The Psychosexual Stages of Development

Freud proposed that personality development in childhood takes place during five psychosexual stages,
which are the oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital stages. During each stage sexual energy (libido) is
expressed in different ways and through different parts of the body.

These are called psychosexual stages because each stage represents the fixation of libido (roughly
translated as sexual drives or instincts) on a different area of the body. As a person grows physically
certain areas of their body become important as sources of potential frustration (erogenous zones),
pleasure or both.

Freud (1905) believed that life was built round tension and pleasure. Freud also believed that all tension
was due to the build-up of libido (sexual energy) and that all pleasure came from its discharge.

Freud analyzes the human psyche in terms of three elements, which he calls, the Id, Ego, and Super-
Ego.In order to obtain an understanding as to why humans behave as they do, it is necessary to examine
all three.

What is the id?

-The id is the primitive and instinctive component of personality.
- a part of the unconscious that contains all the urges and impulses, including what is called the
libido, a kind of generalized sexual energy that is used for everything from survival instincts to
appreciation of art.
- also kind of stubborn, for it responds only to what Freud called the pleasure principle (if it feels
good, do it), and nothing else.

What is the Ego?

-The ego is 'that part of the id which has been modified by the direct influence of the external world.'
-The ego is the only part of the conscious personality. It's what the person is aware of when they think
about themselves, and is what they usually try to project toward others.
What is the Superego?
-The superego incorporates the values and morals of society which are learned from one's parents and
others.
- It develops around the age of 3 – 5 years during the phallic stage of psychosexual development.
-The superego is seen as the purveyor or rewards (feelings of pride and satisfaction) and punishments
(feelings of shame and guilt) depending on which part (the ego-deal or conscious) is activated.

FREUD 5 PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES

Oral Stage
(Birth to 1 year)

In the first stage of psychosexual development, the libido is centered in a baby's mouth.

During the oral stages, the baby gets much satisfaction from putting all sorts of things in its mouth to
satisfy the libido, and thus its id demands. Which at this stage in life are oral, or mouth orientated, such
as sucking, biting, and breastfeeding.

Anal Stage
(1 to 3 years)

During the anal stage of psychosexual development the libido becomes focused on the anus, and the
child derives great pleasure from defecating. The child is now fully aware that they are a person in their
own right and that their wishes can bring them into conflict with the demands of the outside world (i.e.,
their ego has developed).
Phallic Stage
3-6 yrs old

The phallic stage is the third stage psychosexual development spanning the ages of three to six years,
wherein the infants libido (desire) centers upon their genitalia as the erogenous zone.

Latency Stage
(6 years to puberty)

The latency stage is the forth stage of psychosexual development, spanning the period of six years to
puberty. During this stage the libido is dormant and no further psychosexual development takes place
(latent means hidden).

Genital Stage (puberty to adult)

The genital stage is the last stage of Freud's theory of personality development, and begins in puberty.
It is a time of adolescent sexual experimentation, the successful resolution of which is settling down in a
loving one-to-one relationship with another person in our 20's.Sexual instinct is directed to heterosexual
pleasure, rather than self-pleasure like during the phallic stage.