Freud's Stages of Psychosexual Development

Freud is the most popular psychologist that studied that development of personality, also
probably the most controversial. His theory of psychosexual development includes five distinct
stages. According to Freud, a person goes through the sequence of these five stages and along the
way there are needs to be met. Whether these needs are met or not, determines whether the
person will develop a healthy personality or not. The theory is quite interesting for many because
Freud identified specific erogenous zones for each stage of development. These are specific
"pleasure areas" that become focal area, a fixation occurs. As an adult, the person will now
manifest behaviors related this erogenous zone. If needs are not met along the points for the
particular stage.
Oral Stage (birth to 18 months). The erogenous zone is the mouth. During the oral stage,
the child is focused on oral pleasures (sucking). Too much or too little satisfaction can lead to an
Oral Fixation or Oral Personality which is shown in an increased focus on oral activities. This
type of personality may be oral receptive, that is, have a stronger tendency to smoke, drink
alcohol, overeat, behaviors related to this erogenous zone. or oral aggressive, that is, with a
tendency to bite his or her nail or use curse words or even gossip. As a result, these persons may
become too dependent on others, easily fooled, and lack leadership traits. On the other hand, they
may also fight these tendencies and become pessimistic and aggressive in relating with people.
Anal Stage (18 months to 3 years). The child's focus of pleasure in this stage is the anus.
The child finds satisfaction in eliminating and retaining feces. Through society's expectations.
particularly the parents, the child needs to work on toilet training Let us remember that between
one year and a half to three years the child's favorite word might be "No!". Therefore, a struggle
might exist in the toilet training process when the child retains feces when asked to eliminate, or
may choose to defecate when asked to hold feces for some reason. In terms of personality,
fixation during this stage can result in being anal retentive, an obsession with cleanliness,
perfection, and control; or anal expulsive where the person may become messy and disorganized.
Phallic Stage (ages 3 to 6). The pleasure or erogenous zone is the genitals. During the preschool
age, children become interested in what makes boys and girls different. Preschoolers will
sometimes be seen fondling their genitals. Freud's studies led him to believe that during this
stage boys develop unconscious sexual desire for their mother. Boys then see their father as a
rival for her mother's affection. Boys may fear that their father will punish them for these
feelings, thus, the castration anxiety. These feelings comprise what Freud called Oedipus
Complex. In Greek Mythology, Oedipus unintentionally killed his father and married his mother
Jocasta.
Psychoanalysts also believed that girls may also have a similar experience, developing
unconscious sexual attraction towards their father. This is what is referred to as the Electra
Complex.
According to Freud, out of fear of castration and due to the strong competition of their
father, boys eventually decide to identify with them rather than fight them. By identifying with
their father, the boys develop masculine characteristics and identify themselves as males and
repress their sexual feelings toward their mother. A fixation at this stage could result in sexual
deviancies (both overindulging and avoidance) and weak or confused sexual identity according
to psychoanalysts.
Latency Stage (age 6 to puberty). It's during this stage that sexual urges remain repressed. The
children's focus is the acquisition of physical and academic skills. Boys usually relate more with
boys and girls with girls during this stage.
Genital Stage (puberty onwards). The fifth stage of psychosexual development begins at the
start of puberty when sexual urges are once again awakened. In the earlier stages, adolescents
focus their sexual urges towards the opposite sex peers, with the pleasure centered on the
genitals.
Freud's Personality Components
Freud described the personality structures as having three components, the id, the ego and the
superego. For each person, the first to emerge is the id, followed by the ego, and last to develop
is the superego.
While reading about the three components, use the graphic organizer below to put your
notes and questions about them.

