Age stages according to Freud. Stages of psychosexual development. Features of Erickson's views on the oral stage: differences from Freud's theory

Psychosexual development is a theory formulated by Sigmund Freud that explained personality development in terms of changes in the biological functioning of the individual. Social experience at each stage presumably leaves its imprint in the form of attitudes, personality traits and values ​​acquired at that stage.

Stages of psychosexual development

Development itself is divided into five clearly defined phases:

1. The oral phase (0 - 1.5 years) is the first stage of child sexuality, in which the child's mouth acts as the primary source of satisfaction in the process of sucking and swallowing.
2. The anal phase (1.5 - 3.5 years) is the second stage of child sexuality, where the child learns to control his bowel movements, while experiencing the satisfaction of exercising control over his body. During this period, the child learns to cleanliness and use the toilet, the ability to restrain the urge to defecate. The emergence of problems in the relationship between the child and the parents (when, for example, the child, on principle, refuses to poop in the pot, and then poops in his pants, feeling satisfaction because he “annoyed” the mother) can lead to the development of the so-called “anal character ", which manifests itself in greed, pedantry and perfectionism.
3. The phallic phase (3.5 - 6 years old) is the third stage of child sexuality. At this stage, the child begins to study his body, examine and touch his genitals; he develops an interest in the parent of the opposite sex, identification with the parent of the same sex and instilling a certain gender role. With a problematic passage of the stage, the child may develop an oedipus complex, which in adulthood can lead to himself with a different sex or problems in relationships with partners.
4. The latent phase (6-12 years) is the fourth stage of child sexuality, characterized by a decrease in sexual interest. Being cut off from the sexual goal, the libido energy is transferred to the development of universal human experience, enshrined in science and culture, as well as to the establishment friendly relations with peers and adults outside the family environment.
5. The genital phase is the fifth stage, the final stage of Freud's psychosexual concept. It is characterized by the fact that at this stage mature sexual relations are formed. Achieved during adolescence.

Freud's main thesis was that early gender differentiation in children is polymorphic, and that a strong urge to incest develops, and the child must use or sublimate this in order to develop healthy adult sexuality. There is no scientific evidence confirming that children must go through these stages of psychosexual development. On the contrary, there is evidence that Freud's research in this area contains

Personality development: psychosexual stages

The psychoanalytic theory of development is based on two premises. First, or genetic premise, emphasizes that early childhood experiences play a critical role in the formation of an adult personality. Freud was convinced that the basic foundation of an individual's personality is laid at a very early age, before the age of five. The second premise is that a person is born with a certain amount of sexual energy (libido), which then passes through several psychosexual stages rooted in the instinctive processes of the body.

Freud owns a hypothesis about four successive stages of personality development: oral, anal, phallic and genital... In the general scheme of development, Freud included and latency period, which is normal for the interval between 6-7 years of a child's life and the onset of puberty. But, strictly speaking, the latency period is not a stage. The first three stages of development cover the age from birth to five years and are called pregenital stages, since the genital area has not yet acquired a dominant role in the formation of the personality. The fourth stage coincides with the onset of puberty. The names of the stages are based on the names of the areas of the body, the stimulation of which leads to the release of libido energy. Table 3-1 describes the stages of psychosexual development according to Freud.

Table 3-1. Stages of psychosexual development according to Freud

Since Freud focused mainly on biological factors, all stages are closely associated with erogenous zones, that is, sensitive areas of the body that function as loci of expression of libido urges. Erogenous zones include the ears, eyes, mouth (lips), breasts, anus, and genitals.

The term "psychosexual" emphasizes that the main factor determining human development is sexual instinct, progressing from one erogenous zone to another during a person's life. According to Freud's theory, at each stage of development, a certain part of the body tends to a certain object or actions in order to create a pleasant tension. Psychosexual development is a biologically determined sequence that unfolds in an unchanging order and is inherent in all people, regardless of their cultural level. The social experience of an individual usually brings a certain long-term contribution to each stage in the form of acquired attitudes, traits and values.

The logic of Freud's theoretical constructions is based on two factors: frustrations and overprotectiveness... In the event of frustration, the child's psychosexual needs (for example, sucking, biting or chewing) are suppressed by parents or caregivers and therefore do not find optimal satisfaction. With over-caring on the part of the parents, the child is given few opportunities (or none at all) to control his internal functions himself (for example, to exercise control over the excretory functions). For this reason, the child develops a sense of dependence and incompetence. In any case, as Freud believed, as a result, an excessive accumulation of libido occurs, which later, in adulthood, can be expressed in the form of "residual" behavior (character traits, values, attitudes) associated with the psychosexual stage at which frustration or overprotection fell. ...

An important concept in psychoanalytic theory is the concept regressions, that is, a return to an earlier stage of psychosexual development and the manifestation of childish behavior characteristic of this earlier period. For example, an adult in a situation severe stress may regress, and this will be accompanied by tears, thumb sucking, the desire to drink something "stronger". Regression is a special case of what Freud called fixation(delay or arrest of development at a certain psychosexual stage). Freud's followers view regression and fixation as complementary; the probability of regression onset depends mainly on the strength of the fixation (Fenichel, 1945). Fixation is the inability to move from one psychosexual stage to another; it leads to an overexpression of the needs characteristic of the stage where the fixation took place. For example, persistent thumb sucking in a ten-year-old boy is a sign of oral fixation. V in this case libido energy is manifested in the activity characteristic of more early stage development. How worse man copes with the development of the requirements and tasks put forward by one or another age period, the more he is subject to regression under conditions of emotional or physical stress in the future. Thus, the structure of the personality of each individual is characterized in terms of the corresponding stage of psychosexual development, which he reached or at which he had a fixation. Associated with each of the psychosexual developmental stages are different personality types, which we will discuss shortly. And now let's turn to the characteristics that Freud brought to the fore in the development of personality.

Oral stage

The oral stage lasts from birth to about 18 months of age. The infant's survival is entirely dependent on those who care for him. Addiction for him is the only way to get instinctive satisfaction. During this period, the area of ​​the mouth is most closely associated with the satisfaction of biological needs, and with pleasant sensations. Babies get their nourishment by sucking on the breast or from a bottle; at the same time, the sucking movements are enjoyable. Therefore, the oral cavity - including the lips, tongue and associated structures - becomes the primary focus of the infant's activity and interest. Freud was convinced that the mouth remains an important erogenous zone throughout a person's life. Even in adulthood, there are residual manifestations of oral behavior in the form of chewing gum, nail biting, smoking, kissing and overeating - all that Freudians regard as libido attachment to the oral zone.

In Freud's developmental concept, pleasure and sexuality are closely intertwined. In this context, sexuality is understood as a state of arousal accompanying the satiety process in an infant. Accordingly, the first objects - sources of pleasure for him become the mother's breast or horn, and the mouth is the first part of the body where the pleasure caused by a decrease in tension is localized. Sucking and swallowing are the prototypes of every future sexual gratification. The main task facing the infant during this oral - dependent period is to establish basic attitudes (of course, in the form of their rudimentary manifestations) of dependence, independence, trust and support in relation to other people. Since the infant is initially unable to distinguish its own body from its mother's breast, it experiences a mixed sensation of satiety and tenderness during the sucking process. This confusion is due to the egocentricity of the infant. Over time, the mother's breast will lose its meaning as an object of love and will be replaced by a part of his own body. He will suck on his finger or tongue to relieve stress caused by a lack of constant maternal care.

