They were all coined by famed psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud as part of his psychosexual theory of development. Not to worry! We put together this conversational guide to help you understand what psychosexual development is all about. The theory is more multilayered than a wedding cake, but it boils down to this: Sexual pleasure plays a major role in human development.

Different conflicts emerge in relation to the psychosexual stages of childhood, and these conflicts are reworked during adolescent development in response to hormonal changes and new psychosocial stresses in ways that are unique and characteristic of the individual. The purpose of this entry is to orient the reader to Skip to main content Skip to table of contents. This service is more advanced with JavaScript available. Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development Edition. Contents Search. Psychosexual Stages, of Freud.

Sigmund Freud is probably the most well known theorist when it comes to the development of personality. This theory is probably the most well known as well as the most controversial, as Freud believed that we develop through stages based upon a particular erogenous zone. During each stage, an unsuccessful completion means that a child becomes fixated on that particular erogenous zone and either over— or under-indulges once he or she becomes an adult. Oral Stage Birth to 18 months.

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.