Discovering the

Child's Mind
FREUD’S PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES OF
DEVELOPMENT
Educ 1
 SIGMUND
FREUD (1856-
1939)
• a Viennese doctor who believe that the way parents
dealt with children's basic sexual and aggressive
desires would determine how their personalities
developed and whether or not they would end up well-
adjusted as adults.

• described children’s multiple stages of sexual

development, which he labeled Oral, Anal, Phallic,
Latency, and Genital.
Stages of
Development
 The Role of Conflict in
Psychosexual Development
• Psychosexual stages are associated with specific conflicts that
must be resolved for successful advancement.

• Energy expended in conflict resolution at any stage has a

lasting impact on the individual.

• Freud's analogy of military troops on the march explains the

process of psychosexual development.
• The more successful the individual is at resolving conflict at
any stage, the more energy they will have to move on to the
next stage.

• The greater the difficulty encountered at any stage, the more

energy will remain invested in that stage.
Frustration, Overindulgence,
and Fixation
• Frustration, overindulgence, and fixation can occur at any
stage of psychosexual development.
• Frustration occurs when the needs of the developing
individual are not adequately met.
• Overindulgence occurs when the person's needs are so well
satisfied that they are reluctant to leave the psychological
benefits of a particular stage.
• Both frustration and overindulgence can lead to fixation,
which is when a portion of the individual's libido is
permanently invested in a particular stage of development.
Stages of
Development
Stages of Development
Oral Stage (Birth to 1 year)
• the first stage, occurring from birth to about 1 year.
• During this stage, the libido is centered in the mouth, and babies
derive pleasure from oral stimulation, such as sucking, biting, and
breastfeeding.
• experiences during the oral stage significantly influence personality
development.
Underfed: a pessimistic, envious, and suspicious
Overfed: optimistic, gullible, and full of admiration.

• oral fixation in later life, characterized by oral behaviors such as

smoking, nail-biting, finger-chewing, and thumb sucking,
excessive eating, smoking, nail-biting, or becoming overly talkative,
symbolizing the continued fulfillment of oral needs.
Stages of Development
Anal Stage (1 to 3 years)
• The libido focused on the anus.
• The child derives great pleasure from defecating,
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).
• Freud believed that this type of conflict tends to
come to a head in potty training, in which adults
impose restrictions on when and where the child can
defecate.
Stages of Development
Anal Stage (1 to 3 years)

• The nature of this first conflict with authority can

determine the child's future relationship with all forms of
authority.
A. Early or harsh potty training--> an anal-retentive
personality who hates mess, is obsessively tidy, punctual
and respectful of authority, stubborn and tight-fisted with
their cash and possessions.
• This is all related to pleasure got from holding on to their
faeces when toddlers, and their mum's then insisting that
they get rid of it by placing them on the potty until they
perform!
Stages of Development
Anal Stage (1 to 3 years)

B. liberal toilet-training anal expulsive

personality
• in adulthood the person wants to share things
with you. They like giving things away. In
essence, they are 'sharing their s**t'!'
• An anal-expulsive personality is also messy,
disorganized and rebellious.
 Stages of Development
Phallic Stage (3 to 6 years)
• Sensitivity concentrated in the genitals and
masturbation (in both sexes) becomes a new source
of pleasure.
• The child becomes aware of anatomical sex
differences, which sets in motion the conflict
between erotic attraction, resentment, rivalry,
jealousy and fear which Freud called the Oedipus
complex (in boys) and the Electra complex (in
girls).
• This is resolved through the process of identification,
which involves the child adopting the characteristics
of the same sex parent.
Phallic Stage (3 to 6 years)
Oedipus Complex

• In a young boy, the Oedipus complex or conflict, arises because the

boy develops sexual (pleasurable) desires for his mother. He
wants to possess his mother exclusively and get rid of his father to
enable him to do so.
• Irrationally, the boy thinks that if his father were to find out about
all this, his father would take away what he loves the most. During
the phallic stage what the boy loves most is his penis. Hence the
boy develops castration anxiety.

• RESOLUTION: THE BOY imitating, copying and joining in

masculine dad-type behaviours. This is called identification.
Identification means internally adopting the values, attitudes, and
behaviours of another person. The consequence of this is that the
boy takes on the male gender role, and adopts an ego ideal and
values that become the superego.

• fear of retaliation from the father eventually leads the boy to repress
these incestuous desires and identify with the father, adopting his
characteristics and values.
Phallic Stage (3 to 6 years)
ELECTRA COMPLEX

• a girl unconsciously cultivates a sexual attraction towards

her father, viewing her mother as a competitor.
• the girl desires the father, but realizes that she does not
have a penis. This leads to the development of penis
envy and the wish to be a boy.

