Freud's psychosexual stages

According to Freud there are five psychosexual stages of development; oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital.

The oral stage is when the focus of gratification is on the mouth. A baby is orally fixated, it is gratified by the pleasures of nursing. For a baby nursing is not just a source of food, it is a primary source of pleasure through oral stimulation. This stage last from birth to around 15 months of age.

The anal stage usually occurs around 18 months of age. There is a shift of drive energy from the mouth and the upper digestive tract to the lower end of the digestive tract, this charaterises the anal stage. Given the shift in focus of gratification, pleasure comes primarily from the process of elimination, and activities related to that. For the child bowel movements are intensely pleasurable. As well, their own faeces are of significant interest - after all they are produced by the child's body, so there is an intimate connection.

In the phallic stage, from about three to five years of age, gratification is focused on the genitals. Parents often find that children show an increased awareness of their body, including genitals, at this age, as well as a curiosity about other people's bodies. A boy may ask his mother if she has a penis, or may want to see her body. A girl may suddenly become jealous when her father is affectionate to her mother. All of these behaviours indicated to Freud that the genitals have become a focus of gratification - hence the phallic stage (after the Greek word for penis).

The latency stage occurs around the age of 5 and extends to puberty. The latent period is a time of exploration in which the sexual energy is still present, but it is directed into other areas such as intellectual pursuits and social interactions. This stage is important in the development of social and communication skills and self-confidence.

The genital stage is the fifth and final stage in Freud's psychosexual stages. During the final stage of psychosexual development, the individual develops a strong sexual interest in the opposite sex. Where in earlier stages the focus was solely on individual needs and, interest in the welfare of others grows during this stage. If the other stages have been completed successfully, the individual should now be well-balanced, warm, and caring. The goal of this stage is to establish a balance between the various life areas.

I don't think that these stages have played a role in my development at all, or if they have it is not a very major one. I don't think that I have become the person I am because I had several bottles of milk per day when I was a baby. Nor do I think that the way I was potty trained has anything to do with the person I have become. As a child I was not potty trained on a schedule, whenever I asked to use the potty, I went. I was not told that I had to go at a certain time. It was my own initiative. I am now a relatively organised person and I rarely turn up late to a meeting, in fact I am usually early. I do have times where I become quite messy especially when I am tired or stressed out but I do not believe this has anything to do with how I was potty trained. As a baby I was never breast fed because my mum was ill but I drank several bottles of milk a day (more than the average child), I do not find that I am orally fixated now, I chew chewing-gum but only on the odd occasion and it is not compulsive chewing. I do not like eating much at all but I don't believe that is because I ate a lot as a child.

bibliography

Glassman, William E., and Marilyn Hadad. Approaches to Psychology. 4th ed. Berkshire: Open University Press, 2006

Van Wagner, Kendra. "Freud's stages of psychosexual development." 31 Mar 2008 http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/ss/psychosexualdev.htm.

"Freud's Psychosexual Stages of Development." 31 Mar 2008 .