Freud's Stages of Psychosexual

Development

What is Psychosexual Development?

Proposed by the famous psychoanalyst

Sigmund Freud, the theory of psychosexual
development describes how personality
develops during childhood. While the theory
is well-known in psychology, it is also one
of the most controversial theories. Freud
believed that personality develops through a
series of childhood stages in which the
pleasure-seeking energies of the id become
focused on certain erogenous areas. This
psychosexual energy, or libido, was
described as the driving force behind
behavior.
Psychoanalytic theory suggested that
personality is mostly established by the age
of five. Early experiences play a large role
in personality development and continue to
influence behavior later in life.
If these psychosexual stages are completed
successfully, the result is a healthy
personality. If certain issues are not resolved
at the appropriate stage, fixation can occur.
A fixation is a persistent focus on an earlier
psychosexual stage. Until this conflict is
resolved, the individual will remain "stuck"
in this stage. For example, a person who is
fixated at the oral stage may be over-
dependent on others and may seek oral
stimulation through smoking, drinking, or
eating.
Age Range: Birth to 1 Year
Erogenous Zone: Mouth
During the oral stage, the infant's primary
source of interaction occurs through the
mouth, so the rooting and sucking reflex is
especially important. The mouth is vital for
eating, and the infant derives pleasure from
oral stimulation through gratifying activities
such as tasting and sucking. Because the
infant is entirely dependent upon caretakers
(who are responsible for feeding the child),
the infant also develops a sense of trust and
comfort through this oral stimulation.
The primary conflict at this stage is the
weaning process--the child must become
less dependent upon caretakers. If fixation
occurs at this stage, Freud believed the
individual would have issues with
dependency or aggression. Oral fixation can
result in problems with drinking, eating,
smoking, or nail biting.
Age Range: 1 to 3 years
Erogenous Zone: Bowel and Bladder
Control
During the anal stage, Freud believed that
the primary focus of the libido was on
controlling bladder and bowel movements.
The major conflict at this stage is toilet
training--the child has to learn to control his
or her bodily needs. Developing this control
leads to a sense of accomplishment and
independence.
According to Freud, success at this stage is
dependent upon the way in which parents
approach toilet training. Parents who utilize
praise and rewards for using the toilet at the
appropriate time encourage positive
outcomes and help children feel capable and
productive. Freud believed that positive
experiences during this stage served as the
basis for people to become competent,
productive and creative adults.
However, not all parents provide the support
and encouragement that children need
during this stage. Some parents' instead
punish, ridicule or shame a child for
accidents. According to Freud, inappropriate
parental responses can result in negative
outcomes. If parents take an approach that is
too lenient, Freud suggested that an anal-
expulsive personality could develop in
which the individual has a messy, wasteful
or destructive personality. If parents are too
strict or begin toilet training too early, Freud
believed that an anal-retentive personality
develops in which the individual is stringent,
orderly, rigid and obsessive.
Age Range: 3 to 6 Years
Erogenous Zone: Genitals
During the phallic stage, the primary focus
of the libido is on the genitals. At this age,
children also begin to discover the
differences between males and females.
Freud also believed that boys begin to view
their fathers as a rival for the mother’s
affections. The Oedipus complex describes
these feelings of wanting to possess the
mother and the desire to replace the father.
However, the child also fears that he will be
punished by the father for these feelings, a
fear Freud termed castration anxiety.
The term Electra complex has been used to
described a similar set of feelings
experienced by young girls. Freud, however,
believed that girls instead experience penis
envy.
Eventually, the child begins to identify with
the same-sex parent as a means of
vicariously possessing the other parent. For
girls, however, Freud believed that penis
envy was never fully resolved and that all
women remain somewhat fixated on this
stage. Psychologists such as Karen Horney
disputed this theory, calling it both
inaccurate and demeaning to women.
Instead, Horney proposed that men
experience feelings of inferiority because
they cannot give birth to children.
Age Range: 6 to Puberty
Erogenous Zone: Sexual Feelings Are
Inactive
During the latent period, the libido interests
are suppressed. The development of the ego
and superego contribute to this period of
calm. The stage begins around the time that
children enter into school and become more
concerned with peer relationships, hobbies
and other interests.
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.
Age Range: Puberty to Death
Erogenous Zone: Maturing Sexual
Interests
During the final stage of psychosexual
development, the individual develops a
strong sexual interest in the opposite sex.
This stage begins during puberty but last
throughout the rest of a person's life.
Where in earlier stages the focus was solely
on individual needs, 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.
Evaluating Freud’s Psychosexual Stage
Theory
 The theory is focused almost entirely on
male development with little mention of
female psychosexual development.