ego

Superego
id

One’s Personality
 The id. Freud says that, a child is born with the id, the id plays a vital role in one's
personality because as a baby, it works so that the baby's essential needs are met. The id operates
on the pleasure principle. It focuses on immediate gratification or satisfaction of its needs. So,
whatever feels good now is what it will pursue with no consideration for the reality, logicality or
practicality of the situation. For example, a baby is hungry, its id wants food or milk... so the
baby will cry, When the child needs to be changed the id cries. When the child is uncomfortable,
in pain, to0 hot, too cold, or just wants attention, the id speaks up until his or her needs are met.
Nothing else matters to the id except the satisfaction of its own needs. It is not oriented towards
considering reality nor the needs of others. Just see how babies cry any time of day and night!
Absolutely no regard of whether mommy is tired or daddy is sleeping When the id wants
something, it wants it now and it wants it fast!
The ego. As the baby turns into a toddler and then into a preschooler, he/she relates more
with the environment, the ego slowly begins to emerge. The ego operates using the reality
principle. It is aware that others also have needs to be met. It is practical because it knows that
being impulsive or selfish can result to negative consequences later, so reasons and considers the
best response to situations. As such, it is the deciding agent of the personality. Although it
functions to help the id meet its needs, it always takes into account the reality of the situation.
The superego Near the end of the preschool years, or the end of the phallic stage, the superego
develops. The superego embodies a person's moral aspect This develops from what the parents,
teachers and other persons who exert influence impart to be good or moral. The superego is
likened to conscience because it exerts influence on what one considers right and wrong.
The Three Components and Personality Adjustment
Freud said that a well-adjusted person is one who has strong ego, who can help satisfy the needs
of the id without going against the superego while maintaining the person's sense of what is
logical, practical and real. Of course, it is not easy for the ego to do all that and strike a balance.
If the id exerts too much power over the ego, the person becomes too impulsive and pleasure-
seeking behavior takes over one's life. On the opposite direction, one may find the superego so
strong that the ego is overpowered. The person becomes so harsh and judgmental to himself and
others' actions. The person's best effort to be good may still fall short of the superego's
expectations. The ability of a learner to be well-adjusted is largely influenced by how the learner
was brought up. His experiences about how his parents met his needs, the extent to which he was
allowed to do the things he wanted to do, and also how he was taught about right and wrong, all
figures to the type of personality and consequent adjustment that a person will make. Freud
believed that the personality of an individual is formed early during the childhood years.
Topographical Model
The Unconscious. Freud said that most what we go through in our lives, emotions,
beliefs, feelings, and impulses deep within are not available to us at a conscious level. He
believed that most of what influence us is our unconscious. The Oedipus and Electra Complex
mentioned earlier were both buried down into the unconscious, out of our awareness due to the
extreme anxiety they caused. While these complexes are in our unconscious, they still influence
our thinking, feeling and doing in perhaps dramatic ways.
The Conscious. Freud also said that all that we are aware of is stored in our conscious
mind. Our conscious mind only comprises a very small part of who we are so that, in our
everyday life, we are only aware of a very small part of what makes up our personality; most of
what we are is hidden and out of rea The Child arid
The Subconscious. The last part is the preconscious or subconscious. This is the part of us that
we can reach if but is not in our active conscious. still "hidden" somewhat unless we search for it
Information as our telephone number, some childhood memories, or the name of your best
childhood friend is stored in the preconscious.
Because the unconscious is so huge, and because we are only aware of the very small
conscious at any given time, Freud used the analogy of the iceberg to illustrate it. A big part of
the iceberg hidden beneath the water's surface.
The water, may represent all that we are not aware of, have not experienced, and that has
not been made part of our personalities, referred to as the nonconscious

1. Freud used the case study method to gather the data he used to formulate his theories.
Among the many case studies, five really stood out as bases of his concepts and ideas. Do
further reading of these case studies and write a reaction paper on one of these case
studies focusing on personality development of the individuals in the case studies.

