Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, Genital
A newborn baby, according to Freud, is bubbling with energy (libido; psychic energy). However, this energy is without focus or direction, which would not allow for survival. How, then, does the child develop the ability to control and direct his/her energy?
Psychic energy is an important concept in Freudian psychology. The structure of the mind and development all revolve around how the individual attempts to deal with psychic energy. Raw libinal impulses provide the basic fuel that the mind runs on. But the vehicle (mind) needs to well-formed and well-tuned in order to get maximum energy.
In order to understand development (and neuroses), then, we should “follow the energy” and see where it goes. As with physical energy, psychic energy cannot be created or destroyed in a big picture sense, however it may be dealt with in non-obvious ways.
So, where does the infant’s, then the child’s, the adolescent’s, and adult’s energy get focused? Freud believed that as development occurs the baby begins to focus on first one object then another. As the infant’s focus shifts the style and type of gratification being sought changes.
The focal objects for the developing child’s energy serves to define five main stages of psychological development:
1. oral (0-18 months)
2. anal (18 months - 3 1/2 years)
3. phallic (3 1/2 years - 6 years)
4. latency (6 years - puberty)
5. genital (puberty - adulthood)
Each psychosexual stage has three main parts:
1. A physical focus:
Where the child’s energy is concentrated and their gratification obtained.
2. A psychological theme:
This is related to both the physical focus and the demands being made on the child by the outside world as he/she develops. For each stage, there can be two extremes in psychological reaction - either doing too much or not enough of what is ideal.
3. An adult character type:
In the first three stages this adult character type is one that is related to being fixated or stuck at that stage. If a person doesn’t resolve the psychological issues that arise at that stage they will always have problems relating to those issues.
Stage 1: The Oral Stage, Birth - 18 months (approx.)
Physical focus: mouth, lips tongue (sucking). Sucking is the primary source of pleasure for a newborn. Everything goes in the mouth. Sucking = food.
Psychological theme: dependency. A baby is very dependent and can do little for itself. If babies needs properly fulfilled can move onto the next stage. But if not fulfilled baby will be mistrustful or over-fulfilled baby will find it hard to cope with a world that doesn’t meet all of his/her demands.
Adult character: highly dependent/highly independent. If baby becomes fixated at this stage Freud felt that he or she would grow to be an oral character. Mostly these people are extremely dependent and passive people who want everything done for them. However Freud also suggests that another type of oral character is the person who is highly independent and that when under stress the orally fixated person may flip from one type to the other. This exemplifies Freud’s doctrine of opposites.
Stage 2: Anal Stage, 18 months - 3.5 years (approx.)
Physical focus: anus (elimination). Until now the baby has had it pretty easy. Now baby is supposed to control bowels. Freud believed baby’s sexual pleasure centered around the anus at this time.
Psychological theme: self-control/obedience. These things are not just related to toilet training but also the baby must learn to control urges and behaviors (terrible twos). What goes wrong here is either parents being too controlling or not controlling enough (Freud was a great believer in moderation).
Adult character: anally retentive (rigid, overly organized, subservient to authority) vs. anally expulsive (little self-control, disorganized, defiant, hostile).
Stage 3: Phallic Stage, 3.5 - 6 years (approx.)
Physical focus: