The 5 Psychosexual Stages of Development

According to the psychosexual stages of development in his theory, Freud believed that as a child developed from infancy, the libido moved around the several different areas of the body called erogenous zone which becomes one’s pleasure and dominant source of sexual arousal. He noted that if a child received too much or too little gratification during any stage, the result could be mental disturbance as an adult. He also said the conflicts between sex drive and rules of the society are present at every stage.

While a proper resolution of the conflicts will lead the child to progress through the stages, failure to do so will make a child fixated at one stage and this is believed to be a cause of many personality and behavioural disorders. As Freud analysed his patients, he came up with the conclusion that their problems were as a result of experiences from their earlier life so he derived the theory of the psychosexual stages of development where he came up with five stages. If this progression does not occur, the individual is said to be fixated at this stage of development. In fixation, a portion of libido or psychic energy remains invested in that developmental stage, leaving less energy for the following stages.

For proper understanding, it will be imperative to look at these stages in one by one in detail as follows:

The oral stage

Oral stageis the first stage of development that occurs during the first 18 months of a baby’s life. The infant at this stage gets pleasure mostly around the mouth. Therefore, the oral activities such as chewing, sucking and biting bring about sexual gratification and nourishment to an infant and so reduces tension. It is better to note that early weaning may lead to frustration and excessive gratification may lead to a high expectation on the part of an infant with a tendency of being handed everything in life.

The anal stage

The anal stage is the second stage of development that occurs between 1 year and a half and 3 years of age. During this stage, the child’s greatest pleasure involves the anus or the elimination of faeces from the bowels. Toilet training occurs during this stage. Fixation may occur in this stage when there is conflict between the child and caretakers.

The phallic stage

Phallic stage is the third stage of development that occurs when the child is between 3-6 years of age. During this stage, a child’s pleasure is focused on the genitals as the child discovers that self-manipulation is enjoyable.

According to Freud, a child at this stage fantasies about sexual, pleasure with the parent of the opposite sex and tends not to prefer the parent of the same sex. Freud refers to this conflict in boys as the Oedipus complex.

“Oedipus to perish on a mountainside in order to thwart a prophecy. Shepherds discovered the infant, but King Polybus and Queen Merope raised it as their own. Oedipus travelled for Thebes after learning from the oracle at Delphi that he would eventually kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus was unaware of his true paternity and thought he was destined to kill Polybus and wed Merope. In an altercation with an older man he encountered while travelling, Oedipus killed the outsider. Upon arriving in Thebes, he discovered that the city’s ruler (Laius) had recently been assassinated and that it was now at the mercy ofthe sphinx.Oedipus successfully solved the monster’s riddle, vanquishing it, and obtaining the kingdom of the deceased king as well as the hand of the king’s widow and—unbeknownst to him—his mother Jocasta.

Years later, in order to put an end to a disease in Thebes, Oedipus looked for Laius’ killer and found that it was himself. Jocasta hanged herself after learning that she had married both her own son and her husband’s murderer. Then Oedipus took two pins from her garment and used them to blind himself”.

This takes place when a boy seeks sexual pleasure by associating with his mother but hates his father and sees him as a rival. On the other hand, Freud referred to the feeling of sexual pleasure in girls towards their fathers as the Electra complex

(In Greek mythology, Elektra(Greek: Ἠλέκτρα, Ēlektra “amber”) was the daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, and thus princess of Argos. She and her brother Orestes plotted revenge against their mother Clytemnestra and stepfather Aegisthus for the murder of their father.)

The Electra complex takes place when a girl seeks sexual pleasure by associating with her father but hates her mother and sees her as a rival. She develops penis envy, consisting in a girl’s belief that she once had a penis which was just cut off. In order to compensate for this feeling, a child wants to have a child with the father. A counterpart for the girl’s penis envy is castration anxiety which comes as a fear of punishment from their father for the desire of their mother. The complexes may be resolved when a child realises that his or her same-sex parent punishes him or her for the incestuous wishes. So, a child ends up identifying with the same-sex parent in order to avoid being punished or reprimanded.

The latency stage

Latency stageis the fourth stage of development that occurs between 6 years of age and puberty. Puberty sets in girls between 9-11 years and between11-12 in boys, though there may be individual variations. This is the stage when sexual feelings remain unconscious and are repressed into latency. During this stage the children exert their energies on school work and concentrate on helping their parents. Consequently, a child gets motivated to take part in social skills and intellectual skills such as schoolwork and role-playing based on one’s gender.

The Genital stage

Genital stage is the fifth and final stage of development that occurs from puberty onwards. This is the time when sexual urges reappear as a source of pleasure but are now redirected to someone outside the family. It is the culminations of the long journey from autoerotic sexual activity where children seek pleasure from their own bodies to heterosexual activity where they seek pleasure from the body of another person. They become capable of developing mature love relationship and function independently as an adult. It is important to note that many psychology theorists do not support Freud’s ideas of sexual instinct as a determinant of an individual’s development and instead propound the role of cultural experiences.

APPLICABILITY TO EDUCATION SYSTEM

Freud gave an idea about inner conflicts that can affect one’s behaviour. These conflicts are important in that they must be solved in order for one to successfully and normally move from the next level of development and also to avoid fixation. Therefore, our pupils/ students may be categorised into phallic, latency or genital stage of psychosexual development. In this case, our role as teachers is to assist our pupils to resolve or go through the inner conflicts which they may have so that they concentrate with learning. This can be done through guidance and counselling or just giving them enough attention for their needs.

Among their busy schedule, pupils should be given entertainment or allowed to play. This is because play is an outlet among children where the sexual drive is directed to the latency stage. If this is suppressed, there is a possibility for a child to fixate or will continue to play even to the extent of doing something beyond one’s age in future.

The application of Freud to teaching and learning is that it gives teachers an explanation of some of the pupils’ behaviours that are manifested in the classroom.

A school teacher has a special responsibility in not only the intellectual, but the social development of his student. Therefore, using psychoanalysis is beneficial in seeing symbolic signs in a student’s actions or his work. For instance when a child is caught in a situation where he is at some fault, a child will sometimes succumb to lying and that to a teacher should be seen as defence mechanism where the child is trying to resolve his fear of being punished. For that reason, as a teacher, it is your duty to explain that there is nothing to fear and that the truth is always the best option.

Having the knowledge that psychoanalysis places great emphasis on one’s early experiences, a teacher will strive to be as patient with his/ her pupils, caring, understanding and being firm at the same time. He/she will allow pupils to explore their stages of development with a lot of understanding.