 His theories are difficult to test

scientifically. Concepts such as the libido
are impossible to measure, and therefore
cannot be tested. The research that has
 been conducted tends to discredit Freud's
theory.

 Future predictions are too vague. How

can we know that a current behavior was
caused specifically by a childhood
experience? The length of time between
the cause and the effect is too long to
assume that there is a relationship
between the two variables.

 Freud's theory is based upon case studies

and not empirical research. Also, Freud
based his theory on the recollections of
his adult patients, not on actual
observation and study of children.
The Conscious and Unconscious Mind
The Structure of the Mind According to
Freud
Psychoanalytic theory of the conscious and
unconscious mind is often explained using
an iceberg metaphor. Conscious awareness
is the tip of the iceberg, while the
unconscious is represented by the ice hidden
below the surface of the water.
Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud believed that
behavior and personality derives from the
constant and unique interaction of
conflicting psychological forces that operate
at three different levels of awareness: the
preconscious, the conscious, and the
unconscious. What do these terms mean?
What exactly happens at each level of
awareness?
The Mind According to Freud
Many of us have experienced what is
commonly referred to as a Freudian slip.
These misstatements are believed to reveal
underlying, unconscious thoughts or
feelings. Consider this example:
James has just started a new relationship
with a woman he met at school. While
talking to her one afternoon, he accidentally
calls her by his ex-girlfriend's name.
If you were in this situation, how would you
explain this mistake? Many of us might
blame the slip on distraction or describe it as
a simple accident. However, a
psychoanalytic theorist might tell you that
this is much more than a random accident.
The psychoanalytic view holds that there are
inner forces outside of your awareness that
are directing your behavior. For example, a
psychoanalyst might say that James
misspoke due to unresolved feelings for his
ex or perhaps because of misgivings about
his new relationship.
The founder of psychoanalytic theory was
Sigmund Freud. While his theories were
considered shocking at the time and
continue to create debate and controversy,
his work had a profound influence on a
number of disciplines, including
psychology, sociology, anthropology,
literature, and art.
The term psychoanalysis is used to refer to
many aspects of Freud’s work and research,
including Freudian therapy and the research
methodology he used to develop his
theories. Freud relied heavily upon his
observations and case studies of his patients
when he formed his theory of personality
development.
Freud's Three Levels of Mind
Before we can understand Freud's theory of
personality, we must first understand his
view of how the mind is organized.
According to Freud, the mind can be divided
into three different levels:
1. The conscious mind includes
everything that we are aware of. This is
the aspect of our mental processing that
we can think and talk about rationally. A
part of this includes our memory, which
is not always part of consciousness but
can be retrieved easily at any time and
brought into our awareness. Freud called
this the preconscious.

2. The preconscious mind is the part of

the mind that represents ordinary
memory. While we are not consciously
 aware of this information at any given
time, we can retrieve it and pull it into
consciousness when needed.

3. The unconscious mind is a reservoir

of feelings, thoughts, urges, and
memories that outside of our conscious
awareness. Most of the contents of the
unconscious are unacceptable or
unpleasant, such as feelings of pain,
anxiety, or conflict. According to Freud,
the unconscious continues to influence
our behavior and experience, even
though we are unaware of these
underlying influences.
Freud likened these three levels of mind to
an iceberg. The top of the iceberg that you
can see above the water represents the
conscious mind. The part of the iceberg that
is submerged below the water but is still
visible is the preconscious. The bulk of the
iceberg lies unseen beneath the waterline
and represents the unconscious.
Each person also possesses a certain amount
of psychological energy that forms the three
basic structures of personality: the id, the
ego, and the superego. These three structures
have different roles and operate at different
levels of the mind. In the next article in this
series, learn more about the functions of
each of these structures.

