Professor Spaulding Psychology 2316
Psychosexual Stages
The Psychosexual Stages, a concept of child development conceived by Sigmund Freud, are five stages that every child goes through universally from birth to puberty. Freud believed that each stage must be dealt with gentle yet firm care in order for the child to excel through each stage successfully. The first phase is the Oral Stage, at this point the child is fixated on his/her mouth area. The child finds satisfaction by placing things in their mouth and looks for constant gratification from people around them, especially the mom. If this stage is not dealt with properly, the child could stay fixated at the Oral Stage. This could be a problem because the child can develop excessive dependence and a deep mistrust of others.
The next phase is the Anal Stage where the child is interested in toilet activities. This stage lasts for a year and a half from 18 months to 3 years-old. Freud believed that if a child becomes fixated at this stage, they would develop an ‘anal personality’ which results in stubbornness, controlling, and stingy. The next phase is the Phallic Stage which is from age 3 to age 6 and during this stage the child’s focus is on the genitals. Boys in this stage will develop a crush on their mother and rival their father; this is known as the Oedipus Complex by Freud, while the girls in this stage will develop a crush on their father and rival their mother, which is known as the Electra Complex. Freud believed that this stage was the most important and if not dealt with correctly the child would not mature into the appropriate gender-role.
The next phase is the Latency Stage, the child becomes more sociable and involved with friends of the same sex, this occurs from age 6 to age 11. During this stage, they ignore the opposite sex and develop skills that will benefit them in the real world. The final stage is the Genital Stage, at age 12