Freud's theory of psychosexual development claims that as we grow up we
pass through five critical phases.
Our sex drive, which Freud called the Libido,
focuses in a different erogenous zone at each phase.
The phases are called Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency and Genital.
If our experience during any of these phases was traumatic
we might develop fixations later in life such as neurosis, dependencies addictions,
or depression.
The Oral Phase, age zero to one.
In the first year of our
lives we discover the world through our oral
senses. Our main pleasure comes from sucking our mother's breast or a bottle.
The conflict that occurs now is the weaning from our primary caregiver.
Hans is weaned off his mother's breast without trauma.
Ernst's mother stops feeding him within four months of birth
which is too early.
Ida is often left alone
crying when she is hungry.
Hans becomes a healthy and independent
adult. Ernst suffers from trauma and develops
an oral fixation. He tries to compensate for it by chewing
gum all the time. Ida spends her entire life looking for
the oral stimulation she was denied as an
infant and therefore develops a manipulative and addictive personality.
The a=Anal Phase, age one to three.
The primary focus of our Libido at this
age is the control of the bladder and bowel movements.
We have to learn how to use the potty. Han's parents
praise his attempts to use the toilet and encourage him to learn at his own
pace. Ernst's parents force potty training on
him too early and punish him for mistakes. Ida's
parents neglect any efforts at potty training entirely.
Hans develops a competent personality and a good and balanced relationship
with authority. Ernst develops an anal retentive
personality. He becomes an over-controlling and
stingy adult with disgust for his own body and a
tendency to obey authority. Ida develops an anal expulsive
personality. She becomes messy disorganized
inconsiderate of other people's feelings and rebellious against authority.
The Phallic Phase, age three to six.
Our Libido now turns to the genitals as
we discover the differences between the female and the male
gender. The boy's conflict in this phase occurs as a rivalry with their father,
also called the 'Oedipus Complex'. Ernst and Hands desire to possess their mother
and fantasize about getting rid of their father
But they know that their father is stronger and fear being
punished for their desire. Freud called this
'Castration Anxiety'. Ida experiences 'Penis Envy'. She believes that a penis is
the key to power and domination and also wants one.
Han's father was very present during that phase.
Later, Hans resolves this conflict by identifying strongly with him.
He learns to take on a male role. As an adult he respects both genders. Ernst,
whose father was absent during that phase, fails to develop a strong sense of
manhood. He has a mother fixation and is not sure
about his sexuality. He also tends to be aggressive towards
women and constantly needs to compete with other
men. Ida, like all women, maintains her penis envy
for the rest of her life which in her case causes an inferiority
complex towards men.
Latent Phase, age seven to thirteen.
In this phase our Libido is suppressed
as our sexual energy is being sublimed into developing
life skills. Our Superego strengthens and we strongly identify with social
values, same-sex heroes, and friends.
Hans follows many hobbies. Ernst loves learning at school,
and Ida makes lots of new girlfriends.
There is no real conflict in this phase. All three of them benefit for the rest
of their lives from the skills they developed
during latency.
The Genital Phase, puberty to death.
Once we reach puberty our libido starts to become
active again and we develop an interest in sexual partners.
Hans, Ida and Ernst face the challenge of balancing the sexual desires of the
Id and the needs of the Superego to obey
social norms. The development of a strong Ego helps to
find a compromise between the two.
Hans, who has experienced a childhood without much trauma,
succeeds in building a strong Ego. He is disciplined at work,
has a loving relationship. and a fulfilled sex
life. Ernst's Ego is weaker than his superego
he obeys norms and authorities and as a result
suppresses his desires which leads to the development of perversions.
Ida has a weak Ego and a weak Superego. Her sexual needs are more important than
social norms or other people's feelings. She is egoistic and feels no guilt for
breaking the law or hurting others.
To understand the theory we need to see it in the context of
Freud's famous work on the unconscious. By acknowledging that we have a
subconscious. He also implied that we store memories
of early childhood and other experiences without even
realizing it. These past experiences then
unconsciously influence our behavior on a daily basis.
Freud claimed that our mind operates in three spheres
which we can imagine as a submarine. The Unconscious
level operates the Id. The Preconscious level operates the
Superego. The Conscious and Preconscious levels
operate our Ego. Young children are driven by the Id and
demand immediate satisfaction. At around age seven we begin to develop a
Superego and want to become good moral
citizens and please others. The Ego is formed with
adolescence to balance the two forces.
Sigmund Shlomo Freud was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of
Psychoanalysis. Freud theorized that the Unconscious would remember and store
all our experiences later they pop up from time to time
through dreams and associative thoughts. By revealing traumatic memories and
desires through conversation we can free ourselves from our neuroses
and live a more healthy and fulfilled life. He recommended we should not strive
to eliminate our complexes but to get into accord with them. They
are legitimately what directs our conduct in the world.
What do you think about this theory and the practice of psychoanalysis?
Is there some truth in it? Do we have an unconscious?
If so does it really store all our childhood experiences
and influence our behavior as adults? Please share your thoughts in the
comments below!
Sprouts videos are published under the Creative Commons License.
That means our videos are free and anyone can download
edit and play them for personal use and public schools
governments and non-profit organizations can also use them for training
online courses or designing new curriculums.
To help us stay independent and support our work you can join our Patrons and
contribute just visit patreon.com sprouts. Even one
dollar can make a difference. If you have deep insights into academic
topics and want to help us explain complicated ideas in simple
language, please contact us at sproutschools.com