The Id, Ego and Superego

The Structural Model of Personality
According to Sigmund Freud's
psychoanalytic theory of personality,
personality is composed of three elements.
These three elements of personality--known
as the id, the ego and the superego--work
together to create complex human behaviors.
The Id
The id is the only component of personality
that is present from birth. This aspect of
personality is entirely unconscious and
includes of the instinctive and primitive
behaviors. According to Freud, the id is the
source of all psychic energy, making it the
primary component of personality.
The id is driven by the pleasure principle,
which strives for immediate gratification of
all desires, wants, and needs. If these needs
are not satisfied immediately, the result is a
state anxiety or tension. For example, an
increase in hunger or thirst should produce
an immediate attempt to eat or drink. The id
is very important early in life, because it
ensures that an infant's needs are met. If the
infant is hungry or uncomfortable, he or she
will cry until the demands of the id are met.
However, immediately satisfying these
needs is not always realistic or even
possible. If we were ruled entirely by the
pleasure principle, we might find ourselves
grabbing things we want out of other
people's hands to satisfy our own cravings.
This sort of behavior would be both
disruptive and socially unacceptable.
According to Freud, the id tries to resolve
the tension created by the pleasure principle
through the primary process, which involves
forming a mental image of the desired object
as a way of satisfying the need.
The Ego
The ego is the component of personality that
is responsible for dealing with reality.
According to Freud, the ego develops from
the id and ensures that the impulses of the id
can be expressed in a manner acceptable in
the real world. The ego functions in both the
conscious, preconscious, and unconscious
mind.
The ego operates based on the reality
principle, which strives to satisfy the id's
desires in realistic and socially appropriate
ways. The reality principle weighs the costs
and benefits of an action before deciding to
act upon or abandon impulses. In many
cases, the id's impulses can be satisfied
through a process of delayed gratification--
the ego will eventually allow the behavior,
but only in the appropriate time and place.
The ego also discharges tension created by
unmet impulses through the secondary
process, in which the ego tries to find an
object in the real world that matches the
mental image created by the id's primary
process.
The Superego
The last component of personality to
develop is the superego. The superego is the
aspect of personality that holds all of our
internalized moral standards and ideals that
we acquire from both parents and society--
our sense of right and wrong. The superego
provides guidelines for making judgments.
According to Freud, the superego begins to
emerge at around age five.
There are two parts of the superego:
1. The ego ideal includes the rules and
standards for good behaviors. These
behaviors include those which are
approved of by parental and other
authority figures. Obeying these rules
leads to feelings of pride, value and
accomplishment.
 2. The conscience includes information
about things that are viewed as bad by
parents and society. These behaviors are
often forbidden and lead to bad
consequences, punishments or feelings
of guilt and remorse.
The superego acts to perfect and civilize our
behavior. It works to suppress all
unacceptable urges of the id and struggles to
make the ego act upon idealistic standards
rather that upon realistic principles. The
superego is present in the conscious,
preconscious and unconscious.
The Interaction of the Id, Ego and
Superego
With so many competing forces, it is easy to
see how conflict might arise between the id,
ego and superego. Freud used the term ego
strength to refer to the ego's ability to
function despite these dueling forces. A
person with good ego strength is able to
effectively manage these pressures, while
those with too much or too little ego strength
can become too unyielding or too disrupting.
According to Freud, the key to a healthy
personality is a balance between the id, the
ego, and the superego.

Defense Mechanisms and Ego Anxiety

You've probably heard people talk about

"defense mechanisms," or ways that we
protect ourselves from things that we don't
want to think about or deal with. The term
got its start in psychoanalytic therapy, but it
has slowly worked its way into everyday
language. Think of the last time you referred
to someone as being "in denial" or accused
someone of "rationalizing." Both of these
examples refer to a type of defense
mechanism.
In Sigmund Freud's topographical model of
personality, the ego is the aspect of
personality that deals with reality. While
doing this, the ego also has to cope with the
conflicting demands of the id and the
superego. The id seeks to fulfill all wants,
needs, and impulses while the superego tries
to get the ego to act in an idealistic and
moral manner.
What happens when the ego cannot deal
with the demands of our desires, the
constraints of reality, and our own moral
standards? According to Freud, anxiety is
an unpleasant inner state that people seek to
avoid. Anxiety acts as a signal to the ego
that things are not going right. As a result,
the ego then employs a defense mechanism
to help reduce these feelings of anxiety.
Frued identified three types of anxiety:
1. Neurotic anxiety is the unconscious
worry that we will lose control of the id's
urges, resulting in punishment for
inappropriate behavior.

2. Reality anxiety is fear of real-world

events. The cause of this anxiety is
usually easily identified. For example, a
person might fear receiving a dog bite
when they are near a menacing dog. The
most common way of reducing this
anxiety is to avoid the threatening object.

3. Moral anxiety involves a fear of

violating our own moral principles.
In order to deal with this anxiety, Freud
believed that defense mechanisms helped
shield the ego from the conflicts created by
the id, superego, and reality.
What is a Defense Mechanism?
Defense Mechanisms
Because of anxiety provoking demands
created by the id, superego, and reality, the
ego has developed a number of defense
mechanisms to cope with anxiety. Although
we may knowingly use these mechanisms,
in many cases these defenses work
unconsciously to distort reality.
While all defense mechanisms can be
unhealthy, they can also be adaptive and
allow us to function normally. The greatest
problems arise when defense mechanisms
are overused in order to avoid dealing with
problems. In psychoanalytic therapy, the
goal may be to help the client uncover these
unconscious defense mechanisms and find
better, more healthy ways of coping with
anxiety and distress.
Researchers have described a wide variety
of different defense mechanisms. Sigmund
Freud's daughter, Anna Freud described ten
different defense mechanisms used by the
ego.
Denial
Denial is probably one of the best known
defense mechanisms, used often to describe
situations in which people seem unable to
face reality or admit an obvious truth (i.e.
"He's in denial."). Denial is an outright
refusal to admit or recognize that something
has occurred or is currently occurring. Drug
addicts or alcoholics often deny that they
have a problem, while victims of traumatic
events may deny that the event ever
occurred.
Denial functions to protect the ego from
things that the individual cannot cope with.
While this may save us from anxiety or pain,
denial also requires a substantial investment
of energy. Because of this, other defenses
are also used to keep these unacceptable
feelings from consciousness.
In many cases, there might be overwhelming
evidence that something is true, yet the
person will continue to deny its existence or
truth because it is too uncomfortable to face.
Denial can involve a flat out rejection of the
existence of a fact or reality. In other cases,
it might involve admitting that something is
true, but minimizing its importance.
Sometimes people will accept reality and the
seriousness of the fact, but they will deny
their own responsibility and instead blame
other people or other outside forces.
Addiction is one of the best-known
examples of denial. People who are
suffering from a substance abuse problem
will often flat-out deny that their behavior is
problematic. In other cases, they might
admit that they do use drugs or alcohol, but
will claim that this substance abuse is not a
problem.
Repression and Suppression
Repression
Repression is another well-known defense
mechanism. Repression acts to keep
information out of conscious awareness.
However, these memories don't just
disappear; they continue to influence our
behavior. For example, a person who has
repressed memories of abuse suffered as a
child may later have difficulty forming
relationships.
Sometimes we do this consciously by
forcing the unwanted information out of our
awareness, which is known as suppression.
In most cases, however, this removal of
anxiety-provoking memories from our
awareness is believed to occur
unconsciously.
Displacement
Have ever had a really bad day at work and
then gone home and taken out your
frustration on family and friends? Then you
have experienced the ego defense
mechanism of displacement. Displacement
involves taking out our frustrations, feelings,
and impulses on people or objects that are
less threatening. Displaced aggression is a
common example of this defense
mechanism. Rather than express our anger
in ways that could lead to negative
consequences (like arguing with our boss),
we instead express our anger towards a
person or object that poses no threat (such as
our spouse, children, or pets).
Sublimation
Sublimation is a defense mechanism that
allows us to act out unacceptable impulses
by converting these behaviors into a more
acceptable form. For example, a person
experiencing extreme anger might take up
kick-boxing as a means of venting
frustration. Freud believed that sublimation
was a sign of maturity that allows people to
function normally in socially acceptable
ways.
Projection
Projection is a defense mechanism that
involves taking our own unacceptable
qualities or feelings and ascribing them to
other people. For example, if you have a
strong dislike for someone, you might
instead believe that he or she does not like
you. Projection works by allowing the
expression of the desire or impulse, but in a
way that the ego cannot recognize, therefore
reducing anxiety.
Intellectualization
Intellectualization works to reduce anxiety
by thinking about events in a cold, clinical
way. This defense mechanism allows us to
avoid thinking about the stressful, emotional
aspect of the situation and instead focus only
on the intellectual component. For example,
a person who has just been diagnosed with a
terminal illness might focus on learning
everything about the disease in order to
avoid distress and remain distant from the
reality of the situation.
Rationalization is a defense mechanism
that involves explaining an unacceptable
behavior or feeling in a rational or logical
manner, avoiding the true reasons for the
behavior. For example, a person who is
turned down for a date might rationalize the
situation by saying they were not attracted to
the other person anyway, or a student might
blame a poor exam score on the instructor
rather than his or her lack of preparation.
Rationalization not only prevents anxiety, it
may also protect self-esteem and self-
concept. When confronted by success or
failure, people tend to attribute achievement
to their own qualities and skills while
failures are blamed on other people or
outside forces.
Regression
When confronted by stressful events, people
sometimes abandon coping strategies and
revert to patterns of behavior used earlier in
development. Anna Freud called this
defense mechanism regression, suggesting
that people act out behaviors from the stage
of psychosexual development in which they
are fixated. For example, an individual
fixated at an earlier developmental stage
might cry or sulk upon hearing unpleasant
news.
Behaviors associated with regression can
vary greatly depending upon which stage the
person is fixated at:
 An individual fixated at the oral stage
might begin eating or smoking
 excessively, or might become very
verbally aggressive.
 A fixation at the anal stage might result
in excessive tidiness or messiness.

