Preview

Sigmund Freud

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
671 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud's Psychosexual Development Theory

Born on May 6, 1856 in Moravia, Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist who, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, developed the field of psychoanalysis. Freud developed many theories including those that focus on the unconscious, the interpretation of dreams, Id, ego, and super ego, and what is referred to as the psychosexual development theory. Psychosexual development is a theory that Freud based upon the Greek tragedy by Sophocles Oedipus Rex and is often referred to as the Oedipus Complex. The Oedipus Complex teaches that the unconscious holds repressed thoughts that boys have a desire to have sexual intercourse with their mothers, while wanting to murder their father. The theory isn't limited solely to males, as Freud believed that girls had a sexual attraction to their fathers; this was later referred to as the Electra Complex. Freud taught that these unconscious thinking patterns form during several stages of development until they are eradicated by normal, healthy sexual development. Freud’s theory of psychosexual development is divided into five stages. These are oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital. Freud’s theory was an important factor to his teachings based upon the development of the human personality.

Oral Stage

The oral stage occurs in an infant’s life from birth to 18 months. During this time, an infant is focused with receiving oral pleasure. This occurs through breast or bottle feeding, or sucking on a pacifier. It is believed that if an infant receives too much or too little oral stimulation, they may develop a fixation or a personality trait that is fixated on oral gratification. It is believed that these people may focus on activities that involve the mouth such as over eating, biting the fingernails, smoking, or drinking. The theory states that these people may develop personality traits such as becoming extremely gullible or naive, always following others and never taking

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Case Study 6.2.3

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Sigmund Freud believed that each stage of a child's development beginning at birth is directly related to specific needs and demands, each based on a particular body part and all rooted in a sexual base. While simplification of his theories is necessary in order to give an overview, he held beliefs that are quite complex. In order to understand the basics of his developmental stages, it is important to note a few things: Freud's age ranges varied a bit over the course of his work, largely because he acknowledged that development can vary a bit from individual to individual. Additionally, experience of the stages may overlap at times. Finally, Freud believed that the way that parents handle their children during each of the stages has a profound and lasting impact on the overall development of the child's psyche.…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Psychoanalysis theory first came to be around the late 1800’s, discovered by the renowned theorist Sigmund Freud, also known as the father of the theory. Freud was born in Moravia in 1856; he studied under Charcot in Paris for a while, eventually starting a private practice in Vienna, being forced to leave by the Nazis, because he was Jewish. His concept developed from people who were considered to be hysteric, being burnt and ridiculed, because they were seen as lazy and deviant. Later on in the 19th century, theorists began to grasp an understanding of the mental illness and termed it as neuropathology, which evolved into Psychoanalysis. This theory sought to treat mental disorders by investigating interactions amongst the conscious and…

    • 343 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The developmental stages begin with the ‘Oral Stage’ which takes place at birth to 18 months. During this stage, infants depend a lot of oral fixations. They tend to find libido gratification from oral exploration in the world and they also learn to trust in adults. In terms of their personality, given their oral dependency, some believe that it can lead to pessimism…

    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was a Viennese physician, trained in neurology and the founder of psychoanalytic theory. He created an entirely new perspective on the study of human behavior, focusing on the unconscious instinct and urges rather than the conscious. The psychoanalytic view holds that there are inner forces outside of our awareness that are directing our behavior. Freud postulated that human nature was focused mainly on desire rather than reason and that it was ones past experiences that determined ones future behavior and personality development.…

    • 3354 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oral Stage, it occurs during 18 months of life when the infant’s pleasure centers the mouth. Chewing, sucking and biting are chief sources of pleasure and this action reduces tension in the infant.…

    • 1751 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) the” Father of Psychoanalysis” was a Neurologist, Medical Doctor, Psychologist and influential thinker of the early twentieth century. He is best known for his theories of the unconscious mind, repression and his concept of the dynamic unconscious. He stipulated that it is the unconscious mind that determines human behaviour. He also believed that the sexual drive was the dominant motivation of human life. Freud developed the theory that the human mind operates as a complex energy-system. He explains;…

