Sigmund Freud's Five Stages Of Development

Freud's psychosexual theory of development

For Freud, childhood experiences shape our personalities and behavior as adults. Freud viewed development as discontinuous; he believed that each of us must pass through a series of stages during childhood and that if we lack proper nurturing and parenting during a stage, we may become stuck in, or fixated on, that stage. According to Freud, children’s pleasure-seeking urges are focused on a different area of the body, called an erogenous zone, at each of the five stages of development: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital. Each stage is characterised by different demands for sexual gratification and different ways of achieving that gratification.

In the oral stage (0-1 years of age) a new

For girls, the Freudian Electra complex describes the events leading up to gender resolution. The young girl has 'penis envy' and resents the mother for not providing her with one. According to Freud, the conflicts may result in homosexuality, authority problems, and rejection of appropriate gender roles if not resolved.

In latency stage (6-12 years of age) the drives that have been responsible for gratification in the previous stages appear relatively inactive. This is partly due to the repression of sexual drives that is accomplished during the oedipal stage. Freud suggests that these repressed drives may be redirected into other activities, such as the formation of friendships, or hobbies. During this stage, sexual instincts subside, and children begin to further develop the superego, or conscience. Children begin to behave in morally acceptable ways and adopt the values of their parents and other important adults.

There is no fixation; it is а time out period, а time for play. The major characteristic is sublimation. This is а time when the sex drive gets buried. (Miller 2000)

In genital stage (12+ years of age) with puberty there is re-emergence of the earlier drives.

His theories are difficult to test scientifically. Concepts such as the libido are impossible to measure, and therefore cannot be tested. The research that has been conducted tends to discredit Freud's theory. Future predictions are too vague. The length of time between the cause and the effect is too long to assume that there is a relationship between the two variables. Freud's theory is based upon case studies and not empirical research. Also, Freud based his theory on the recollections of his adult patients, not on actual observation and study of children. Even though Freud's stages are related to children, he based most of his theory on his work with troubled adults; he in fact never worked with children. Moreover, many believed his work was too focused on human sexuality, especially his focus on the Oedipus complex and children's sexual desire for parents.

Some critics of Freud believe the memories and fantasies of childhood seduction Freud