Sigmund Freud was a Viennese physician who came up with the psychosexual theory of development. Freud’s theory infers that there are a series of stages called erogenous zone through which children develop.
It is founded on a belief that parents have a very significant duty in the management of their kids’ sexual and emotional aspects in their early years of growth to enhance the desired growth. The structural model suggests that there are three aspects that make up personality. They are the ego, the id, and the superego. The 5 steps in this theory are; oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital stages. The psychosexual development must be met successfully for the right growth to be realized. If there is no good upbringing and parental care at any stage, there is a possibility of stagnation. However, in the past decades, the Freud’s theory has been criticized and consequently considered outdated.
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The id encompasses a more significant part of the mind. The consciousness and reasoning are related to ego, rational part of the personality. The superego or conceit develops as a result of interaction with others (majorly parents) who wish the child to conform to society’s norms. It controls the id desires by the application of morals and values of the community(Freud & Bonaparte, 1954).
In this theory, early infancy, experience the type of our personalities and behavior as grown pushed argued that development is discontinuous; implying that each of us must pass through stages of development that otherwise on would get stuck.
According to Freud, Children pleasure seeking is focused on varied body parts, called an erogenous zone, at each of the five development stages as mentioned above.
Oral (0-1 years of age), the pleasure center of the child is the mouth. Actually, this the reason babies are born with reflex of sucking and admire breastfeeding. In a case of failure to satisfy child oral necessities, the child starts negative habits like figure sucking.
The anal stage is witnessed in children aged1 to 3. These kids start doing experiments with faeces and urine in toilet training is where control of their bodily needs is seen. Another stage is phallic which ranges from 3 to 6 years. During this stage, preschoolers have pleasure in private parts. Children start having sexual desire toward the opposite gender (males are attracted to mothers and females to fathers). In males, this is referred to as the Oedipus complex.It entails boys having strong feelings for mothers and wanting to substitute their fathers who they feel are antagonists to mother’s attention. In girls, it is called the Electra complex and is manifested by girls admiring their fathers and wish to replace them (Fliegel, 1973).
The next stage is latency which ranges between 6 to 12 years. During this stage, children develop superego and sexual desires fade out. Children start to conduct themselves in a morally acceptable manner by adopting values instilled by parents' and other adults. The last step is Genital (12 years and above). During this stage, sexual desires emerge once again. If not well managed, teenagers involve themselves in inappropriate sexual behaviors which may result in marriage and child deliveries(Benson et al., 2006)
In conclusion, Freud’s theory has been criticized because it is controversial. In the first place, he based his arguments on troubled adults while his approach is related to children. Secondly, many critics claim that he concentrated on sexuality especially his focus on the Oedipus complex. Lastly, he asserts that girls develop sexual libido due to “penis envy,” an assertion that made feminist supporters believe that his theory over-relied on the male perspective.
References
Benson, P. L., Scales, P. C., Hamilton, S. F., & Sesma Jr, A. (2006). Positive Youth Development: Theory, Research, and Applications . John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Freud, S., & Bonaparte, P. M. (1954). The origins of psychoanalysis (Vol. 216). London: Imago.
Fliegel, Z. O. (1973). Feminine psychosexual development in Freudian theory: A historical reconstruction. The Psychoanalytic Quarterly , 42 (3), 385-408.
