Psychosexual Stages : Sigmund Freud

Do you know how many psychosexual stages of development and what is the result of there is a disturbance in these stage??

Different stages taking place at different age level have clear erogenous Jones the kind of experience and individual gets during each stage of development decides whether he will be fixated at the that stage or move on the next stage it is discussed in the following sections:

Oral Phase

oral stage is the first stage of psychosexual development it lasts from the birth of one year the focus of gratification during this stage is on the mouth and pleasure is a result of nursing but also of exploration of the surroundings. The Id is dominant at this stage since neither the ego nor the superego is fully formed. A child does not have a sense of self and all his actions are based on pleasure.

However the ego is under formation during this stage. The formation of the ego is contributed by two factors.

1) the infant recognises that the body is different from the outer World after identifying the body boundaries the child starts developing the sense of ego.

2) delay of gratification may lead to ego formation after an understanding that specific behaviour can satisfy some needs the child relises that it has to develop certain behaviour to start action that lead to gratification an example of such behaviour is crying which is purposeless during the two month of the body's life but later the child uses it it productively and to meet certain needs.

Result of oral stage disturbance

Freud release that disturbance during the oral stage of development may lead to a permanent fixation on the oral channel for gratification examples of such fixation seen in the adulthood are smoking, overeating, thumbsucking and pencil chewing these fixation lead to the personality traits like impatient, passivity, greatness, dependence and preoccupation with giving and taking.

Anal Phase

The focus of drive energy (erogenous zone) moves
from the upper digestive tract to the lower end and the anus in the anal stage. It lasts from about the 15th month to the third year of age. Ego formation continues in this stage.
Toilet training happens around the age of two and causes conflict between the id and the societal demands. Id demands immediate gratification of its drives that involves elimination and activities related to it like handling faeces while the parental demands is that the child postpones its gratification until the suitable place is reached and that the child should to dirty itself by handling the faeces.

Result of Anal Stage Disturbance

Freud believes that fixations may be caused by either exceptionally strict toilet training or intense pleasure linked with taboos like smearing faeces on the wall. Very less gratification lead to an anal'or obsessive character who has a wish to make a terrible mess and thus must build defences against this, like orderliness rigidity and hatred of waste. They are also obstinate, stingy, punctual and possessive. Too much gratification means there will be opposite behaviours, destructiveness, untidiness and a hot temper.

(iii) Phallic Phase

In the phallic stage which extends from about three
to five years of age, the areas of the genitals are the
tfocus. This is not in the form of adult sexuality since
ethe children are physically immature, but stimulation of genitals is welcomed as pleasurable and boys may get erections during their sleep. The child develops a sexual identity and the dynamics for boys and girls differ. Parents are the focus of drive energy for both the sexes.

Oedipus Complex

Boys want the mother and feel jealous of the father
issince he sleeps with the mother. Like Oedipus did, the id wants to unite with the mother and kill the father even as the ego knows that the father is stronger. The child also feels affectionate towards the father and his feelings are ambivalent. They fear that the father will object to their feelings is expressed by the id as fear that the father will castrate him. Such fear is not rational and happens at a subconscious irrational level.

Electra Complex

Freud believes that young girls develop the same
psychosexual development as boys. Freud argues that
the Oedipal conflict in girls is more intense than in boys and that makes girls more submissive and less
confident. Freud's theory on the psychosexual dynamic present in female children at this point of their psychosexual development is calied the Electra complex.

Result of Phallic Stage Disturbance

Freud says that the conflicts if not properly resolved may lead to develop homosexuality, authority problems and rejection of appropriate gender roles. Men can also show excessive ambition and vanity. The Oedipal conflict is very crucial for the super-ego development, since by identifying with one of the parents, morality get internalised and compliance with rules is not any more the result of fear of punishment. Recklessness or even immorality develops if there is a poor identification with the opposite sex parent.

(iv) Latency Phase

The latency stage may develop between the ages
of 3 and 7 when the child starts going to school. It may continue until anywhere from the ages of 8 to 13 when the child's puberty starts. Freud argues the latency phase is relative stable since there is no new development organisation of sexuality develops. He did not pay much attention to it and this phase is not always mentioned as one of the phases in descriptions of his theory. It is described as  semarate period.

In the latency phase, the child uses the energy previously put into the Oedipal problem for developing the self. The superego becomes more organised and principled and the child acquires skills and values. The child develops complex feelings like shame, guilt and disgust. The child learns to adapt to reality and starts the process of what Freud terms 'infantile amnesia' which is the repression of the child's earliest traumatic, evil memories or overly sexual.

Result of Latency Stage Disturbance

According to Freud, the repressed drives may be
used in other activities like making friendships or in
hobbies.

Genital Stage

Genital stage is the fifth and last stage of psychosexual development and starts from puberty, about the twelfth year of age. It goes on until the growth stops or about the eighteenth year of age, the beginning of the adulthood. This is the major part of life. At this time, the individual tries to come in terms with unresolved residues of the early childhood. The genitals are the focus and the energy is expressed with sexuality.

Love relationships and familics, or acceptance of
responsibities related to adulthood gratify the
individual.

Result of Genital Stage Disturbance

Taking up too much libidinal energy in the first
three stages means the individual cannot reach maturity
and cannot change the focus to larger responsibilities
involving others from their own body, parents and
immediate needs.