6 Freuds Psychosexual Development Theory

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Key to Remember/vocabulary list:

 Psychosexual disorders are defined as the sexual problems that are psychological in origin
and occur in absence of any pathological disease. They often arise because of physical,
environmental, or psychological factors, and at times it is difficult to separate one from the
other.
 Libido refers to sexual desire, or the emotion and mental energy related to sex. Another
term for it is “sex drive.” Your libido is influenced by: biological factors, such as testosterone
and estrogen levels. psychological factors, such as stress levels.
 Gratification the state of being gratified; great satisfaction. something that gratifies; source
of pleasure or satisfaction. the act of gratifying.
 Personality is formed by the ongoing interaction of temperament, character, and
environment. Socialization —The process by which new members of a social group are
integrated in the group. Temperament —A person's natural disposition or inborn
combination of mental and emotional traits
 Stimulation to rouse to action or effort, as by encouragement or pressure; spur on; incite:
to stimulate his interest in mathematics. Physiology, Medicine/Medical. to excite (a nerve,
gland, etc.) to its functional activity.

Overview:
In this lesson you will be able to determine underlying thoughts of Freud's Psychosexual
Development Theory, Demonstrate knowledge on Freud's Psychosexual Development Theory and
Innovate learning materials using the concept of Freud's Psychosexual Development Theory

I. Activity: Base on Sigmund Freud’s Psychosexual Development Theory found below, accomplish
the graphic organizer (Venn diagram) given in the bottom of the activity portion. The graphic
organizer (Venn diagram) is worth 50 pts.
EGO SUPEREGO

PHALLIC - masturbation
ORAL - sucking,
swallowing, etc… LATENT – little or no
sexual motivation present
Freud's
ANAL – withholding or GENITAL – sexual intercourse
Psychosexual
expelling faeces Development
Theory

II. Analysis: Refer to the graphic organizer of Freud’s Psychosexual Development Theory found
above- in the activity portion. Accomplish the graphic organizer (table) found below:

Freud’s Psychosexual Development Theory


Stages Changes that Occurs What can you say per stage?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

III. Abstraction:
Freud proposed that psychological development in childhood takes place during five psychosexual
stages: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital.
These are called psychosexual stages because each stage represents the fixation of libido (roughly
translated as sexual drives or instincts) on a different area of the body. As a person grows
physically certain areas of their body become important as sources of potential frustration
(erogenous zones), pleasure or both.
Freud (1905) believed that life was built round tension and pleasure. Freud also believed that all
tension was due to the build-up of libido (sexual energy) and that all pleasure came from its
discharge.
In describing human personality development as psychosexual Freud meant to convey that what
develops is the way in which sexual energy of the id accumulates and is discharged as we mature
biologically. (NB Freud used the term 'sexual' in a very general way to mean all pleasurable actions
and thoughts).
Freud stressed that the first five years of life are crucial to the formation of adult personality.
The id must be controlled in order to satisfy social demands; this sets up a conflict between
frustrated wishes and social norms.
The ego and superego develop in order to exercise this control and direct the need for gratification
into socially acceptable channels. Gratification centers in different areas of the body at different
stages of growth, making the conflict at each stage psychosexual.

The Role of Conflict


Each of the psychosexual stages is associated with a particular conflict that must be resolved before
the individual can successfully advance to the next stage.
The resolution of each of these conflicts requires the expenditure of sexual energy and the more
energy that is expended at a particular stage, the more the important characteristics of that stage
remain with the individual as he/she matures psychologically.
To explain this Freud suggested the analogy of military troops on the march.  As the troops advance,
they are met by opposition or conflict.  If they are highly successful in winning the battle (resolving
the conflict), then most of the troops (libido) will be able to move on to the next battle (stage).
But the greater the difficulty encountered at any particular point, the greater the need for troops to
remain behind to fight and thus the fewer that will be able to go on to the next confrontation.

Frustration, Overindulgence, and Fixation


Some people do not seem to be able to leave one stage and proceed on to the next.   One reason for
this may be that the needs of the developing individual at any particular stage may not have been
adequately met in which case there is frustration. 
Or possibly the person's needs may have been so well satisfied that he/she is reluctant to leave the
psychological benefits of a particular stage in which there is overindulgence.
Both frustration and overindulgence (or any combination of the two) may lead to what
psychoanalysts call fixation at a particular psychosexual stage.
Fixation refers to the theoretical notion that a portion of the individual's libido has been
permanently 'invested' in a particular stage of his development.

 Oral Stage (Birth to 1 year)


o In the first stage of personality development, the libido is centered in a baby's
mouth. It gets much satisfaction from putting all sorts of things in its mouth to
satisfy the libido, and thus its id demands.  Which at this stage in life are oral, or
mouth orientated, such as sucking, biting, and breastfeeding. 
o Freud said oral stimulation could lead to an oral fixation in later life.  We see oral
personalities all around us such as smokers, nail-biters, finger-chewers, and thumb
suckers.  Oral personalities engage in such oral behaviors, particularly when under
stress.

