Psychosexual theory

PSYCHOSEXUAL THEORY

Danielle G. Devilleres

Who is Sigmund Freud?

• Founder of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic theories

• Based on the belief that developmental changes occur because of the influence of internal drives and emotions on behavior

The Conscious Mind

• Everything that we are aware of

• Aspect of our mental processing that we can think and talk about rationally

Preconscious Mind

• Memory• Not always part of

consciousness but can be retrieved easily at any time and brought into our awareness

The Unconscious Mind

• Reservoir of feelings, thoughts, urges and memories that is outside of our conscious awareness.

The Unconscious Mind

• Most are unacceptable or unpleasant such as pain, anxiety or conflict

• Tend to influence our behavior and experience even though we are unaware of these underlying influences

Freud’s Psychosexual Development

• Personality develops primarily in the Unconscious Mind

• Three Structures of Personality– ID– EGO– SUPEREGO

Freud’s Psychosexual Development

• ID– Innate– Seeks immediate gratification– “pleasure is good and nothing else

matters”– Libido (psychosexual energy) was

described as the driving force behind pleasure-seeking behavior

Freud’s Psychosexual Development

• EGO– Rational : obeys Reality Principle– Develops in the first 2 years of life– Holds ID in check and helps it achieve

gratification within confines of reality

Freud’s Psychosexual Development

• SUPEREGO– Learned– Inhibits the ID urges : complete

counterpart– Works as the moral consciousness of the

mind (tells us what is right and wrong)

DEFENSE MECHANISMS

• Ways of thinking about a situation that a person might use to reduce anxiety

• Anxiety is produced from the conflict of the ID, EGO and SUPEREGO

Freud’s Psychosexual Development

• Personality develops through a series of childhood stages during which the pleasure-seeking energies of the ID become focused on certain erogenous areas

Freud’s Psychosexual Development

• If each stage is successful = healthy personality

• If certain issues not resolved – FIXATION is a persistent focus on an

earlier psychosexual stage. The individual will remain “stuck” in this stage if not resoled

THE ORAL STAGE

• AGE : 0-2 years old (infancy)• PLEASURE : Oral Stimulation

– Rooting and sucking reflex is important– The mouth is vital for eating, therefore

survival• CONFLICT : Weaning Process

– The child must become less dependent upon caretakers

THE ORAL STAGE

• SUCCESS : develops a sense of trust and comfort– Infant is entirely depended upon

caretakers who are responsible for feeding the child

• FIXATION : – individual would have issues with

dependency or aggression– Problems in drinking, eating, smoking.,

or nail biting

THE ANAL STAGE

• AGE : 2-3 years old• PLEASURE : Controlling Bladder and

Bowel movements• CONFLICT : Toilet Training

THE ANAL STAGE

• SUCCESS : Competent, Productive and Creative Adults– There is a sense of accomplishment and

independence– depends upon the way in which parents

approach toilet training– Praise and rewards encourage positive

outcomes and help children feel productive

THE ANAL STAGE

• FIXATION : – Anal-Expulsive Personality

• Parents are too lenient• Individual has a messy, wasteful, or

destructive personality– Anal-Retentive Personality

• Parents are too strict• Individual is stringent, orderly, rigid and

obsessive

THE PHALLIC STAGE

• AGE : 3-7 years old• PLEASURE : Genitals (Self-Pleasure)• CONFLICT :

– Oedipus Complex• Boy develops sexual (pleasurable) desires

for his mother• Want to possess his mother exclusively and

get rid of his father

THE PHALLIC STAGE

• AGE : 3-7 years old• PLEASURE : Genitals (Self-Pleasure)• CONFLICT :

– Oedipus Complex• But the boy thinks that if his father finds out,

his father would take away what he loves the most. During this stage, what the boy loves the most is his penis. This is called castration anxiety.

THE PHALLIC STAGE

• CONFLICT : – Electra Complex

• Less than satisfactory• Girl desires the father but realizes she does

not have a penis• This leads to development of penis envy and

the wish to be a boy

THE PHALLIC STAGE

• SUCCESS :– Identification – internally adopting the

values, attitudes and behaviors of another person• the little boy sets out to resolve this problem

by imitating, copying and joining in masculine dad-type behaviors

THE PHALLIC STAGE

• FIXATION :– Repression

• The girl blames her mother for her “castrated state” and this creates great tension

• The girl then represses her feelings to remove tension and identifies with the mother to take on the female gender role. She represses her desire for her father and substituting the wish for a penis with the wish for a baby

THE LATENCY STAGE

• AGE : 7-11 years old• PLEASURE : Intellectual pursuits and

Social Interaction– Libido is dormant and suppressed– Begins around the time children go to

school and become more concerned with peer relationships, hobbies and other interests

– Time of exploration

THE LATENCY STAGE

• AGE : 7-11 years old• PLEASURE : Intellectual pursuits and

Social Interaction– Sexual energy is still present but is

directed to other areas in intellectual pursuits and social interactions

– Play becomes confined to other children of the same gender

THE LATENCY STAGE

• SUCCESS : – Development of Social and

Communication Skills and Confidence– Developing the Defense Mechanisms

THE GENITAL STAGE

• AGE : 11 to Adulthood• PLEASURE : Heterosexual Pleasure

rather than Self-Pleasure• CONFLICT : Fixation in other

Psychosexual Stages

THE GENITAL STAGE

• SUCCESS : – Well-balanced, warm and caring

individual– Settling down in a loving one-to-one

relationship with another person in our 20’s

– Proper outlet of sexual instincts through heterosexual intercourse

THE GENITAL STAGE

• FIXATION : Sexual Perversions– Fixation at Oral Stage may result to a

person gaining sexual pleasure primarily from kissing and oral sex rather than sexual intercourse

REFERENCES

• McLeod, S. A. (2008). Psychosexual Stages. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/psychosexual.html

• Freud’s Stages of Psychosexual Development by Kendra Van Wagner

CHARADES TIME!