From your internet search engine, just type Freud's case studies. It will be easy to find a
pdf file which you can readily download.
 Visit the Library of Congress in Washington DC, through its virtual museum. Visit the
walls that contain very interesting pictures, and information about the most controversial
psychologist documents of all time, Sigmund Freud!
You won't need a passport, just follow these steps:
1. Go to www.loc.gov
2. Click "Exhibitions"
3.Click "View all exhibits"
4. Go to "Sigmund Freud: Conflict and Culture"
5. Seat back and enjoy the virtual tour! The pictures and write-ups are so interesting!!!!
As in any visit to a museum, it would be good to take some notes. Make notes of the
following and add your own ideas and comments as well...
Describe Freud's family background. Describe the composition of his family. What do
you think was it like for Freud growing up in this family?
Read the situations below. Dramatize each of the situation then discuss it with your own thought.

It's Christmas and Uncle Bob is giving "Aguinaldo" to the children. Three-year-old Karen did
not want to receive the one-hundred-peso bill and instead preferred to receive four 20-peso bills.
Her ten-year-old cousins were telling her it's better to get the one hundred bills, but they failed to
convince her.
Why do you think did Karen prefer the 20-peso bills?
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Siblings, Tria, 10; Enzo, 8; and Riel, 4 were sorting out their stuffed animals. They had 7 bears, 3
dogs, 2 cows and 1 dolphin. Mommy, a psychology teacher, enters and says, "Good thing you're
sorting those. Do you have more stuffed animals or more bears?" Tria and Enzo says, "stuffed
animals." Riel says, "Bears"

Why do you think Riel answered “Bears?” What does this say about how she thought to answer
the question.?
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 While eating on her high chair, seven-month old accidentally dropped her spoon on the
floor. She saw mommy pick it up. Liza again drops her new spoon, and she does this several
times more on purpose. Mommy didn't like it at all but Liza appeared to enjoy dropping the
spoons the whole time.

Why do you think baby Liza appeared to enjoy dropping the spoons?
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In your own understanding Explain The basic cognitive Concepts of Piaget.

 Fill out the graphic organizer to highlight important concepts of Freud’s Theory

Erogenous zone:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Description of the Stage:

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Oral Fixations:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Stage

Erogenous zone:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Description of the Stage:
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Anal Fixations:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Stage

Erogenous zone:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Description of the Stage:

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Phallic Fixations:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Stage

Erogenous zone:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Description of the Stage:

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Latency Fixations:
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Stage

Erogenous zone:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Description of the Stage:
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Genital Fixations:
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Stage
 The children in the situations presented above were of different ages and so also
should apparently differences in the way they thought. They were in different stages of
cognitive development. Perhaps no one has influenced the field of cognitive
development more than Jean Piaget. As you read through this Module you will come to
understand cognitive development of children and adolescents and also identity ways of
applying this understanding in the teaching learners.
For sixty years, Jean Piaget conducted research on cognitive development. His
research method involved observing a small number of individuals as they responded to
cognitive tasks that he designed. These tasks were later known as Piagetian tasks.
Piaget called his general theoretical framework "genetic epistemology" because
he was interested in how knowledge developed in human organisms. Piaget was initially
into biology and he also had a background in philosophy. Knowledge from both these
disciplines influenced his theories and research of child development. Out of his
researches, Piaget came up with the stages of cognitive development.
Piaget examined the implications of his theory not only to aspects of cognition
but also to intelligence and moral development. His theory has been applied widely to
teaching and curriculum design specially in the preschool and elementary curricula.
 Basic Cognitive Concepts

Schema. Piaget used the term "schema" to refer to the cognitive structures by
which individuals intellectually adapt to and organize their environment, It is an
individual's way to understand or create meaning about a thing or experience. It is like
the mind has a filing cabinet and each drawer has folders that contain files of things he
has had an experience with. For instance, if a child sees a dog for the first time, he
creates his own schema of what a dog is. It has four legs and a tail. It barks. It's furry.
The child then "puts this description of a dog 'on file' in his mind." When he sees
another similar dog, he "pulls" out the file (his schema of a dog) in his mind, looks at the
animal, and says, "four legs, tail, barks, furry.... That's a dog!"
Assimilation. This is the process of fitting a new experience into an existing or
previously created cognitive structure or schema. If the child sees another dog, this time
a little smaller one, he would make sense of what he is seeing by adding this new
information (a different-looking dog) into his schema of a dog.
Accommodation. This is the process of creating a new schema. If the same
child now sees another animal that looks a little bit like a dog, but somehow different.
He might try to fit it into his schema of a dog, and say, "Look mommy, what a funny
looking dog. Its bark is funny too!" Then the mommy explains, "That's not a funny
looking dog. That's a goat!" With mommy's further descriptions, the child will now
create a new schema, that of a goat. He now adds a new file in his filing cabinet.
Equilibration. Piaget believed that that people have the natural need to
understand how the world works and to find order, structure, and predictability in their
life. Equilibration is achieving proper balance between assimilation and
accommodation. When our experiences do not match our schemata (plural of schema)
or cognitive structures, we experience cognitive disequilibrium.
This means there is a discrepancy between what is perceived and what is understood.
We then exert effort through assimilation and accommodation to establish equilibrium
once more.
Cognitive development involves a continuous effort to adapt to the environment
in terms of assimilation and accommodation. In this sense, Piaget's theory is similar in
nature to other constructivist perspectives of learning like Bruner and Vygotsky.
 Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development
Stage 1. Sensori-motor Stage. The first stage corresponds from birth to
infancy. This is the stage when a child who is initially reflexive in grasping, sucking and
reaching becomes more organized in his movement and activity. The term about himself
and the world. In working with children in the sensori-motor stage, teachers should aim
to provide a rich and stimulating environment with appropriate objects to play with.
Object permanence. This is the ability of the child to know that an object still
exists even when out of sight. This ability is attained in the sensory motor stage.
Stage 2. Pre-Operational Stage. The preoperational stage covers from about two to
seven years old, roughly corresponding to the preschool years. Intelligence at this stage
is intuitive in nature. At this stage, the child can now make mental representations and
is able to pretend, the child is now ever closer to the use of symbols.
This stage is highlighted by the following:
Symbolic Function. This is the ability to represent objects and events. A
symbol is a thing that represents something else. A drawing, a written word, or a spoken
word comes to be understood as representing a real object like a real MRT train.
Symbolic function gradually develops in the period between 2 to 7 years. Riel, a two-year
old may pretend that she is drinking from a glass which is really empty. Though she
already pretends the presence of water, the glass remains to be a glass. At around four
years of age, however, Nico, may, after pretending to drink from an empty glass, turn
the glass into a rocket ship or a telephone. By the age of 6 or 7 the child can pretend play
with objects that exist only in his mind. Enzo, who is six, can do a whole ninja turtle
routine without any costume nor "props." Tria, who is seven can pretend to host an
elaborate princess ball only in her mind.
Egocentrism. This is the tendency of the child to only see his point of view and
to assume that everyone also has his same point of view. The child cannot take the
perspective of others. You see this in five-year-old boy who buys a toy truck for his
mother's birthday. Or a three-year-old girl who cannot understand why her cousins call
her daddy "uncle" and not daddy.
Centration. This refers to the tendency of the child to only focus on one aspect
of a thing or event and exclude other aspects. For example, when a child is presented
with two identical glasses with the same amount of water, the child will say they have
the same amount of water. However, once water from one of the glasses is transferred to
an obviously taller but narrower glass, the child might say that there is more water in
the taller glass. The child only focused or "centered" only one aspect of the new glass,
that it is a taller glass. The child was not able to perceive that the new glass is also
narrower. The child only centered on the height of the glass and excluded the width in
determining the amount of water in the glass.