    • 2908 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Freud’s psychoanalytic theory is linked to ideas surrounding infantile sexuality. Children pass through stages of development and experience an unconscious conflict at each stage. In the first five years there is the Oral stage, Anal stage and Phallic stage. The Phallic stage is a key stage. During this stage gender divisions occur which lead to children developing gender identity (males develop masculine behaviour and females develop feminine behaviour). This occurs due to the resolution of the Oedipus and Electra complexes.…

    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sigmund Freud's Theory

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Sigmund Freud was a philosopher and psychologist. When he was young he was interested in science. He first started in medical practices and then transferred over to treat victims of traumatic effects. Over the course of a few years, Sigmund started to produce books about his theories developing a following (Diamond).…

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The stages of Freud’s theory are Oral, Anal, Phallic, and Genital stage. The Oral stage is used to describe infants and…

    • 1113 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Sigmund Freud was born in Freiberg, Moravia in 1856. He received his medical degree in 1881. Around 1886 Freud set up his own private practice in the treatment of psychological disorders. In 1908 Freud’s became recognized after the very first International Psychoanalytical Congress. After a life of many different important contributions to psychology, sadly he passed away of cancer in England in 1939. Sigmund Freud played a huge role in psychology which helps us in modern days. He was the founder of psychoanalysis and the psychodynamic approach to psychology. He figured that the human mind has three phases to it such as; the id, the ego, and the superego. Another…

    • 1065 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The breadth and diversity of psychology can be seen by looking as some of its best known thinkers. While each theorist may have been part of an overriding school of thought, each brought a unique and individual voice and perspective to the field of psychology. A study that appeared in the July 2002 issue of the “Review of General Psychology” created a ranking of the 99 most influential psychologists. The rankings were mostly based on three factors: the frequency of journal citations, introductory textbook citations, and the survey responses of 1,725 members of the American Psychological Association. (About.com, 2015)…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Freud vs. Erikson

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The second reason can be found in both Erikson’s and Freud’s theories that state that the barriers between the stages need to be resolved before entering a new stage. For example with Freud’s theory the oral stage has to be resolved before entering the anal stage. If not resolved a fixation might occur. And that person who is fixated at the oral stage may seek the oral stimulation through smoking, drinking, or eating.…

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Freud believed that personality develops in psychosexual stages; in each stage a part of the body becomes the child's main source of pleasure. Failure to resolve conflicts at any stage can cause fixation, an unconscious preoccupation with the pleasure area associated with that stage. Personality characteristics are a reflection of each person's fixation. The oral stage occurs during the first year of life because the mouth is the center of pleasure. The anal stage occurs during the second year when toilet training begins. The phallic stage emerges at three and lasts until age five . The boy experiences the Oedipus complex; he sexually desires his mother and wants to kill his father out of jealousy. The girl develops penis envy and begins to hate her mother for not providing a penis. After age five, the latency period ensues, during which sexual impulses lie dormant and the child turns away from anything sexually related. During…

    • 1996 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Sigmund Freud

    • 1647 Words
    • 7 Pages

    One of the most prominent figures in the twentieth century was the psychologist and neurologist, Sigmund Freud. Freud, originally aiming to be a scientist, revisited concepts from theories of major scientists and neurologists in the past to create more dynamic theories of the human mind. Marking the beginning of a modern psychology, he determined human behavior by providing well-organized information of inner conflicts and mental forces. Not only was he the founder of psychoanalysis, but he also developed many theories involving dream interpretations, unconsciousness, the structure of the mind, psychosexual stages, and the Oedipal complex.…

    • 1647 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sigmund Freud was born in 1856 and died in 1940. Freud studied the personality of humans. Freud describes three major systems of the human personality. Sigmund Freud’s structural model is as follows: 1. the id holds the human sexual and aggression energy driven by impulses and characterized by a human’s primary thinking (Kowalski & Westen, 2011). 2. The superego explains a human’s conscience and a major source of ideas established through a person’s identity (Kowalski & Westen, 2011). 3. The ego describes a person’s desires, morality, and desires (Kowalski & Westen, 2011). Sigmund Freud’s psychosexual development suggest in the first five years the human personality begins. Zero to one is the oral stage of development. Children from zero to one gain the most gratification from sucking than from biting and chewing food and sometimes other objects. In stage one through three describes the anal stage. During the anal stage children seem to gain gratification from defecation through the…

    • 1125 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays