Applications: Sigmund Freud's Theory of Psychosexual Development

I forgot to include on my previous post that Sigmund Freud is the father of psychoanalytic psychology. This is the reason why his theory is also referred to as psychoanalytic theory of development. Psychoanalytic school of psychology by the way adheres to the existence of unconscious mental processes (i.e. Libido) which influence the individual's behavior in various indirect ways. Going back to the applications of the theory in the classroom setting, I honestly find it hard to find how a sexually oriented theory be applied inside the classroom. For this reason, I will not list the applications like I usually do rather explain some of the aspects of the theory in relation to teaching. Freud actually gave the idea about "inner conflicts" that can affect one's behavior. Some psychologists, like Erik Erikson (watch out for my post about him, he is also one of my favorites), adapted this idea but changed this from less sexual to more social in nature. The conflicts or crises are important in a sense that they must be solved in order to successfully and normally proceed to the next level of our development, and to avoid fixation or maladjustment. For instance, our pupils/students may be categorized into Phallic, Latency or Genital stage of psychosexual development. Our role as teachers therefore, is to assist our pupils/students solve or go through their inner conflicts on these stages. We can actually help if we give them ample attention in their certain needs. For example, play is an outlet among children where their sexual drive is being directed in the Latency Stage. If this will be suppressed, their will be a possibility for the child to fixate, or will continue to play even inappropriate for his/her age as an adult in the future. Among our pubescent/adolescent students, let us be more responsible in discussing about topics regarding sexuality. We must be more sensitive and careful because we know that on this stage, our students are going through a lot of crises and confusion. Let us teach them to be sexually responsible by explaining to them the sexual changes they are going through, and the consequences of their actions. Let us teach them to be more critical and reflective to clarify their inner issues. Let us not forget to offer our hands if they need our advice or to collaborate with their parents. This is the so-called sex education. As my conclusion, the application of Freud ideas to teaching and learning is that it gives us an explanation of some of our pupils/students' behavior that are manifested inside the classroom. However, the specific application of this theory in the teaching-learning process is not yet fully studied or experimented compared to other theories. What I presented here are just some of the aspects in which this theory can be applied. As teachers, the decision is still upon us on how will we use this knowledge to assist our students. If you can add more of the applications, I will greatly appreciate it.

Posted by jay-l at Tuesday, August 03, 2010

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Sigmund Freud's Psychosexual Stages of Development

This theory is one of my favorites. Hehehe... I don't know but I find this a bit bizarre yet it explains a lot about human personality. According to Freud, the libido, or the sex drive, energy, desire, whatever you may call it, causes us to seek pleasure in different parts of our body during the different stages of our development. Every stage can be characterized by being sensitive in an erogenous zone, or the part of the body the gives pleasure. If an

individual develops normally through a certain stage, and have been successful in resolving conflict, little libido remains in each stage. However, if one failed in resolving the conflict in a certain stage, he/she will have the tendency to fixate, or to stay or focus on that certain stage of development. There are five stages of psychosexual development: Stage I: Oral Stage In this stage, the pleasure giving part is the mouth. Infants, for example, derive pleasure from their sucking reflex. This is important in developing trust and comfort between the infant and the caregiver. The primary conflict is said to be the "weaning process". The issue is for the infant to become dependent or less dependent. If unresolved, he/she may have problems relating to dependency, aggression or gullibility. Individuals will tend to be fixated in this stage if there oral needs were not met. This will project in their later life as overeating, nail biting, smoking, fellatio/cunnilingus(wehehehe), etc.

Guilty uhuh?!...hehehehe...

Stage II: Anal Stage Erogenous zone is elimination of body wastes, both defecation and bladder elimination. The conflict is in toilet training and the resolution lies on how the parents handle the situation, whether they will take it positively or negatively. Too lenient parents will lead to anal expulsive personality characterized by being messy, wasteful, destructive, coprophilia(ewww), etc. On the other hand, too strict parent will lead to anal retentive personality characterized by obsession with organization, neatness and frugality.

Is this your room?...hehehehe...

Stage III: Phallic Stage The genitals are the pleasure giving parts in this stage as children become aware of their bodies and discover the difference between males and females.

Boys experience Oedipus complex (the desire to posses the mother and replace the father) and girls experience Electra complex (sees mother as a rival of the father's attention). According to Freud, conflict

among women is never fully resolved. This is the reason why women seek empowerment and equality with men. Of course, this is not acceptable on the part of women and have resulted to some controversy.

This is Oedipus... he killed his father and married his mother... Stage IV: Latency Stage The erogenous zone in this stage is said to be latent or calm. This is because the libido is directed into school work, hobbies and activities with peer.
Stage V: Genital Stage The libido is now directed towards the other person. Its role is also for the purpose of reproduction. However, the drives are more developed since they allow symbolic gratification and are not only limited to physical gratification. Symbolic gratification includes love relationship and family, or acceptance of responsibility associated with adulthood.

We are always reminded that as teachers, we must mold holistic and well-rounded individuals. The applications of Kohlberg's and Gilligan's theory of moral development emphasize the affective side of our students to make them the kind of individuals we want them to be. Aside from molding the cognitive and behavioral sides of our students, the affective sides must also be developed. This will make us avoid producing "intellectual giants" but "emotional dwarfs" individuals. Moral development 1. Let the students realize that they are responsible for their moral development. Present them different anecdotes or examples that will inspire and teach them to be morally responsible with their own actions. 2. Give the students opportunities to hear different perspectives especially in deciding what is right or wrong.

Have discussions, forums, debates, etc. about certain issues. This will be more meaningful if the issues are related to the students' lives. 3. Discuss issues in a multicultural or global perspective. Present them how are certain issues tackled in other cultures. Through this, students can widen their understanding and learn to respect different views and beliefs. 4. Most elementary and secondary school students are said to be in the stages 1 and 4 of moral development. We can actually use this in maintaining classroom management, behavior modification and establishing routines inside the classroom. 5. Be an example to the students. We must walk our talk so to speak. Values are caught than taught. So as teachers, we must present values and attitudes worth emulating. 6. It is easier said than done. Moral development is useless if not put into action. One of the criticisms of Kohlberg's theory is that he emphasized more on the reasoning and not on the practicability of morality. This is where Gilligan comes in. Let us teach our student the value of care for other people, as well as for themselves.

Mwahuggsz!!!

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