The oral stage ends when breastfeeding stops. According to the central premise of psychoanalytic theory, all babies experience some difficulty in weaning or taking off their mother's breast, because this deprives them of the appropriate pleasure. The greater these difficulties, that is, the stronger the concentration of libido at the oral stage, the more difficult it will be to cope with conflicts in the following stages.

Freud put forward the postulate that a child who received excessive or insufficient stimulation in infancy is likely to form later orally - passive personality type. A person with an orally passive personality type is cheerful and optimistic, expects a "motherly" attitude from the world around him and constantly seeks approval at any cost. His psychological adaptation lies in gullibility, passivity, immaturity and over-dependence.

During the second half of the first year of life, the second phase of the oral stage begins - orally - aggressive, or oral - sadistic phase. The infant now has teeth, making biting and chewing important means of expressing frustration at the absence of a mother or delayed gratification. Fixation at the oral - sadistic stage is expressed in adults in such personality traits as love of arguments, pessimism, sarcastic "biting", and also often in a cynical attitude towards everything around. People with this type of character, in addition, tend to exploit and dominate other people in order to satisfy their own needs.

Anal stage

The anal stage begins around 18 months of age and lasts until the third year of life. During this period, young children have considerable pleasure in holding and expelling faeces. They gradually learn to increase pleasure by delaying bowel movement (that is, by allowing slight pressure to exert tension in the rectum and anal sphincter area). Although bowel control and bladder is mainly a consequence of neuromuscular maturity, Freud was convinced that the way in which parents or their substitute figures train the child to the toilet, has an impact on his later personal development. From the very beginning of toilet training, the child must learn to distinguish between id demands (pleasure from immediate defecation) and parental social constraints (self-control of excretory needs). Freud argued that all future forms of self-control and self-regulation originate in the anal stage.

Freud identified two main parenting tactics observed in the process of overcoming the inevitable frustration associated with toilet training. Some parents are inflexible and demanding in these situations, insisting that their child "go to the potty now." In response to this, the child may refuse to follow the orders of "mommy" and "daddy", and he will become constipated. If this tendency to "hold" becomes excessive and extends to other behaviors, the child may develop anally - restraining personality type. Anally-restraining adult is unusually stubborn, stingy, methodical and punctual. This person also lacks the ability to tolerate confusion, confusion and uncertainty. The second long-term outcome of anal fixation due to parental toilet severity is anally - ejection type... Traits of this personality type include destructive tendencies, anxiety, impulsivity, and even sadistic cruelty. V love relationship in adulthood, such individuals most often perceive partners primarily as objects of possession.

Some parents, on the other hand, encourage their children to have regular bowel movements and praise them generously for it. For Freud, this approach, which supports the child's self-control, fosters positive self-esteem and can even foster creativity.

Phallic stage

Between the ages of three and six, the child's libido-driven interests shift into a new erogenous zone, the genital area. Throughout phallic stage For psychosexual development, children can examine and examine their genitals, masturbate and take an interest in matters related to birth and sexual relations. Although their ideas about adult sexuality are usually vague, erroneous, and highly imprecise, Freud believed that most children understood the essence of sexual relations more clearly than their parents assumed. Children may witness parental intercourse, or perhaps they draw a “primary” scene in their fantasies based on some parental remarks or other children's explanations. Most children, according to Freud, understand sexual intercourse as aggressive actions of the father towards the mother. It should be emphasized that his description of this stage turned out to be the subject of serious controversy and misunderstanding. In addition, many parents cannot accept the thought that their four-year-old children may have sexual urges.

The dominant conflict in the phallic stage is what Freud called oedipus complex(a similar conflict among girls was called complex Electra). Freud borrowed the description of this complex from the tragedy of Sophocles "Oedipus the King", in which Oedipus, the king of Thebes, unintentionally killed his father and entered into an incestuous relationship with his mother. When Oedipus realized what a terrible sin he had committed, he blinded himself. Although Freud knew that the story of Oedipus originated from Greek mythology, he at the same time viewed tragedy as a symbolic description of one of the greatest human psychological conflicts. In essence, this myth symbolizes the unconscious desire of every child to have a parent of the opposite sex and at the same time to eliminate the parent of the same sex. Of course, an ordinary child does not kill his father and does not have sexual intercourse with his mother, but Freudians are convinced that he has an unconscious desire to do both. Moreover, Freud saw the confirmation of the idea of ​​the complex in the family ties and clan relationships that take place in various primitive communities.

Normally, the Oedipus complex develops somewhat differently in boys and girls. Consider first how it manifests itself in boys. Initially, the object of love for the boy is the mother or her substitute figure. From the moment of birth, she is the main source of satisfaction for him. He wants to possess his mother, wants to express his erotically tinged feelings towards her in the same way as, according to his observations, older people do. So, he can try to seduce the mother, proudly showing her his penis. This fact suggests that the boy seeks to play the role of his father. At the same time, he perceives his father as a competitor, hindering his desire for genital pleasure. It follows that the father becomes his main rival or enemy. At the same time, the boy realizes his lower position in comparison with his father (whose penis is larger); he realizes that his father does not intend to tolerate his romantic feelings for his mother. The rivalry entails the boy's fear that his father will deprive him of his penis. Fear of imaginary retribution from the father, which Freud called fear of castration, forces the boy to abandon his desire for incest with his mother.

Between about five and seven years of age the Oedipus complex resolves: boy suppresses(displaces from consciousness) his sexual desires for his mother and begins to identify himself with his father (adopts his features). The identification process with the father, dubbed identification with the aggressor, performs several functions. Firstly, the boy acquires a conglomerate of values, moral norms, attitudes, models of sex-role behavior that outline for him what it means to be a man. Secondly, by identifying with the father, the boy can retain his mother as an object of love in a substitutionary way, since now he has the same attributes that the mother values ​​in the father. An even more important aspect of resolving the Oedipus complex is that the boy internalizes parental prohibitions and basic moral norms. This is a specific property of identification, which, as Freud believed, paves the way for the development of the superego or conscience of the child. That is, the superego is a consequence of the resolution of the Oedipus complex.

The girls' version of the Oedipus complex is called the Electra complex. The prototype in this case is the character of Greek mythology Electra, who persuades her brother Orestes to kill their mother and her lover and thus avenge the death of his father. Like boys, girls' first object of love is their mother. However, when the girl enters the phallic stage, she realizes that she does not have a penis like her father or brother (which may symbolize a lack of strength). As soon as the girl makes this analytical discovery, she begins to want a penis. According to Freud, the girl develops penis envy, which in a sense is a psychological analogue of the fear of castration in a boy. (It is not surprising that Freud is anathematized by supporters of the feminist movement!) As a result, the girl begins to show open hostility towards her mother, reproaching her for giving birth to her without a penis, or blaming her mother for the fact that she took away her penis as punishment for some offense. Freud believed that in some cases a girl may have a low estimate of her own femininity, considering her appearance to be "defective." At the same time, the girl seeks to possess her father, because he has such an enviable body. Knowing that she is unable to obtain a penis, the girl seeks other sources of sexual gratification as penis substitutes. Sexual gratification focuses on the clitoris, and in girls aged five to seven years, clitoral masturbation is sometimes accompanied by masculine fantasies in which the clitoris becomes a penis.

Many experts agree that Freud's explanation of the resolution of the Electra complex is inconclusive (Lerman, 1986). One objection is that mothers do not have the same power in the family as fathers, and therefore cannot act as such a menacing figure. Another is that, since a girl does not initially have a penis, she cannot develop such an intense fear as a boy who fears injury as retribution for incestuous desire.

In response to the second objection, Freud put forward the thesis that girls develop a less compulsive, rigid sense of morality in adulthood. Regardless of the interpretation, Freud argued that the girl eventually gets rid of the Electra complex by suppressing her attraction to her father and identifying with her mother. In other words, the girl, as she becomes more like her mother, gains symbolic access to her father, thus increasing her chances of ever marrying a man like her father. Later, some women dream of their firstborn being boys, a phenomenon that orthodox Freudians interpret as an expression of penis replacement (Hammer, 1970). Needless to say, supporters of the feminist movement find Freud's view of women not only demeaning but also absurd (Gilligan, 1982).

Adult males with phallic fixation are cocky, boastful and reckless. Phallic types strive to achieve success (success for them symbolizes victory over a parent of the opposite sex) and constantly try to prove their masculinity and puberty. They convince others that they are "real men." One of the ways to achieve this goal is the ruthless conquest of women, that is, behavior like Don Juan. In women, phallic fixation, as noted by Freud, leads to a tendency to flirt, to seduce, and promiscuous sexual intercourse, although they may appear naive and sexually innocent. Some women, on the contrary, may fight for dominance over men, that is, be overly persistent, assertive and self-confident. Such women are called "castrating" women. Unresolved problems of the Oedipus complex were regarded by Freud as the main source of subsequent neurotic behaviors, especially those related to impotence and frigidity.

Latency period

In the interval from six to seven years to the beginning of adolescence, there is a phase of sexual calm, called latency period. The child's libido is now directed through sublimation into non-sexual activities such as intellectual pursuits, sports, and peer relationships. The latency period can be seen as the preparation time for growing up, which will come in the last psychosexual stage. In this case, Freud attributed the decrease in sexual need partly to physiological changes in the child's body, and partly to the emergence of ego and superego structures in his personality. Consequently, the latency period should not be considered as a stage of psychosexual development, because at this time new erogenous zones do not appear, and the sexual instinct is presumably dormant.

Freud paid little attention to developmental processes in the latency period. This is rather strange, since it takes almost the same time interval in a child's life as all the previous stages combined. Perhaps it was a respite not only for the child, but also for the theorist.

Genital stage

With the onset of puberty, sexual and aggressive urges are restored, and with them interest in the opposite sex and an increasing awareness of this interest. Initial phase genital stage(the period lasting from maturity to death) is characterized by biochemical and physiological changes in the body. The reproductive organs reach maturity, the release of hormones by the endocrine system leads to the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics (for example, facial hair in men, the formation of mammary glands in women). The result of these changes is the increase in excitability and increased sexual activity characteristic of adolescents. In other words, the entry into the genital stage is marked by the most complete satisfaction of the sexual instinct.

According to Freud's theory, all individuals go through a "homosexual" period in early adolescence. A new burst of sexual energy in the adolescent is directed towards a person of the same gender (for example, a teacher, neighbor, peer) - in much the same way as it happens when the Oedipus complex is resolved. Although overt homosexual behavior is not a universal experience of this period, according to Freud, adolescents prefer the society of their peers of the same sex. However, gradually the object of libido energy becomes a partner of the opposite sex, and courtship begins. Youth hobbies normally lead to the choice of a marriage partner and the creation of a family.

The genital character is the ideal personality type in psychoanalytic theory. This person is mature and responsible in social and sexual relations. He is satisfied with heterosexual love. Although Freud opposed sexual promiscuity, he was more tolerant of sexual freedom than the bourgeois society of Vienna. Discharge of libido in intercourse provides the possibility of physiological control over the impulses coming from the genitals; control restrains the energy of instinct, and therefore it reaches highest point in genuine interest in a partner without any trace of guilt or conflict experiences.

Freud was convinced that in order for an ideal genital character to form, a person must abandon the passivity inherent in early childhood, when love, security, physical comfort - in fact, all forms of satisfaction were easily given, and nothing was required in return. People must learn to work, postpone satisfaction, show warmth and concern for others, and above all, take a more active role in solving life problems... Conversely, if in early childhood there were various kinds of traumatic experiences with the corresponding fixation of libido, adequate entry into the genital stage becomes difficult, if not impossible. Freud argued that serious conflicts in later years are echoes of sexual conflicts that took place in childhood.

Table 3-1. Stages of psychosexual development according to Freud

Stage Age period Libido concentration zone Tasks and experiences corresponding to a given level of development

Oral 0-18 months Mouth (sucking, biting, chewing) Weaning (from the breast or horn). Separating oneself from the mother's body

Anal 1.5-3 years Anus (holding or pushing feces) Toilet training (self-control)

Phallic 3-6 years Sexual organs (masturbation) Identification with adults of the same sex acting as role models

Latent 6-12 years Absent (sexual inaction) Expansion of social contacts with peers

Genital Puberty (puberty) Genitals (ability to have heterosexual relationships) Establishing intimate relationships or falling in love; making your labor contribution to society

Oral stage

The oral stage lasts from birth to about 18 months of age. During this period, the area of ​​the mouth is most closely associated with the satisfaction of biological needs, and with pleasant sensations. Freud was convinced that the mouth remains an important erogenous zone throughout a person's life. Even in adulthood, there are residual manifestations of oral behavior in the form of chewing gum, nail biting, smoking, kissing and overeating.

In Freud's developmental concept, pleasure and sexuality are closely intertwined. In this context, sexuality is understood as a state of arousal accompanying the satiety process in an infant. Accordingly, the mother's breast or horn becomes the first objects - sources of pleasure for him, and the mouth is the first part of the body where pleasure is localized. The main task facing the infant during this oral-dependent period is to establish basic attitudes (of course, in the form of their rudimentary manifestations) of dependence, independence, trust and support in relation to other people.

<На оральной стадии психосексуального развития главным источником удовольствия является сосание, кусание и глотание. Эти действия (связанные с кормлением грудью) снижают напряжение у младенца.>

The oral stage ends when breastfeeding stops. According to the central premise of psychoanalytic theory, all babies experience some difficulty in weaning or taking off their mother's breast, because this deprives them of the appropriate pleasure. The greater these difficulties, that is, the stronger the concentration of libido at the oral stage, the more difficult it will be to cope with conflicts in the following stages.

Freud put forward the postulate that a child who received excessive or insufficient stimulation in infancy is likely to develop an oral-passive personality type in the future. A person with an orally passive personality type is cheerful and optimistic, expects a "motherly" attitude from the world around him and constantly seeks approval at any cost. His psychological adaptation lies in gullibility, passivity, immaturity and over-dependence.

During the second half of the first year of life, the second phase of the oral stage begins - the oral-aggressive, or oral-sadistic phase. The infant now has teeth, making biting and chewing important means of expressing frustration at the absence of a mother or delayed gratification. Fixation at the oral-sadistic stage is expressed in adults in such personality traits as love of arguments, pessimism, sarcastic "biting", and also often in a cynical attitude towards everything around. People with this type of character, in addition, tend to exploit and dominate other people in order to satisfy their own needs.

Anal stage

The anal stage begins at about 18 m-3 g.<На анальной стадии психосексуального развития главным источником удовольствия является процесс дефекации. Согласно Фрейду, приучение к туалету представляет собой первую попытку ребенка контролировать инстинктивные импульсы.>

Freud identified two main parenting tactics associated with toilet training. Some parents are inflexible and demanding in these situations, insisting that their child "go to the potty now." In response to this, the child may refuse to follow the orders of "mommy" and "daddy", and he will become constipated. If this tendency to "hold" becomes excessive and extends to other behaviors, the child may develop an anal-holding personality type. The anal-restraining adult is unusually stubborn, stingy, methodical and punctual. This person also lacks the ability to tolerate confusion, confusion and uncertainty. The second long-term outcome of anal fixation due to parental toilet severity is the anal-push type. Traits of this personality type include destructive tendencies, anxiety, impulsivity, and even sadistic cruelty. In a romantic relationship in adulthood, such individuals most often perceive partners primarily as objects of possession.

Some parents, on the other hand, encourage their children to have regular bowel movements and praise them generously for it. For Freud, this approach, which supports the child's self-control, fosters positive self-esteem and can even foster creativity.

Phallic stage

Between three and six years of age, the interests of the child shift into a new erogenous zone, the genital area. Throughout the phallic stage of psychosexual development, children can examine and explore their genitals, masturbate, and take an interest in matters related to birth and sexual intercourse. Freud believed that most children understand the essence of sexual relations more clearly than their parents assume. Most children, according to Freud, understand sexual intercourse as aggressive actions of the father towards the mother. The dominant conflict in the phallic stage is what Freud called the Oedipus complex (a similar conflict in girls was called the Electra complex). The description of this complex Freud borrowed from the tragedy of Sophocles "King Oedipus". In essence, this myth symbolizes the unconscious desire of every child to have a parent of the opposite sex and at the same time to eliminate the parent of the same sex. Normally, the Oedipus complex develops somewhat differently in boys and girls. Consider first how it manifests itself in boys. Initially, the object of love for the boy is the mother or her substitute figure. From the moment of birth, she is the main source of satisfaction for him. He wants to possess his mother, wants to express his erotically tinged feelings towards her in the same way as, according to his observations, older people do. So, he can try to seduce the mother, proudly showing her his penis. This fact suggests that the boy seeks to play the role of his father. At the same time, he perceives his father as a competitor, hindering his desire for genital pleasure. It follows that the father becomes his main rival or enemy. At the same time, the boy realizes his lower position in comparison with his father (whose penis is larger); he realizes that his father does not intend to tolerate his romantic feelings for his mother. The rivalry entails the boy's fear that his father will deprive him of his penis. The fear of imaginary retribution from the father, which Freud called the fear of castration, forces the boy to abandon his desire for incest with his mother.

At the age of approximately between five and seven years, the Oedipus complex is resolved: the boy suppresses (displaces from consciousness) his sexual desires for his mother and begins to identify himself with his father (adopts his features). The process of identification with the father, called identification with the aggressor, serves several functions. Firstly, a boy acquires a conglomerate of values, moral norms, attitudes, models of sex-role behavior that outline for him what it means to be a man. Second, by identifying with the father, the boy can retain his mother as an object of love in a substitutionary way, since now he has the same attributes that the mother values ​​in the father. An even more important aspect of resolving the Oedipus complex is that the boy internalizes parental prohibitions and basic moral norms. This is a specific property of identification, which, as Freud believed, paves the way for the development of the superego or conscience of the child. That is, the superego is a consequence of the resolution of the Oedipus complex.

The girls' version of the Oedipus complex is called the Electra complex. Like boys, girls' first object of love is their mother. However, when the girl enters the phallic stage, she realizes that she does not have a penis like her father or brother (which may symbolize a lack of strength). As soon as the girl makes this analytical discovery, she begins to want a penis. According to Freud, a girl develops penis envy. As a result, the girl begins to show open hostility towards her mother, reproaching her for giving birth to her without a penis. Freud believed that in some cases a girl may have a low estimate of her own femininity, considering her appearance to be "defective." At the same time, the girl seeks to possess her father, because he has such an enviable body. Knowing that she is unable to obtain a penis, the girl seeks other sources of sexual gratification as penis substitutes. Sexual gratification focuses on the clitoris, and in girls aged five to seven years, clitoral masturbation is sometimes accompanied by masculine fantasies in which the clitoris becomes a penis.

Many experts agree that Freud's explanation of the resolution of the Electra complex is unconvincing.

Adult males with phallic fixation are cocky, boastful and reckless. Phallic types strive to achieve success (success for them symbolizes victory over a parent of the opposite sex) and constantly try to prove their masculinity and puberty. They convince others that they are "real men." One of the ways to achieve this goal is the ruthless conquest of women, that is, behavior like Don Juan. In women, phallic fixation, as noted by Freud, leads to a tendency to flirt, to seduce, and promiscuous sexual intercourse, although they may appear naive and sexually innocent. Some women, on the contrary, may fight for dominance over men, that is, be overly persistent, assertive and self-confident. Such women are called "castrating" women. Unresolved problems of the Oedipus complex were regarded by Freud as the main source of subsequent neurotic behaviors, especially those related to impotence and frigidity.

Latency period

In the interval from six to seven years to the beginning of adolescence, there is a phase of sexual calm, called the latency period. The child's libido is now directed through sublimation into non-sexual activities such as intellectual pursuits, sports, and peer relationships. The latency period can be seen as the preparation time for growing up, which will come in the last psychosexual stage. Consequently, the latency period should not be considered as a stage of psychosexual development, because at this time new erogenous zones do not appear, and the sexual instinct is presumably dormant.

Freud paid little attention to developmental processes in the latency period.

Genital stage

With the onset of puberty, sexual and aggressive urges are restored, and with them interest in the opposite sex and an increasing awareness of this interest. The initial phase of the genital stage (the period from maturity to death) is characterized by biochemical and physiological changes in the body. The reproductive organs reach maturity, the release of hormones by the endocrine system leads to the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics. The result of these changes is the increase in excitability and increased sexual activity characteristic of adolescents. According to Freud's theory, all individuals go through a "homosexual" period in early adolescence. Although overt homosexual behavior is not a universal experience of this period, according to Freud, adolescents prefer the society of their peers of the same sex. However, gradually the object of libido energy becomes a partner of the opposite sex, and courtship begins. Youth hobbies normally lead to the choice of a marriage partner and the creation of a family.

The genital character is the ideal personality type in psychoanalytic theory. This person is mature and responsible in social and sexual relations. He is satisfied with heterosexual love. Discharge of libido in intercourse provides the possibility of physiological control over the impulses coming from the genitals; control restrains the energy of instinct, and therefore it culminates in genuine interest in a partner without any trace of guilt or conflict experiences.

According to the Freudian psychoanalytic concept of development, everyone is born with innate sexual instincts. The internal psychic instance - It - is a hereditary factor, and the influence of the external environment, society determines the emergence of consciousness and the Super-I. It and the Super-I, heredity and the external environment put pressure on the I, and the influences of the environment displace sexual drives, being with them in antagonistic, contradictory relationships. Society acts as a source of all kinds of trauma.

From such conclusions grows a developmental theory as a theory of childhood trauma. Personality development is viewed by Freud as being congruent with psychosexual development. Features of the stages of the latter in a child (oral, anal, phallic, genital) determine the fate of life, the type of character and personality, as well as the type of mental disorders (pathology, neuroses), life problems and difficulties in an adult.

Each of the stages of psychosexual development is characterized by a certain way of manifesting sexual energy (libido) through the erogenous zones characteristic of a given age. If the libido is satisfied in an inadequate way, a person risks stopping at this stage and certain personality traits are fixed in him.

According to Freud, psychosexual activity begins during lactation, when the baby's mouth becomes an erogenous zone - a zone of pleasure ( oral stage). It remains as such throughout a person's life, even in maturity, residual manifestations of oral behavior are observed: the use of chewing gum, biting nails, smoking, kissing, overeating, drinking alcohol, oral sex, etc.

All babies experience certain difficulties associated with weaning from the mother's breast, nipple, horn, because this deprives them of the corresponding pleasure, and the more these difficulties, the stronger the concentration of libido at the oral stage. If a child received excessive or insufficient stimulation in infancy and his fixation occurred at the oral stage, then, as Freud believed, he would form orally passive personality type... He will wait for a "motherly attitude" to himself from the world around him, constantly seek support and approval, and will be overly dependent and trusting.

In the second half of the first year of life, the second phase of the oral stage begins - oral aggressive, or oral-sadistic when the baby has teeth and biting becomes a means of expressing dissatisfaction and frustration caused by the absence of the mother or delayed satisfaction. Fixation at this stage is expressed in adults in such personality traits as a love of arguments, pessimism, critical "biting", cynicism, a tendency to exploit others and dominate them in order to satisfy their own needs.

When fixing at the oral stage, the following personality traits are formed: insatiability, greed, dissatisfaction with everything offered, the desire to enjoy the habit of smoking, drinking alcohol, overeating, being verbally aggressive, having oral sex, etc. Already at this stage, according to Freud's ideas , people are divided into optimists and pessimists.

With toilet training, the focus shifts first to sensations related to bowel movements ( anal stage), and later on those associated with urination ( urethral phase). During this period, children enjoy retaining and pushing out feces.

Freud showed that the way parents teach a child to the toilet has an impact on his later personal development. If they behave inflexible, insisting: "Go to the potty now," the child has a protest, a tendency to "hold", constipation begins, anal-retaining personality type, which is characterized by stubbornness, stinginess, punctuality, methodicalness, inability to endure disorder and uncertainty.

Parental strictness in this aspect also leads to the fact that there is anal-ejection type, which is characterized by a tendency to destruction, anxiety, impulsiveness, even sadistic cruelty. If parents encourage their children to regularly empty their bowels and praise them for it, then, according to Freud, the ability to self-control develops, a positive self-esteem is fostered, and even creative powers develop.

Finally, at about the age of 4, these private drives combine, and interest in the genitals begins to prevail ( phallic phase). Children can examine their genitals, masturbate, show interest in birth and sexual relations, spy on parents' sexual relations, and experience sexual urges. At the same time, the Oedipus complex (or Electra in girls) develops, the essence of which lies in a predominantly positive attitude towards the parent of the opposite sex and aggressive behavior towards the parent of the same sex.

According to Freud, children later part with these tendencies due to fear of castration. At the age of 5-7 years, the boy suppresses, displaces from consciousness his sexual desires in relation to his mother and begins to identify himself with his father (adopts his features): he masters the norms and models of male role-playing behavior, assimilates the basic moral norms, that is, the Super- I am as a consequence of overcoming the Oedipus complex. In the case of excessive love, guardianship of the boy by the mother, or an incomplete family, or in the case of maternal coldness, alienation, the boy experiences difficulty in overcoming the Oedipus complex. In his later life, psychological difficulties may then appear (syndrome " mama's son", The boy's increased dependence on his mother, as a result of which the man is not even able to create his own family, to meet his love) or deviations (" Don Juan "syndrome, a tendency to homosexuality, incest).

The girls overcome the Electra complex (according to the Greek myth, Electra persuades her brother to kill their mother and her lover and avenge the death of their father), suppress the attraction to their father and identify with their mother.

Adult men with fixation at the phallic stage behave insolently, boastfully, recklessly, strive to achieve success, to prove their masculinity, that "they are real men," through the conquest of women, as Don Juan did (show phallic-narcissistic character). In women, phallic fixation leads to a manner of flirting, seducing, promiscuous sexual intercourse, a desire to dominate a man, be assertive and self-confident. Phallic fixation determines the formation of a hysterical character in women.

Unresolved problems of the Oedipus complex were regarded by Freud as the main source of subsequent neurotic behavior patterns, especially those associated with impotence, frigidity, homosexuality, incest, and the search for a partner who would be a “replacement” for parents. According to this psychologist, the most important periods in a child's life are completed before the age of 5: then the main structures of the personality are formed (the structures of the I and the Super-I have already been formed). The phallic stage corresponds to the emergence of such traits as self-observation, prudence, rational thinking, exaggeration of social manifestations of behavior characteristic of a particular sex.

Latent stage(5-12 years old) is characterized by a decrease in sexual interest, the psychic instance I fully controls the needs of It, a person's energy is aimed at schooling, mastering universal human experience and culture, various forms of behavior inherent in this sex, at establishing friendly relations with peers and adults outside the boundaries family environment.

During this period, the child begins to enjoy achieving success in a particular type of activity (study, sports, creativity, etc.). Excessive fixation at this stage leads to an increased tendency towards ambition, achievement of success at any cost, towards careerism, forms the character of a "workaholic" for whom interests, success in work, career, business become the main content of life, and love, family, children, friends, etc. etc. are shifted to the background, hidden, insignificant plan. Fixation at the latent stage also determines the formation of a schizoid character.

With the onset of puberty begins genital stage sexual development, when sexual desires and interests are intensified and concentrated on certain members of the opposite sex. According to Freud, all adolescents in early adolescence go through a "homosexual period", prefer the society of peers of the same sex and even episodic homosexual games. However, gradually the object of libido energy becomes a partner of the opposite sex and courtship begins. The hobbies of adolescence usually lead to the choice of a marriage partner and the creation of a family.

Genital stage(12-18 years old) is characterized by the return of children's sexual aspirations, all former erogenous zones are united, and a desire for normal sexual intercourse appears. However, its implementation can be difficult, and then regressions, returns to the previous stages of development are possible: intensification of the aggressive tendencies of the id, the Oedipus complex and the desire for homosexuality.

Normal development, according to Freud, occurs with the help of the sublimation mechanism, and development proceeding through the mechanisms of repression, regression or fixation gives rise to pathological characters. Described are the two most striking types of character that are formed at this stage: mental homosexuality and narcissism.

People with mental homosexuality do not manifest it as sexual perversion, but build their lives preferring friends and close ties in companies of the same sex to family, giving priority to friendship and activities in the circle of people of the same sex.

