Psychosexual stages according to Sigmund Freud: what are they, theoretical bases

What are the psychosexual stages?

The psychosexual stages, according to Freudare the phases through which the psychosexual development of people passes. These are the oral, anal, phallic, latent, and genital stages. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) stated that sexuality was the main energy that moved human behavior. He called that energy libido.

For Freud, the development of the personality was equivalent to the development of the sexual impulses.

The basic principle of this theory is that in the unconscious of the child there are repressed thoughts related to the desire to have sexual relations with their parents, and in turn death wishes for the parent of the opposite sex.

These thoughts housed in the unconscious, inaccessible to the subject’s consciousness, begin to be generated in childhood and during various stages of development, until they are finally eradicated by normal sexual development.

The stages of human psychosexual development, described by the famous Viennese doctor, describe the supposed development of personality throughout childhood and the different phases we go through during it.

According to Freud, in each of these stages the child focuses his sexual energy on a specific erogenous area.

Basis of Freud’s theory

Despite the fact that the theory of psychosexual development has always been controversial within the world of psychoanalysis (even during the time in which it was developed), it cannot be denied that it has had a great influence on the evolution of this discipline as an object of study. of the science.

According to Freud, the human mind develops in different phases that we all have to go through, from our childhood to our adult life. The five phases are as follows: oral, anal, phallic, latent, and genital.

During each of these phases, our sexual energy or libido is fixed in a specific area of ​​the body, from where the phases they get their name.

These areas become more important as the person develops, either as sources of potential pleasure, frustration, or both.

Freud attached special importance to these areas because he believed that life was based on two factors: stress and pleasure. Both were related to libido, being tension, the accumulation of sexual energy, and pleasure, its release.

Conflicts in each of the phases

As the child develops, a series of conflicts appear in his mind that he has to overcome in order to successfully advance to the next phase.

These conflicts are related to the struggle between the three components of the mind, according to Freud: the Id, the Ego and the Superego.

The id is the fundamental force that drives the behavior of children. It is about the unconscious mind, made up of all the desires, instincts and drives that each person feels.

The other two components are developed throughout the five phases to channel these primary desires, so that they are socially acceptable.

During this process, in each of the phases a psychological conflict occurs that must be resolved so that the child can advance in his development. The more difficult the conflict is to resolve, the more it will affect the individual’s personality during their adult life.

When a person presents some unresolved conflict, according to Freud, this can cause all kinds of psychological disorders over the years.

Therefore, the role of the psychologist is to detect what may be the cause of the fixation in a specific stage, and resolve it through the use of therapy.

Stages of psychosexual development

1. Oral stage

During the oral stage, which occurs between the time of birth and one and a half years of age, the child interacts with the world mainly through his mouth.

This organ is essential for survival, so the baby receives great pleasure from activities such as sucking on objects and eating.

Also because the child needs adult care to survive, oral stimulation is also the main way in which he bonds with his caregivers. Specifically, a very strong bond is established with the mother when she breastfeeds.

The main conflict at this stage is precisely the liberation to some extent from dependence on caregivers.

The child must begin to embark on his path to self-sufficiency. Otherwise, in her adult life she could have problems such as dependency, aggressiveness or addictions to food or drink.

2. Anal stage

The anal stage occurs between one and a half and three years of age. During this, the child’s attention is focused on sphincter control.

The acquisition of the ability to go to the bathroom independently becomes the first great achievement of the child, who thus comes even closer to personal autonomy.

According to Freud, the resolution of the conflict at this stage is especially delicate, and depends to a large extent on the way in which the parents teach the child to go to the bathroom.

If caregivers reinforce the child each time he manages to use the bathroom properly, the person will grow up feeling competent, productive, and creative.

However, in the case of parents who punish the child when they cannot go to the bathroom by themselves (or in the case of accidents), the person can suffer all kinds of negative consequences in their life.

For example, you could become too rigid, unable to break the rules or improvise.

On the other hand, if the training was not taken seriously by the parents, the person could become disorganized, even appearing in all kinds of self-destructive behaviors.

3. Phallic stage

The third stage described by Freud focuses on the genitals, being the moment in which the person discovers the anatomical differences between men and women.

This is where the greatest psychological conflict of development occurs: the Oedipus complex in men, and the Electra complex in women.

According to the author, the changes produced at this stage are closely related to people’s sexuality and their gender roles. The phallic stage goes from three to six years of age.

4. Latent stage

Between the age of six and puberty, the child’s sexual energy enters a state of latency, being suppressed by the Superego (the part of the mind that is in charge of social norms).

During this time, the pent-up energy is used for other tasks, such as developing social skills.

5. Genital stage

Finally, during puberty, the person’s sexual desires reappear, this time in their most developed form.

In this stage (which spans from adolescence to death), desire is focused on the genitals and on having sexual relations with people who are attractive to us.

References

Anal stage. Recovered from britannica.com.