Freud’s psychosexual theory is one of the most controversial theories in history because of its emphasis on sexuality, but its contribution to psychology is still huge, and it’s helped to understand child development.
Sigmund Freud was born in 1856 in Austria. He was a neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis. To understand the human mind, he took the help of conversations between psychologists and their patients, and on the basis of this, he gave Freud’s psychosexual theory. Since there was no scientific basis for what he said, his theory was criticized by many scientists, but his theory is still famous all over the world and accepted by everyone.
Freud’s psychosexual theory is one of the most controversial theories in history because of its emphasis on sexuality, but its contribution to psychology is still huge, and it’s helped to understand child development.
Contents
Stages of Sigmund Freud’s Psychosexual Theory
According to this theory, there are five stages of psychosexual development in children, as follows:
i. Oral
ii. Anal
iii. Phallic
iv. Latency
v. Genital
i. Oral stage (0 to 18 months)
According to Freud, children of this age enjoy sucking, biting, or chewing. At this age, the mouth is the erogenous zone in a child. That is, at this age, all the feelings of excitement occur through the mouth. To enjoy, the child does activities like chewing, sucking, biting, etc. If all these activities are more or less present in the child at this age, then later on in adulthood, they emerge in the form of deformities like nail biting, eating less or more food, or smoking.
Key points
- Pleasure from sucking, biting, or chewing.(0 to 18 months old)
- Important stage to develop the ability to form relationships.
- Important stage to develop the ability to regulate emotions.
- Important stage to create a sense of trust and security.
ii. Anal stage ( 18 months to 3 Years)
In the second phase, the enormous zone is shifted from the mouth to the anus. This stage is for children between 18 months and 36 months. According to Fried, children of this age take pleasure in holding or passing out the feces; hence, children of this age should be given toilet training very carefully; otherwise, the child may develop a tendency to hold the feces for a long time or pass feces quickly. Both situations can be disastrous.
Key Points
- The enormous zone is shifted from the mouth to the anus.
- Children of this age take pleasure in holding or passing out their feces.
- Children of this age should be given toilet training very carefully.
iii. Phallic stage (3 to 6 years)
Children this age start learning about sexual differences. Sexual jealousy becomes common among boys of this age, while girls of this age often start developing castration anxiety. Such situations create a feeling of inadequacy or inferiority. In the future, it can take the form of excessive competition and aggressive behavior.
Key Points
- Children of this age start learning about sexual differences.
- Sexual jealousy becomes common among boys of this age, while girls of this age often start developing castration anxiety.
- According to Freud, In boys aged 3 to 6 years, unconscious desire for their mother and unconscious rivalry for their father develop, whereas in girls the opposite happens; this is called the Oedipus complex or Electra complex.
iv. Latency stage (6 to 12 years)
In this stage, the child’s focus is on social development and other activities. There sexual development is temporarily dormant. It is also called a relative period of calm and stability. It is the longest stage of Freud’s psychosexual theory.
Key points
- Sexual impulses are repressed.
- More focus on learning, social activities, etc.
- Children focus on exploring things around them.
- Children form groups and make friends.
- A child starts learning cooperation.
- Internalized moral standards.
- Internalized social norms.
- Internalized social values.
- A feeling of guilt and shame developed
v. The Genital Stage (12 Years to death)
It is final stage of development of mature sexual identity
According to Freud, In boys aged 3 to 6 years, unconscious desire for their mother and unconscious rivalry for their father develop, whereas in girls the opposite happens; this is called the Oedipus complex or Electra complex. In the genital stage, the Oedipus complex developed in the child is resolved. In this stage, boys start understanding the importance of their father, while girls start understanding the importance of their mother. In this stage, the child identifies both the mother and father together and accepts their status.
Key points
- This is the final stage of this theory.
- This is the stage of the development of mature sexual identity.
- In this stage, boys start identifying their father’s and girls start identifying their mother’s.
MCQs On Freud’s Psychosexual Theory
Q1. How many stages are there in Freud’s psychosexual theory?
i. 4
ii. 3
iii. 5
iv. 6
iii. 5
Q2. Which of the following is not a stage of Freud’s psychosexual theory?
i. Genital
ii. Oral
iii. Latency
iv. Adult
iv. Adult
Q3. In which of the following options is the erogenous zone given wrong?
i. Oral – Mouth
ii. Anal- Anus
iii. Phallic- Genitals
iv. latency – Genitals
iv. latency – Genitals
Q4. According to Freud’s, what is the main purpose of the genital stage?
i. Development of Social Value
ii. Development of Ethical values
iii. Oedipus or Electra complex
iv. Male psychosexual identities
iii. Oedipus or Electra complex
Q5. Freud was a famous neurologist of which country?
i. Germany
ii. Austria
iii. Australia
iv. Britain
ii. Austria
Q6. Freud’s was the founder of ?
i. psychoanalysis
ii. child development theory
iii. Psychology
iv. Neuroscience
i. psychoanalysis
Q7. Who propounded psychosexual theory?
i. Freud
ii. jean piazza
iii. Kohlberg
iv. None of these
i. Freud
Q8. Why was Freud’s psychosexual theory criticized?
i. Because girls were not considered in this.
ii. due to political reasons
iii. Because there was no scientific data for this theory.
iv. Because Fried had no experience of any kind in this field, he gave his theory by observing the experiments of other people.
iii. Because there was no scientific data for this theory.
Q9. Which of the following is not a criticism of Freud’s psychosexual theory?
i. This theory was given for the children of the whole world by observing only the children of Europe, hence it lacked universalism.
ii. This theory lacked scientific evidence.
iii. This theory focuses on heterosexual development.
iv. Fried made gender discrimination in his theory and considered girls inferior to boys, which displeased the scientists of that time.
iv. Fried made gender discrimination in his theory and considered girls inferior to boys, which displeased the scientists of that time.
Q10. Which of the following is a correct statement?
i. Oedipus complex theory is only for girls.
ii. Oedipus complex theory is only for Boys.
iii. Electra complex theory is only for Boys.
iv. Oedipus complex theory is for both Boys and Girls
ii. Oedipus complex theory is only for Boys.