Sigmund Freud - Psychosexual Theory
· Basic Philosophy - The basic philosophy is that the sex instinct is the most factor influencing personality; sexual instinct is present at birth, but it occurs in stages. The sex instinct provides the driving force for thought and activity. If conflicts from these stages are not resolved fixations may occur. If overindulgence at a stage may result in a person remaining at that stage. Certain personality traits develop from difficulty in one stage or another, for instance the anal stage can give the obsession for a person to be excessively neat and clean.
· Key concepts
Oral Stage - (birth to 12 or 18 mo.) mouth used for sexual pleasure
Anal Stage - (1to 3 yrs.) children derive pleasure from expelling and withholding feces. Phallic Stage - (3 to 5 or 6 yrs.) during this stage children learn they can derive pleasure from masturbation. The Oedipus complex also develops during this time. Latency period - (5 or 6 til puberty) this stage is relatively calm. The sex instinct is repressed.
Genital Stage - (puberty on) focus is shifted to the opposite sex, heterosexual relations are formed and the person attains full adult sexuality.
· Strengths and Usefulness - This theory emphasized