The second type of sexual character is narcissism, when all the libido energy is directed by a person to himself. Attention is concentrated on oneself, one's actions and experiences. Self-satisfaction and self-satisfaction become the main ones.

Under favorable circumstances, development ends with the onset psychological maturity, the main features of which are:

• a person's ability to love another by himself, and not for the sake of satisfying his sexual needs;
• the desire of a person to express himself in productive work, in the creation of something new and useful for people.

But not every person reaches this stage; many people on various reasons as if "stuck" at the previous stages. Fixation on them represents the inability to progress from one psychosexual stage to another. It leads to an over-expression of needs characteristic of the stage at which the stop occurred, forming the character and type of personality, specific problems of adulthood.

Thus, the experiences of early childhood play a critical role in the formation of the adult personality.

Fixation can occur both as a result of frustration (when the child's psychosexual needs are suppressed by the parents and do not find optimal satisfaction), and as a result of over-concern on the part of the parents, when they do not allow the child to control themselves. In any case, according to Freud, an excessive accumulation of libido arises, which later, in adulthood, can be expressed in the form of "residual behavior", a specific character and specific deviations.

Freud and his followers developed a detailed dynamic system in which various emotional and psychosomatic disorders are correlated with the specific characteristics of libido development and maturation.

Anna Freud, the daughter of Sigmund Freud, studied the patterns of child development and noted that in parallel with the sexual (oral, anal, phallic, latent, pubertal stages), a corresponding development of aggressiveness occurs (biting, spitting out, grasping with the hand as oral aggressiveness, then destruction and cruelty, sadism - at the anal stage, then - lust for power, bragging, conceit on the phallic, and everything ends with dissocial manifestations in adolescents at the pubertal stage).

Each phase of a child's development, according to A. Freud, is the result of resolving the conflict between internal instinctive drives and the restrictive requirements of the external social environment. Normal child development occurs in leaps and bounds, not gradually step by step, but back and forth again, with progressive and regressive processes in their constant alternation. In their development, children take two steps forward and one backward. It is viewed as a process of gradual socialization of the child, subject to the law of transition from pleasure to reality. If the search for the first is an internal principle of the child, then the satisfaction of desires depends on the external world, and in childhood - largely on the mother. Therefore, the mother acts as the first legislator for her children, and her mood, her addictions and antipathies noticeably affect their development. “The fastest developing is what the mother likes and welcomes the most” (A. Freud).

The child remains immature as long as his desires dominate him, and the decision to satisfy them or refuse them belongs to outside world, parents and other people. The desire to satisfy his desires at any cost based on the principle of pleasure can cause his asocial behavior. Only when a child is able to act according to the principle of reality, take into account the requirements of the social environment, analyze and control his intentions and independently decide whether one or another incentive needs to be rejected or turned into action, is it possible to transfer it to an adult state. reality alone does not guarantee that a person will follow social requirements,

According to A. Freud, almost all normal elements of a child's life, such as, for example, greed, jealousy, self-interest, push the child in the direction of asociality, they pass into their opposite (reactionary formations), are directed to other goals (sublimation), are redirected to other people (projection). So difficult and painful is the socialization of the child, his inclusion in the life of society.

Organization of the protective process is an important and necessary component development of I. The development of memory, speech, thinking is necessary condition for the development of personality and socialization of the child. So, reasonable thinking contributes to understanding the relationship of cause and effect, and adaptation to the requirements of society and the surrounding world ceases to be a simple submission: it becomes conscious and adequate. The formation of the principle of reality and the maturation of thought processes are necessary components of socialization, which opens the way for its new mechanisms (such as imitation, identification, introjection), for the child to leave the family for school, from school into public life, when a person gradually abandons personal advantages and takes into account the interests of other people, moral norms and the laws of society.

Freud recognized the existence of two basic instincts - life and death, the first of them, or Eros, includes all the forces that support life and procreation. The most important are sexual instincts and sexual energy (libido). The death instinct, or Thanatos, underlies all manifestations of cruelty, aggression, murder and suicide, all harmful forms of behavior that destroy human health and life (drunkenness, drugs). It obeys the principle of entropy, is associated with the desire to maintain dynamic balance! as a result of which all living beings tend to return to the indeterminate state from which they emerged, and people unconsciously strive for death. This position of Freud is controversial and is not recognized by many psychologists.

Thus, from the standpoint of psychoanalysis, a person is a contradictory, tormented, suffering creature, whose behavior is mainly determined by unconscious factors, despite opposition and control of consciousness. As a result, a person is often also a neurotic and conflicting creature. Freud's merit lies in the fact that he drew the attention of scientists to a serious study of the unconscious in the psyche, for the first time he identified and began to study the internal conflicts of the personality.

Freud's psychoanalytic theory is an example of a psychodynamic approach to the study of human behavior, where it is believed that unconscious psychological conflicts control this behavior.

Table 5.4.

Personality development: psychosexual stages

The psychoanalytic theory of development is based on two premises. First, or genetic premise, emphasizes that early childhood experiences play a critical role in the formation of an adult personality. Freud was convinced that the basic foundation of an individual's personality is laid at a very early age, before the age of five. The second premise is that a person is born with a certain amount of sexual energy (libido), which then passes through several psychosexual stages rooted in the instinctive processes of the body.

Freud owns a hypothesis about four successive stages of personality development: oral, anal, phallic and genital... In the general scheme of development, Freud included and latency period, which is normal for the interval between 6-7 years of a child's life and the onset of puberty. But, strictly speaking, the latency period is not a stage. The first three stages of development cover the age from birth to five years and are called pregenital stages, since the genital area has not yet acquired a dominant role in the formation of the personality. The fourth stage coincides with the onset of puberty. The names of the stages are based on the names of the areas of the body, the stimulation of which leads to the release of libido energy. Table 3-1 describes the stages of psychosexual development according to Freud.

Table 3-1. Stages of psychosexual development according to Freud

Since Freud focused mainly on biological factors, all stages are closely associated with erogenous zones, that is, sensitive areas of the body that function as loci of expression of libido urges. Erogenous zones include the ears, eyes, mouth (lips), breasts, anus, and genitals.

The term "psychosexual" emphasizes that the main factor determining human development is sexual instinct, progressing from one erogenous zone to another during a person's life. According to Freud's theory, at each stage of development, a certain part of the body tends to a certain object or actions in order to create a pleasant tension. Psychosexual development is a biologically determined sequence that unfolds in an unchanging order and is inherent in all people, regardless of their cultural level. The social experience of an individual usually brings a certain long-term contribution to each stage in the form of acquired attitudes, traits and values.

The logic of Freud's theoretical constructions is based on two factors: frustrations and overprotectiveness... In the event of frustration, the child's psychosexual needs (for example, sucking, biting or chewing) are suppressed by parents or caregivers and therefore do not find optimal satisfaction. With over-caring on the part of the parents, the child is given few opportunities (or none at all) to control his internal functions himself (for example, to exercise control over the excretory functions). For this reason, the child develops a sense of dependence and incompetence. In any case, as Freud believed, as a result, an excessive accumulation of libido occurs, which later, in adulthood, can be expressed in the form of "residual" behavior (character traits, values, attitudes) associated with the psychosexual stage at which frustration or overprotection fell. ...