 Anal Stage (1 to 3 years)


o The libido now becomes focused on the anus, and the child derives great pleasure
from defecating.  The child is now fully aware that they are a person in their own
right and that their wishes can bring them into conflict with the demands of the
outside world (i.e., their ego has developed). 
o Freud believed that this type of conflict tends to come to a head in potty training, in
which adults impose restrictions on when and where the child can defecate.  The
nature of this first conflict with authority can determine the child's future
relationship with all forms of authority.
o Early or harsh potty training can lead to the child becoming an anal-retentive
personality who hates mess, is obsessively tidy, punctual and respectful of
authority.  They can be stubborn and tight-fisted with their cash and possessions.
o This is all related to pleasure got from holding on to their faeces when toddlers, and
their mum's then insisting that they get rid of it by placing them on the potty until
they perform!
o Not as daft as it sounds.  The anal expulsive, on the other hand, underwent a liberal
toilet-training regime during the anal stage.
o In adulthood, the anal expulsive is the person who wants to share things with you. 
They like giving things away.  In essence, they are 'sharing their s**t'!'  An anal-
expulsive personality is also messy, disorganized and rebellious.

 Phallic Stage (3 to 6 years)


o Sensitivity now becomes concentrated in the genitals and masturbation (in both
sexes) becomes a new source of pleasure.
o The child becomes aware of anatomical sex differences, which sets in motion the
conflict between erotic attraction, resentment, rivalry, jealousy and fear which
Freud called the Oedipus complex (in boys) and the Electra complex (in girls). 
o This is resolved through the process of identification, which involves the child
adopting the characteristics of the same sex parent.

 Latency Stage (6 years to puberty)


o No further psychosexual development takes place during this stage (latent means
hidden).  The libido is dormant.
o Freud thought that most sexual impulses are repressed during the latent stage, and
sexual energy can be sublimated (re: defense mechanisms) towards school work,
hobbies, and friendships. 
o Much of the child's energy is channeled into developing new skills and acquiring
new knowledge, and play becomes largely confined to other children of the same
gender.

 Genital Stage (puberty to adult)


o This is the last stage of Freud's psychosexual theory of personality development and
begins in puberty.  It is a time of adolescent sexual experimentation, the successful
resolution of which is settling down in a loving one-to-one relationship with another
person in our 20's.
o Sexual instinct is directed to heterosexual pleasure, rather than self-pleasure like
during the phallic stage. 
o For Freud, the proper outlet of the sexual instinct in adults was through
heterosexual intercourse.  Fixation and conflict may prevent this with the
consequence that sexual perversions may develop. 
o For example, fixation at the oral stage may result in a person gaining sexual pleasure
primarily from kissing and oral sex, rather than sexual intercourse.

 Critical Evaluation
o Is Freudian psychology supported by evidence? Freud's theory is good at explaining
but not at predicting behavior (which is one of the goals of science).
o For this reason, Freud's theory is unfalsifiable - it can neither be proved true or
refuted. For example, the libido is difficult to test and measure objectively. Overall,
Freud's theory is highly unscientific.
o Freud may also have shown research bias in his interpretations - he may have only
paid attention to information which supported his theories, and ignored
information and other explanations that did not fit them.
o However, Fisher & Greenberg (1996) argue that Freud’s theory should be evaluated
in terms of specific hypotheses rather than as a whole. They concluded that there is
evidence to support Freud’s concepts of oral and anal personalities

IV. Application: Design a learning material intended for your future students whoever they are,
whatever age ranges they belong, you can freely decide. Consider Sigmund Freud’s
Psychosexual Development Theory.
a. Consider the instructions below:
i. Create your own learning material. You have the freedom to choose on
what learning material are you going to create.
ii. Take a clear photo of your output and then email it to me. Do not worry
too much, because your output isn’t a waste since you can utilize it
someday in your teaching demonstrations on Student teaching and even
use it as a teaching aid when you will be hired as regular teachers
someday.
iii. Use recyclable materials as it is available and possible, minimize expenses
since we are experiencing crisis nowadays.
b. Consider the Rubrics below:
i. Creativity 40%
ii. Relevance 40%
iii. Effectiveness 20%__________________
Total 100%
References/Resources:

 McLeod. (2019). Psychosexual Development Theory by Sigmund Freud. Retrieved from:


https://www.simplypsychology.org/psychosexual.html
 Duran, Elvie. Child and Adolescent Development: Study Guide. Southern Leyte State
University-Main Campus, Sogod, Southern Leyte.

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