking on objects and eating.

Also because the child needs the care of an adult to survive, oral stimulation is also the main way in which he creates bonds with his caregivers. Specifically, a very strong bond is established with the mother when she breastfeeds.

The main conflict at this stage is precisely the liberation to some extent from dependence on caregivers.

The child must begin to embark on his path to self-sufficiency; otherwise, in his adult life he could have problems such as dependency, aggressiveness or addictions such as food or drink.

Anal stage

The anal stage occurs between one and a half years and three years of age; During this, the child's attention is focused on sphincter control.

The acquisition of the ability to go to the bathroom independently becomes the child's first great achievement, which thus comes even closer to personal autonomy.

According to Freud, the resolution of the conflict at this stage is especially delicate, and depends largely on the way in which the parents teach the child to go to the bathroom.

If caregivers reinforce the child each time they successfully use the bathroom, the person will grow up feeling competent, productive, and creative.

However, in the case of parents who punish the child when they cannot go to the bathroom alone (or in the case of accidents), the person can suffer all kinds of negative consequences in his life.

For example, you could become too rigid, unable to break the rules or improvise.

On the other hand, if the training was not taken seriously by the parents, the person could grow up to become disorganized, including all kinds of self-destructive behaviors.

Phallic stage

The third stage described by Freud focuses on the genitals, being the moment in which the person discovers the anatomical differences between men and women.

This is where the greatest developmental psychological conflict occurs: the Oedipus complex in men, and the Electra complex in women.

According to the author, the changes produced in this stage are closely related to people's sexuality and their gender roles. The phallic stage goes from three to six years of age.

Latent stage

Between the age of six and puberty, the child's sexual energy enters a state of latency, being suppressed by the superego (the part of the mind that is in charge of social norms).

During this time, the pent-up energy is used for other tasks, such as developing social skills.

Genital stage

Finally, during puberty the person's sexual desires reappear, this time in their most developed form.

In this stage (which ranges from adolescence to death), the desire is focused on the genitals and on having sexual relations with the people who are attractive to us.

References

1. "Freud's Stages of Psychosexual Development" in: Very Well Mind. Retrieved on: April 23, 2018 from Very Well Mind: verywellmind.com.
2. "Anal stage" in: Britannica. Retrieved on: April 23, 2018 from Britannica: britannica.com.
3. "Anal stage" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved: April 23, 2018 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.
4. "Psychosexual stages" in: Simply Psychology. Retrieved on: April 23, 2018 from Simply Psychology: simplypsychology.com.
5. "Freud's Psychosexual Stages of Development" in: Wilderdom. Retrieved on: April 23, 2018 from Wilderdom: wilderdom.com.