PSYCHOSEXUAL THEORY

Development of the personality

through stages.
Rejeneil F. Dela Cruz
Psycho-Sexual Theory

Dr. Sigmund Freud

 Freud Psycho-Sexual Theory

Freud proposed that there were 5 stages of

development. Freud believed that few
people successfully completed all 5 of the
stages. Instead, he felt that most people
tied up their libido at one of the stages,
which prevented them from using that
energy at a later stage.
Psychosexual Development

 Five stages
 Each stage focuses on a part of the body
for experiencing pleasure.
 How conflicts between sources of pleasure
are resolved determines adult personality.
 The Five Stages of Psychosexual
Development

 The Oral Stage (Birth to 18 months)

 The Anal Stage (18 months to 3 years)
 The Phallic Stage (3 to 6 years)
 The Latent Stage (6 years to puberty)
 The Genital Stage (Puberty on)
Oral Stage (0 - 1 1/2 years)

 Pleasure centers around the mouth.

 Chewing, sucking, biting are sources of
pleasure.
Oral Stage (0 - 1 1/2 years)

 Weaned too early or late will

develop personality problems.
 Dependency or rejection of others
 Fixation: smoking, eating,
chewing, talking.
Anal Stage (2 - 3-year-old)

 Pleasure centers around the

anus.
 Eliminative functions are sources
of pleasure.
Anal Stage (2 - 3-year-old)

 Issue is control through Toilet training.

 Child view = Giving the gift
 Dirty vs. Lavish Praise
 Stingy or Overly Generous
 Rigid rules or Irresponsible & Rebellious
Fixation

 Leniency leads to: Anal-expulsive

personality-- messy, wasteful, or
destructive.
 Strictness leads to: Anal-retentive
personality: stringent, orderly, rigid, and
obsessive.
Phallic Stage (3rd to 5th year)

 Pleasure focuses on the genitals.

 Self-manipulation is a source of pleasure.
 Oedipus Complex appears.
Phallic Stage (3rd to 5th year)

 Focus is on the genital areas

 (Boys vs. Girls)
 Oedipal Complex: Parents seen as threats.
 Wide range of psychological disorders
through failure to resolve this conflict,
(unreasonable anxiety, phobias, &
depression)
Definition of the Oedipus Complex

The Oedipus Complex is Freud’s term for the young

child’s development of an intense desire to replace the
same-sex parent and enjoy the affections of the
opposite-sex parent.
Oedipus Complex
 the boy begins to have sexual desires for his mother
 sees his father as a rival for her affections.
 begins to fear that his father is suspicious of his longing
for his mother
 father will punish him for his desires.
 The punishment, the boy fears, will be castration,
which brings us to the second critical
episode for this stage.
Castration anxiety.
 fear of castration make the boy anxious
 leads to the boy thinking that the father hates him
eventually becomes unbearable
 boy renounces his sexual feelings for his mother
and chooses instead to identify with his father
 hopes to someday have a relationship with a
woman (though not his mother) just like dear old
dad has with his mother.
Resolution of the Oedipus Complex

 Children recognize that their same-sex

parent might punish them for their
incestuous wishes.
 To reduce this conflict, the child identifies
with the same-sex parent, striving to be
like him or her.
Electra Complex
 Feelings go round and round for awhile until the point
when the girls renounce their feelings for their fathers
 Identify with their mothers.
 focus changes, for girls, from the mother to the
father, when the girls realize that they don't have
penises, so they develop penis envy.
 coupled with the knowledge that her mother doesn't
have a penis leads to her thinking her mother
unworthy, and becoming attracted to her father, as he
does have a penis.
FIXATION

 If a man finds himself fixated because he

fails to join forces with dad, he’s been
successfully emasculated. He becomes
a failure at life, unable to strive for
achievement because of his disabling guilt
generated from competing with his father
for his mother’s attention.
FIXATION
 With successful resolution of the Electra
complex, a girl finds herself equipped to
deal with her adult sexual and intimate
relationships. She turns her penis envy into
a healthy search for a “fatherly” husband.
 But if she fails, she becomes fixated and
may be overly seductive and flirtatious.
Latency Stage (5th to Puberty)

 Sexual Desires pushed into background.

Latency Stage (5th to Puberty)

 The child represses all interest in sexuality.

 The child develops social and intellectual skills.
 Energy is channeled into emotionally safe
areas.
 The child forgets the highly stressful conflicts
of the phallic stage.
Genital Stage (Puberty +)

 This is a time of sexual reawakening.

 The source of sexual pleasure comes from
someone outside the family.
Genital Stage (Puberty +)

 Libidinal energy returns to the sexual

organs.
 Seek marriage partner, prepare for adult
life.
Fixation

 Due to a parent smothering a child with

too much attention, as an adult the
individual has difficulty in romantic
relationships due to being extremely
“needy.”
FIXATION
 Oral - Due to a parent weaning too early, as an adult the
individual seeks out oral gratification through smoking,
drinking, gum chewing.
 Anal - Due to a parent being too strict with potty training, as
an adult the individual is excessively neat and orderly (known
as “Anal Retentive”).
 Phallic - Due to a parent punishing the child for
masturbating, as an adult the individual seeks out
pornography.
 Genital - Due to a parent smothering a child with too much
attention, as an adult the individual has difficulty in romantic
relationships due to being extremely “needy.”