Sigmund Freud Father of Psycho-sexual Theory of Development

Sigmund Freud

Father of Psycho-sexual Theory of
           Development

1856 - 1939

• Born in 1856, in the Austro-Hungarian
  Empire
• Freud’s father was a small time merchant
• Freud’s mother was the second wife for
  Freud’s father
• Freud had 2 half brothers, who were 20
  years older than he

• Freud’s family background was Jewish but
  he was an avowed atheist
• In this time period, as a Jewish man,
  Freud’s only career options were medicine
  and law
• He chose medicine and specialized in
  neurology

• In 1886 Freud married, moved to Vienna,
  Austria and opened a practice specializing
  in nervous and brain disorders

• In 1900 he introduced the world to
  ‘Freudian slips’ which he described as
  slips of the tongue where the thoughts of
  the unconscious mind were revealed;
  i.e. - ‘can I give you a hand?’ said to a
  one armed person

• Super Ego is part of
the Preconscious mind

•   Ego*

• Id is part of the
Unconscious mind

* Ego is floating is all 3
states

• Because the unconscious is so large, and
  because we are only aware of the very small
  conscious at any given time, this theory is
  likened to an iceberg, where the vast majority is
  buried beneath the water’s surface
• The water would represent everything that we
  are not aware of, have not experienced, and that
  has not been integrated into our personalities,
  referred to the as nonconscious

Psychoanalytic Theory
• Stated that the mind is divided into 2 parts:
  – The conscious – the part of which we
    are aware
  – The unconscious – the part of which
    we are not aware
  The unconscious mind has more
    influence than the conscious has on
    our personality & behaviour

• The unconscious is further divided into
  3 parts:
  – the id – encourages us to seek physical
    satisfaction (sexual, nutritional)
  – the superego – prompts us to do the moral
    thing, not the one that feels the best
  – the ego – referees between the id and
    superego, and deals with external reality
    (our conscious self)

• Freud believed that these 3 parts (id, ego,
  superego) affect our personality
  development, and our individual behaviour
• He also maintained that our early
  childhood experiences, usually involving
  our relationships with our parents & family,
  are stored in our unconscious mind

Psycho-sexual Theory
• Freud believed that individual sexual
  satisfaction or frustration was the key
  element in personality development
• He also stated that the sex drive was the
  greatest shaper of personality, and that
  sexuality was even present in infants

Psycho-sexual Theory

   By Sigmund Freud

Duration   Pleasure Main            Tasks to
           Zone     Characteristics Achieve

1. Oral Stage
* Duration: from birth to 1 year of age
• Pleasure zone: mouth
• Main characteristics: main source of
  pleasure is the mouth, lips, tongue, etc.
   – The main concern is with immediate
     gratification of urges dominated by the
     id
   * Tasks to achieve: satisfactory feeding
     & weaning

• Did you ever notice how little children tend
  to put everything in their mouths? This
  makes perfect sense from Freud’s
  perspective, who says that that is their
  primary pleasure zone

2. Anal Stage
• Duration: from 1-2 years of age
• Pleasure zone: Anus
• Main characteristics: controlling the
  bowels and bladder; the ego starts to
  control the id
• Tasks to achieve: potty and toilet training

Anally retentive?
• Perhaps you have heard this term…
  typically it refers to someone who is
  extremely stubborn; won’t let go of
  something once it is over; bears a grudge
  forever

3. Phallic Stage
• Duration: from 2-6 years of age
• Pleasure zone: phallus
• Main characteristics: some pleasure is
  gained from playing with the genitals. This
  pleasure is associated with the same sex
  parent leading to the Oedipus and Electra
  Complexes
• Id demands, ego tries to satisfy id, and
  superego tries to impose moral choices

• Did you ever notice how sometimes little
  children will unashamedly put their hands
  down their pants and walk around in
  public? Freud says that since the genitals
  are a source of pleasure they also provide
  comfort to a young child.

• Oedipus Complex – little boys have a sexual
  attraction towards their mothers and a sense of
  jealousy/hatred towards their fathers
• Electra Complex – little girls have a sexual
  attraction towards their fathers and a sense of
  jealousy/hatred towards their mothers
• Freud says that these Complexes are not
  resolved through murder, but through gradual
  identification with the same sex parent
  (assuming the goals, ambitions, mannerisms,&
  other personality traits)

4. Latency Stage
• Duration: from 6-11 years of age
• Pleasure zone: none
• Main characteristics: Oedipus and
  Electra Complexes are resolved and
  identification with same sex parent occurs,
  and loss of interest in opposite sex. Id,
  ego, superego continue to compete
• Tasks to achieve: none

5. Genital Stage
• Duration: from 11 years on
• Pleasure zone: genitals
• Main characteristics: increasing concern
  with adult ways of experiencing sexual
  pleasure
• Tasks to achieve: good relationships
  with members of both sexes

Fixation
• Freud says that a person can become
  stuck or fixated at any stage and may not
  progress beyond it, continuing to find
  pleasure in the pleasure zone associated
  with that stage
• i.e. – gum chews, pencil biters, smokers
  are said to be fixated at the Oral Stage

Penis Envy
• Freud believed that girls suffered from
  penis envy because boys had penis’ and
  girls were without them

• Sigmund Freud died in 1939 in England at
  the age of 83, from cancer of the jaw
  (following years of cigar smoking – he
  himself claimed to be orally fixated)