FREUD’S PSYCHOSEXUAL
THEORY
SIGMUND FREUD- a theorist who had a great
impact on western thought
 States that maturation of the sex
instinct underlies stages of personality
development
 Developmental theory
 Understanding normal growth and
development helps nurses predict,
prevent, and detect deviations from
patient’s own expected patterns
Development- biological, cognitive, and social
emotional changes that begin at conception and
continue than a lifetime.
Example: older adult demonstrate cognitive
development resulting in wisdom
Developmental theories
- are also important in helping nurse’s
assess and treat the person’s response
to an illness.
- guides the nurses in planning
appropriate individualized patient care
3 COMPONENTS OF PERSONALITY:
1. ID (instincts)
- only present at birth
- childish desires and no values
- gain pleasure and avoid pain
- “I want it, and I want it right now”
2. EGO (reality)
- represents the reality component
mediating conflicts between the
environment and the focus of the ID
- helps people judge reality accurately
and regulate impulses that make good
decisions
- rational component of the personality
that reflects the child’s emerging
abilities to perceive
- exists in conscious mind
- as egos mature, children become better
at controlling their irrational ids and
finding appropriate ways to gratify their
needs
3. SUPEREGO (morality)
- Develops from 5-6
- Opposite of the ID
- Operates on moral principle
differentiate between good and bad
- If we follow it, we feel proud and if not,
we feel guilty
- Person’s regulating, restraining, and
prohibiting actions
- Conscience
- Influence on the standards of social
forces (i.e, family, peers, teachers, etc)
“when children are born, their minds are
entirely “id”. As they try and fail things, learning
what is acceptable in society, they develop as
‘ego”. The superego is the last to develop as
children learn the values of their parents and
gain a moral understanding of the world.”
5 STAGES OF PSYCHOSEXUAL
DEVELOPMENT:
1. ORAL (0-1 y.o)
- mouth is the pleasure center for
development
- infants are born with a sucking reflex
and desire their mother’s breast
- the infant may develop negative habits
such as nail biting/thumb sucking if
their oral needs are not met during
infancy.
2. ANAL (1-3 y.o)
- 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.
3. PHALLIC (3-6 y.o)
- genital organs are the focused in this
stage
- begin to struggle with sexual desires
toward the opposite sex parent (boys
to mothers and girls to fathers)
- for boys, Oedipus complex, boy’s desire
for his mother and his urge to replace
his father who is seen as a viral for the
mother’s attention.
- Experiences castration anxiety (for
boys)
- Electra complex is for girls whose desire
for her father’s attention and wish to
take her mother’s place
4. LATENCY (6-12 y.o)
- Sexual instincts subside and children
begin to further develop the
superego/conscience
- Moral values
- Children begin to become in morally
acceptable ways and adopt the values
of their parents and other important
adults
5. GENITAL (12+ y.o)
- Sexual impulses reemerge
- If other stages have been successfully
met, adolescents engage in appropriate
sexual behavior, which may lead to
marriage and child birth
 - Puberty stage

ERIKSON’S PSYCHOSOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT
ERIK ERIKSON- a stage theorist who took
Freud’s theory and modified it into 8 stage
 Places much less emphasis on sexual
urges and far more emphasis on social
and cultural influences than Freud did