 Irreversibility. Pre-operational children still have the inability to reverse their
thinking. They can understand that 2 + 3 is 5, but cannot understand that 5-3 is 2.
Animism. This is the tendency of children to attribute human like traits or
characteristics to inanimate objects. When at night, the child is asked, where the sun is,
she will reply, "Mr. Sun is asleep."
Transductive reasoning. This refers to the pre-operational child's type of
reasoning that is neither inductive nor deductive. Reasoning appears to be from
particular to particular i.e., if A causes B, then B causes A. For example, since her
mommy comes home every day around six o' clock in the evening, when asked why it is
already night, the child will say, "because my mom is already home."
Stage 3. Concrete-Operational Stage. This stage is characterized by the ability of
the child to think logically but only in terms of concrete objects. This covers
approximately the ages between 8-11 years or the elementary school years. The concrete
operational stage is marked by the following:
Decentering. This refers to the ability of the child to perceive the different
features of objects and situations. No longer is the child focused or limited to one aspect
or dimension. This allows the child to be more logical when dealing with concrete
objects and situations.
Reversibility. During the stage of concrete operations, the child can now follow
that certain operations can be done in reverse. For example, they can already
comprehend the commutative property of addition, and that subtraction is reverse of
addition. They can also understand that a ball clay shaped into a dinosaur can again be
rolled back into ball of clay.
Conservation. This is the ability to know that certain properties of objects like
number, mass, volume, or area do not change even if there is a change in appearance.
Because of the development of the child's ability of decentering and also reversibility,
the concrete operational child can now judge rightly that the amount of water in a taller
but narrower container is still the same as when the water was in the shorter but wider
glass. The children progress to attain conservation abilities gradually being a pre-
conserver, a transitional thinker and then a conserver.
Seriation. This refers to the ability to order or arrange things in a series based
on one dimension such as weight, volume or size.
Stage 4. Formal Operational Stage. In the final stage of formal operations covering
ages between 12 and 15 years, thinking becomes more logical. They can now solve
abstract problems and can hypothesize. This stage is characterized by the following:
Hypothetical Reasoning. This is the ability to come up with different
hypothesis about a problem and to gather and weigh data in order to make a final
decision or judgment. This can be done in the absence of concrete objects. The
individuals can now deal with "What if" questions.
 Analogical reasoning. This is the ability to perceive the relationship in one
instance and then use that relationship to narrow down possible answers in another
similar situation or problem. The individual in the formal operations stage can make an
analogy. If United Kingdom is to Europe, then Philippines is to since the UK is found in
the continent of Europe then the Philippines is found in what continent? Then Asia is
his answer. Through reflective thought and even in the absence of concrete objects, the
individual can now understand relationships and do analogical reasoning.
Deductive Reasoning. This is the ability to think logically by applying a
general rule to a particular instance or situation. For example, all countries near the
north pole have cold temperatures. Greenland is near the North pole.
Therefore, Greenland has cold temperature. From Piaget's findings and
comprehensive theory, we can derive the following principles:
1. Children will provide different explanations of reality at different stages of
cognitive development.
2. Cognitive development is facilitated by providing activities or situations that
engage learners and require adaptation (i.e. assimilation and accommodation).
3. Learning materials and activities should involve the appropriate level of motor
or mental operations for a child of given age; avoid asking students to perform tasks that
are beyond their current cognitive capabilities.
4. Use teaching methods that actively involve students and present challenges.

This activity focuses on a story involving the interaction of family members.

Choose a story you want to use for this activity. It can be from a story you have read or a
movie or "telenovela" that you watched or plan to watch. Use the matrix below to relate
the characters to Piaget's stages of cognitive development.
Title of Story/Movie: _______________________________
Write a brief summary of the story:
With the same group of your previous activity, each member of the group must act as
Piaget and master the stages assigned. Then prepare for a virtual discussion with your
instructor. Each group will discuss with the assigned stage to their respective member
before they set for virtual discussion. It is also the groups’ discretion to decide for the
schedule of our virtual discussion. The schedule must be (tonight November 6, 2020
until November 9 2020).

Make a reflection about this activities and lesson.

You must start with I learned that…………