An important concept in psychoanalytic theory is the concept regressions, that is, a return to an earlier stage of psychosexual development and the manifestation of childish behavior characteristic of this earlier period. For example, an adult in a situation of severe stress may regress, and this will be accompanied by tears, thumb sucking, the desire to drink something "stronger". Regression is a special case of what Freud called fixation(delay or arrest of development at a certain psychosexual stage). Freud's followers view regression and fixation as complementary; the probability of regression onset depends mainly on the strength of the fixation (Fenichel, 1945). Fixation is the inability to move from one psychosexual stage to another; it leads to an overexpression of the needs characteristic of the stage where the fixation took place. For example, persistent thumb sucking in a ten-year-old boy is a sign of oral fixation. In this case, the energy of libido is manifested in the activity characteristic of an earlier stage of development. The worse a person copes with mastering the requirements and tasks put forward by this or that age period, the more he is subject to regression under conditions of emotional or physical stress in the future. Thus, the structure of the personality of each individual is characterized in terms of the corresponding stage of psychosexual development, which he reached or at which he had a fixation. Associated with each of the psychosexual developmental stages are different personality types, which we will discuss shortly. And now let's turn to the characteristics that Freud brought to the fore in the development of personality.

Oral stage

The oral stage lasts from birth to about 18 months of age. The infant's survival is entirely dependent on those who care for him. Addiction for him is the only way to get instinctive satisfaction. During this period, the area of ​​the mouth is most closely associated with the satisfaction of biological needs, and with pleasant sensations. Babies get their nourishment by sucking on the breast or from a bottle; at the same time, the sucking movements are enjoyable. Therefore, the oral cavity - including the lips, tongue and associated structures - becomes the primary focus of the infant's activity and interest. Freud was convinced that the mouth remains an important erogenous zone throughout a person's life. Even in adulthood, there are residual manifestations of oral behavior in the form of chewing gum, nail biting, smoking, kissing and overeating - all that Freudians regard as libido attachment to the oral zone.

In Freud's developmental concept, pleasure and sexuality are closely intertwined. In this context, sexuality is understood as a state of arousal accompanying the satiety process in an infant. Accordingly, the first objects - sources of pleasure for him become the mother's breast or horn, and the mouth is the first part of the body where the pleasure caused by a decrease in tension is localized. Sucking and swallowing are the prototypes of every future sexual gratification. The main task facing the infant during this oral - dependent period is to establish basic attitudes (of course, in the form of their rudimentary manifestations) of dependence, independence, trust and support in relation to other people. Since the infant is initially unable to distinguish its own body from its mother's breast, it experiences a mixed sensation of satiety and tenderness during the sucking process. This confusion is due to the egocentricity of the infant. Over time, the mother's breast will lose its meaning as an object of love and will be replaced by a part of his own body. He will suck on his finger or tongue to relieve stress caused by a lack of constant maternal care.

The oral stage ends when breastfeeding stops. According to the central premise of psychoanalytic theory, all babies experience some difficulty in weaning or taking off their mother's breast, because this deprives them of the appropriate pleasure. The greater these difficulties, that is, the stronger the concentration of libido at the oral stage, the more difficult it will be to cope with conflicts in the following stages.

Freud put forward the postulate that a child who received excessive or insufficient stimulation in infancy is likely to form later orally - passive personality type. A person with an orally passive personality type is cheerful and optimistic, expects a "motherly" attitude from the world around him and constantly seeks approval at any cost. His psychological adaptation lies in gullibility, passivity, immaturity and over-dependence.

During the second half of the first year of life, the second phase of the oral stage begins - orally - aggressive, or oral - sadistic phase. The infant now has teeth, making biting and chewing important means of expressing frustration at the absence of a mother or delayed gratification. Fixation at the oral - sadistic stage is expressed in adults in such personality traits as love of arguments, pessimism, sarcastic "biting", and also often in a cynical attitude towards everything around. People with this type of character, in addition, tend to exploit and dominate other people in order to satisfy their own needs.

Anal stage

The anal stage begins around 18 months of age and lasts until the third year of life. During this period, young children have considerable pleasure in holding and expelling faeces. They gradually learn to increase pleasure by delaying bowel movement (that is, by allowing slight pressure to exert tension in the rectum and anal sphincter area). Although bowel and bladder control is largely a consequence of neuromuscular maturity, Freud was convinced that the way in which parents or their substitute parents train a child to toilet had an impact on later personal development. From the very beginning of toilet training, the child must learn to distinguish between id demands (pleasure from immediate defecation) and parental social constraints (self-control of excretory needs). Freud argued that all future forms of self-control and self-regulation originate in the anal stage.

Freud identified two main parenting tactics observed in the process of overcoming the inevitable frustration associated with toilet training. Some parents are inflexible and demanding in these situations, insisting that their child "go to the potty now." In response to this, the child may refuse to follow the orders of "mommy" and "daddy", and he will become constipated. If this tendency to "hold" becomes excessive and extends to other behaviors, the child may develop anally - restraining personality type. Anally-restraining adult is unusually stubborn, stingy, methodical and punctual. This person also lacks the ability to tolerate confusion, confusion and uncertainty. The second long-term outcome of anal fixation due to parental toilet severity is anally - ejection type... Traits of this personality type include destructive tendencies, anxiety, impulsivity, and even sadistic cruelty. In a romantic relationship in adulthood, such individuals most often perceive partners primarily as objects of possession.

Some parents, on the other hand, encourage their children to have regular bowel movements and praise them generously for it. For Freud, this approach, which supports the child's self-control, fosters positive self-esteem and can even foster creativity.

Phallic stage

Between the ages of three and six, the child's libido-driven interests shift into a new erogenous zone, the genital area. Throughout phallic stage For psychosexual development, children can examine and examine their genitals, masturbate and take an interest in matters related to birth and sexual relations. Although their ideas about adult sexuality are usually vague, erroneous, and highly imprecise, Freud believed that most children understood the essence of sexual relations more clearly than their parents assumed. Children may witness parental intercourse, or perhaps they draw a “primary” scene in their fantasies based on some parental remarks or other children's explanations. Most children, according to Freud, understand sexual intercourse as aggressive actions of the father towards the mother. It should be emphasized that his description of this stage turned out to be the subject of serious controversy and misunderstanding. In addition, many parents cannot accept the thought that their four-year-old children may have sexual urges.

The dominant conflict in the phallic stage is what Freud called oedipus complex(a similar conflict among girls was called complex Electra). Freud borrowed the description of this complex from the tragedy of Sophocles "Oedipus the King", in which Oedipus, the king of Thebes, unintentionally killed his father and entered into an incestuous relationship with his mother. When Oedipus realized what a terrible sin he had committed, he blinded himself. Although Freud knew that the story of Oedipus originated in Greek mythology, he at the same time saw tragedy as a symbolic description of one of the greatest human psychological conflicts. In essence, this myth symbolizes the unconscious desire of every child to have a parent of the opposite sex and at the same time to eliminate the parent of the same sex. Of course, an ordinary child does not kill his father and does not have sexual intercourse with his mother, but Freudians are convinced that he has an unconscious desire to do both. Moreover, Freud saw the confirmation of the idea of ​​the complex in the family ties and clan relationships that take place in various primitive communities.

