Freud's theory of psychosexual
development claims that as we grow up we pass through
five critical phases. Our sex drive, which Freud called the
Libido, focuses in a different erogenous zone at
each phase. The phases are called Oral, Anal,
Phallic, Latency and Genital. If our experience during any of these
phases was traumatic we might develop fixations later in life
such as neurosis, dependencies addictions, or depression. The Oral Phase,
age zero to one. In the first year of our lives
we discover the world through our oral senses. Our main pleasure comes from
sucking our mother's breast or a bottle. The conflict that occurs now is the
weaning from our primary caregiver. Hans is weaned off his mother's breast
without trauma. Ernst's mother stops feeding him within
four months of birth which is too early. Ida is often left
alone crying when she is hungry. Hans becomes a healthy and independent adult.
Ernst suffers from trauma and develops an oral fixation. He tries to compensate for it by chewing gum all the time.
Ida spends her entire life looking for the oral stimulation she was denied as
an infant and therefore develops a
manipulative and addictive personality. The a=Anal Phase, age one to three. The primary focus of our Libido at this age is the control of the bladder and
bowel movements. We have to learn how to use the potty.
Han's parents praise his attempts to use the toilet
and encourage him to learn at his own pace.
Ernst's parents force potty training on him too early
and punish him for mistakes. Ida's parents neglect
any efforts at potty training entirely. Hans develops a competent personality
and a good and balanced relationship with authority.
Ernst develops an anal retentive personality.
He becomes an over-controlling and stingy adult
with disgust for his own body and a tendency to obey authority.
Ida develops an anal expulsive personality.
She becomes messy disorganized inconsiderate of other people's feelings
and rebellious against authority. The Phallic Phase, age three to six. Our Libido now turns to the genitals as we discover the differences between the
female and the male gender. The boy's conflict in this phase
occurs as a rivalry with their father, also called the 'Oedipus Complex'. Ernst
and Hands desire to possess their mother and fantasize about getting rid of their
father But they know that their father is
stronger and fear being punished for their desire. Freud called
this 'Castration Anxiety'. Ida experiences
'Penis Envy'. She believes that a penis is the key to power and domination
and also wants one. Han's father was very present during
that phase. Later, Hans resolves this conflict by
identifying strongly with him. He learns to take on a male role. As an
adult he respects both genders. Ernst, whose father was absent during that
phase, fails to develop a strong sense of manhood.
He has a mother fixation and is not sure about his sexuality.
He also tends to be aggressive towards women and
constantly needs to compete with other men. Ida,
like all women, maintains her penis envy for the rest of her life
which in her case causes an inferiority complex towards men. Latent Phase, age seven to thirteen. In this phase our Libido is suppressed as our sexual energy is being sublimed
into developing life skills. Our Superego strengthens
and we strongly identify with social values,
same-sex heroes, and friends. Hans follows many hobbies. Ernst loves
learning at school, and Ida makes lots of new girlfriends. There is no real conflict in this phase.
All three of them benefit for the rest of their lives from the skills they
developed during latency. The Genital Phase, puberty to death. Once we reach puberty our libido starts
to become active again and we develop an interest
in sexual partners. Hans, Ida and Ernst face the challenge
of balancing the sexual desires of the Id
and the needs of the Superego to obey social norms.
The development of a strong Ego helps to find a compromise between the two. Hans, who has experienced a childhood
without much trauma, succeeds in building a strong Ego. He is
disciplined at work, has a loving relationship. and a
fulfilled sex life. Ernst's Ego is weaker than his
superego he obeys norms and authorities and as a
result suppresses his desires which leads to
the development of perversions. Ida has a weak Ego and a weak Superego.
Her sexual needs are more important than social norms or other people's feelings.
She is egoistic and feels no guilt for breaking the law or hurting others. To understand the theory we need to see
it in the context of Freud's famous work on the unconscious.
By acknowledging that we have a subconscious.
He also implied that we store memories of early childhood
and other experiences without even realizing it.
These past experiences then unconsciously influence our behavior on
a daily basis. Freud claimed that our mind operates in
three spheres which we can imagine as a submarine. The Unconscious level operates the Id.
The Preconscious level operates the Superego. The Conscious and Preconscious levels operate our Ego.
Young children are driven by the Id and demand immediate satisfaction.
At around age seven we begin to develop a Superego and want to become good moral citizens and please
others. The Ego is formed with adolescence
to balance the two forces. Sigmund Shlomo Freud was an Austrian
neurologist and the founder of Psychoanalysis. Freud theorized that the
Unconscious would remember and store all our experiences later they pop up
from time to time through dreams and associative thoughts.
By revealing traumatic memories and desires through conversation
we can free ourselves from our neuroses and live a more healthy and fulfilled
life. He recommended we should not strive to eliminate our complexes
but to get into accord with them. They are legitimately what directs
our conduct in the world. What do you think about this theory and
the practice of psychoanalysis? Is there some truth in it? Do we have an
unconscious? If so does it really store all our
childhood experiences and influence our behavior as adults?
Please share your thoughts in the comments below! Sprouts videos are published under the
Creative Commons License. That means our videos are free and
anyone can download edit and play them for personal use and
public schools governments and non-profit organizations
can also use them for training online courses or designing new
curriculums. To help us stay independent and support
our work you can join our Patrons and contribute
just visit patreon.com sprouts. Even one dollar can make a difference.
If you have deep insights into academic topics and want to help us
explain complicated ideas in simple language, please contact
us at sproutschools.com
Not very helpful been honest since many of hes teachings are basically theories.