Reaction Formation

 Reaction formation reduces anxiety by

taking up the opposite feeling, impulse
or behavior. An example of reaction
formation would be treating someone
you strongly dislike in an excessively
friendly manner in order to hide your
true feelings. Why do people behave this
way? According to Freud, they are using
reaction formation as a defense
mechanism to hide their true feelings by
behaving in the exact opposite manner.
Other Defense Mechanisms
Since Freud first described the original
defense mechanisms, other researchers have
continued to describe other methods of
reducing anxiety. Some of these defense
mechanisms include:
 Acting Out: In this type of defense, the
individual copes with stress by engaging
in actions rather than reflecting upon
internal feelings.

 Affiliation: This involves turning to

other people for support.

 Aim Inhibition: In this type of defense,

the individual accepts a modified form of
their original goal (i.e. becoming a high
school basketball coach rather than a
professional athlete.)
 Altruism: Satisfying internal needs
through helping others.

 Avoidance: Refusing to deal with or

encounter unpleasant objects or
situations.

 Compensation: Overachieving in one

area to compensate for failures in
another.

 Humor: Pointing out the funny or ironic

aspects of a situation.

 Passive-aggression: Indirectly expressing

anger.
While defense mechanisms are often
thought of as negative reactions, some of
these defenses can be helpful. For example,
utilizing humor to overcome a stressful,
anxiety-provoking situation can actually be
an adaptive defense mechanism. In other
cases, they allow people to temporarily ease
stress during critical times, allowing them to
focus on what is necessary in the moment.