Normally, the Oedipus complex develops somewhat differently in boys and girls. Consider first how it manifests itself in boys. Initially, the object of love for the boy is the mother or her substitute figure. From the moment of birth, she is the main source of satisfaction for him. He wants to possess his mother, wants to express his erotically tinged feelings towards her in the same way as, according to his observations, older people do. So, he can try to seduce the mother, proudly showing her his penis. This fact suggests that the boy seeks to play the role of his father. At the same time, he perceives his father as a competitor, hindering his desire for genital pleasure. It follows that the father becomes his main rival or enemy. At the same time, the boy realizes his lower position in comparison with his father (whose penis is larger); he realizes that his father does not intend to tolerate his romantic feelings for his mother. The rivalry entails the boy's fear that his father will deprive him of his penis. Fear of imaginary retribution from the father, which Freud called fear of castration, forces the boy to abandon his desire for incest with his mother.

Between about five and seven years of age the Oedipus complex resolves: boy suppresses(displaces from consciousness) his sexual desires for his mother and begins to identify himself with his father (adopts his features). The identification process with the father, dubbed identification with the aggressor, performs several functions. Firstly, the boy acquires a conglomerate of values, moral norms, attitudes, models of sex-role behavior that outline for him what it means to be a man. Secondly, by identifying with the father, the boy can retain his mother as an object of love in a substitutionary way, since now he has the same attributes that the mother values ​​in the father. An even more important aspect of resolving the Oedipus complex is that the boy internalizes parental prohibitions and basic moral norms. This is a specific property of identification, which, as Freud believed, paves the way for the development of the superego or conscience of the child. That is, the superego is a consequence of the resolution of the Oedipus complex.

The girls' version of the Oedipus complex is called the Electra complex. The prototype in this case is the character of Greek mythology Electra, who persuades her brother Orestes to kill their mother and her lover and thus avenge the death of his father. Like boys, girls' first object of love is their mother. However, when the girl enters the phallic stage, she realizes that she does not have a penis like her father or brother (which may symbolize a lack of strength). As soon as the girl makes this analytical discovery, she begins to want a penis. According to Freud, the girl develops penis envy, which in a sense is a psychological analogue of the fear of castration in a boy. (It is not surprising that Freud is anathematized by supporters of the feminist movement!) As a result, the girl begins to show open hostility towards her mother, reproaching her for giving birth to her without a penis, or blaming her mother for the fact that she took away her penis as punishment for some offense. Freud believed that in some cases a girl may have a low estimate of her own femininity, considering her appearance to be "defective." At the same time, the girl seeks to possess her father, because he has such an enviable body. Knowing that she is unable to obtain a penis, the girl seeks other sources of sexual gratification as penis substitutes. Sexual gratification focuses on the clitoris, and in girls aged five to seven years, clitoral masturbation is sometimes accompanied by masculine fantasies in which the clitoris becomes a penis.

Many experts agree that Freud's explanation of the resolution of the Electra complex is inconclusive (Lerman, 1986). One objection is that mothers do not have the same power in the family as fathers, and therefore cannot act as such a menacing figure. Another is that, since a girl does not initially have a penis, she cannot develop such an intense fear as a boy who fears injury as retribution for incestuous desire.

In response to the second objection, Freud put forward the thesis that girls develop a less compulsive, rigid sense of morality in adulthood. Regardless of the interpretation, Freud argued that the girl eventually gets rid of the Electra complex by suppressing her attraction to her father and identifying with her mother. In other words, the girl, as she becomes more like her mother, gains symbolic access to her father, thus increasing her chances of ever marrying a man like her father. Later, some women dream of their firstborn being boys, a phenomenon that orthodox Freudians interpret as an expression of penis replacement (Hammer, 1970). Needless to say, supporters of the feminist movement find Freud's view of women not only demeaning but also absurd (Gilligan, 1982).

Adult males with phallic fixation are cocky, boastful and reckless. Phallic types strive to achieve success (success for them symbolizes victory over a parent of the opposite sex) and constantly try to prove their masculinity and puberty. They convince others that they are "real men." One of the ways to achieve this goal is the ruthless conquest of women, that is, behavior like Don Juan. In women, phallic fixation, as noted by Freud, leads to a tendency to flirt, to seduce, and promiscuous sexual intercourse, although they may appear naive and sexually innocent. Some women, on the contrary, may fight for dominance over men, that is, be overly persistent, assertive and self-confident. Such women are called "castrating" women. Unresolved problems of the Oedipus complex were regarded by Freud as the main source of subsequent neurotic behaviors, especially those related to impotence and frigidity.

Latency period

In the interval from six to seven years to the beginning of adolescence, there is a phase of sexual calm, called latency period. The child's libido is now directed through sublimation into non-sexual activities such as intellectual pursuits, sports, and peer relationships. The latency period can be seen as the preparation time for growing up, which will come in the last psychosexual stage. In this case, Freud attributed the decrease in sexual need partly to physiological changes in the child's body, and partly to the emergence of ego and superego structures in his personality. Consequently, the latency period should not be considered as a stage of psychosexual development, because at this time new erogenous zones do not appear, and the sexual instinct is presumably dormant.

Freud paid little attention to developmental processes in the latency period. This is rather strange, since it takes almost the same time interval in a child's life as all the previous stages combined. Perhaps it was a respite not only for the child, but also for the theorist.

Genital stage

With the onset of puberty, sexual and aggressive urges are restored, and with them interest in the opposite sex and an increasing awareness of this interest. Initial phase genital stage(the period lasting from maturity to death) is characterized by biochemical and physiological changes in the body. The reproductive organs reach maturity, the release of hormones by the endocrine system leads to the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics (for example, facial hair in men, the formation of mammary glands in women). The result of these changes is the increase in excitability and increased sexual activity characteristic of adolescents. In other words, the entry into the genital stage is marked by the most complete satisfaction of the sexual instinct.

According to Freud's theory, all individuals go through a "homosexual" period in early adolescence. A new burst of sexual energy in the adolescent is directed towards a person of the same gender (for example, a teacher, neighbor, peer) - in much the same way as it happens when the Oedipus complex is resolved. Although overt homosexual behavior is not a universal experience of this period, according to Freud, adolescents prefer the society of their peers of the same sex. However, gradually the object of libido energy becomes a partner of the opposite sex, and courtship begins. Youth hobbies normally lead to the choice of a marriage partner and the creation of a family.

The genital character is the ideal personality type in psychoanalytic theory. This person is mature and responsible in social and sexual relations. He is satisfied with heterosexual love. Although Freud opposed sexual promiscuity, he was more tolerant of sexual freedom than the bourgeois society of Vienna. Discharge of libido in intercourse provides the possibility of physiological control over the impulses coming from the genitals; control restrains the energy of instinct, and therefore it culminates in genuine interest in a partner without any trace of guilt or conflict experiences.

Freud was convinced that in order for an ideal genital character to form, a person must abandon the passivity inherent in early childhood, when love, security, physical comfort - in fact, all forms of satisfaction were easily given, and nothing was required in return. People must learn to work, postpone satisfaction, show warmth and concern for others, and above all, take a more active role in solving life's problems. Conversely, if in early childhood there were various kinds of traumatic experiences with the corresponding fixation of libido, adequate entry into the genital stage becomes difficult, if not impossible. Freud argued that serious conflicts in later years are echoes of sexual conflicts that took place in childhood.