• The girl resolves this by repressing her desire for her

father and substituting the wish for a penis with the
wish for a baby. The girl blames her mother for her
'castrated state,' and this creates great tension.

• The girl then represses her feelings (to remove the

tension) and identifies with the mother to take on the
female gender role.
Phallic Stage (3 to 6 years)
• Freud theorized that unresolved conflicts during this stage
could potentially lead to future issues such as sexual
dysfunction, problems with gender identity, or difficulties
in forming relationships.
overly vain, exhibitionistic, and sexually aggressive.

• In men, phallic fixation  anxiety about sexual

performance, the need for reassurance and validation, or a
tendency to be overly assertive or aggressive.

• In women, fixation a desire to dominate men, a rivalry

with other women, or the need for male attention or
approval.
Latency Stage (6 years to puberty)

• No further psychosexual development takes place

during this stage (latent means hidden). The libido is.
dormant

• Freud thought that most sexual impulses are repressed

during the latent stage, and sexual energy can be
sublimated (re: defense mechanisms) towards school
work, hobbies, and friendships.

• Much of the child's energy is channeled into

developing new skills and acquiring new knowledge,
and play becomes largely confined to other children of
the same gender.
Genital Stage (puberty to adult)
• the last stage that begins in puberty where the libido re-
emerges after its latent period, is directed towards peers of
the other sex, marking the onset of mature adult sexuality.
• individuals start to become sexually mature and explore their
sexual feelings and desires more maturely and responsibly.
• Period of onset of romantic and sexual emotions, leading to
the formation of intimate relationships.
• Sexual instinct is directed to heterosexual pleasure, rather
than self-pleasure, like during the phallic stage.
Genital Stage (puberty to adult)

• According to Freud, if individuals have unresolved

conflicts or issues during this stage, it can lead to
problems such as sexual dysfunction, difficulties forming
healthy relationships, or other emotional problems.

• 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.
Function
Consciousness
Governing Principles
Age of Development
Function
Consciousness
Governing Principles
Age of Development
 PSYCHOANALYSIS
Overview:
Psychoanalysis emphasizes unconscious ,motivation- main cause of behavior lies
buried in the unconscious mind. It is both an approach to therapy and a theory
of personality.
PSYCHOANALYSIS
Three Structures of Personality
1.) ID
2.) Ego
3. SUPEREGO
Tripartite Theory of
Personality
The ID
• The id is the primitive and instinctive component of personality. It
consists of all the inherited (i.e., biological) components of personality,
including the sex (life) instinct –Eros (which contains the libido), and
aggressive (death) instinct - Thanatos.

• It operates on the pleasure principle (Freud, 1920) which is the idea that
every wishful impulse should be satisfied immediately, regardless of the
consequences.
 Tripartite Theory
of Personality
The ego
• develops in order to mediate between the unrealistic id and the external
real world (like a referee). It is the decision-making component of
personality
• operates according to the reality principle, working our realistic ways of
satisfying the id‘s demands, often compromising or postponing
satisfaction to avoid negative consequences of society.
• considers social realities and norms, etiquette and rules in deciding how
to behave.
 Tripartite Theory
of Personality
The superego
• incorporates the values and morals of society which are learned from
one's parents and others. It is similar to a conscience, which can punish
the ego through causing feelings of guilt.
 Consciousness Governing Principles Age of Development
Function

Houses basic drives and Pleasure Principle (seeks

Id Unconscious Present at birth
seeks instant gratification pleasure)

Mediates between the id
Ego
and external reality
Reality Principle
Partly conscious and (mediates between
Develops around age 2-3
unconscious constraints of reality and
pleasure-seeking)

Represents internalized Partly conscious and Morality Principle (seeks

Superego Develops around age 5
societal norms and values unconscious moral ideals)
 Trait Approach to
Personality

• This approach assumes behavior is determined by relatively stable

traits which are the fundamental units of one‘s personality.
• Traits predispose one to act in a certain way, regardless of the
situation. This means that traits should remain consistent across
situations and over time, but may vary between individuals.
• individuals differ in their traits due to genetic differences. These
theories are sometimes referred to psychometric theories, because of
their emphasis on measuring personality by using psychometric
tests.
• Trait scores are continuous (quantitative) variables. A person is
given numeric score to indicate how much of a trait they possess.
Thank you
very much