Freud's psychoanalytic theory of personality argues that the structures and conflict in the human

mind shapes personality.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

 Describe Sigmund Freud's psychanalytic theory of personality.

 Explain the role of psychosexual stages in adult personality development

KEY POINTS

 Freud's psychoanalytic theory of personality implicated the structure of the mind, namely

the id, ego, and superego, and how conflicts among these constituent parts are resolved
in shaping human personality.
 The id operates on the pleasure principle. It is regulated by both the ego, which operates
on the reality principle, and the superego, which operates on the morality principle.
 Conflicts among these structures of the mind appear at each of Freud's five basic stages
of psychosexualdevelopment: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital.
 Successful navigation of these natural, internal conflicts will lead to mastery of each
developmental stage, and ultimately, to fully-mature, adult personality.

TERMS

 neuroses
Plural form of neurosis. A neurosis is mental disorder, less severe than psychosis, marked by
anxiety or fear.
 psychosexual
Of or relating to the psychological aspect or aspects of sexuality.
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FULL TEXT

Introduction to Psychoanalytic PersonalityTheory
Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory of personality argued that human behavior was the result

of the interaction of three component parts of the mind: the id, ego, and superego. His structural

theory placed great importance on the role of unconscious psychological conflicts

inshaping behavior and personality. Dynamic interactions among these basic parts of the mind

were thought to carry human beings through five psychosexual stages of

development:oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital. Each stage required mastery for a human to

develop properly and move on to the next stage successfully. Freud's ideas have since been met

with criticism, mostly because of his singular focus on sexuality as the main driver of human

personality development.

Freud's Structure of the Human Mind

According to Freud, the human personality was structured into three separate parts:the id, ego,

and superego . The id was the most primitive structure, functioned unconsciously, operated on

the pleasure principle, and sought instant gratification. The ego was less primitive, functioned in

partial consciousness, operated with reason on the reality principle, and regulated the id by

satisfying urges only when appropriate. The superego was the most modern structure, functioned

consciously, operated on the moral principle, and regulated the id based on social learning and

issues of morality. Freud believed that these three basic structures were in constant conflict. The

results of these internal struggles throughout childhood were thought to influence the

development of adult personality and behavior.

The id, ego, and superego
According to Freud's structural model, the personality is divided into the id, ego, and superego.
On this diagram, the portion above the water signifies the conscious mind, while the portion
below the water illustrates the unconscious mind.
Psychosexual Stages of Development
Freud worked mainly with troubled adults, and delved deeply into their

childhoodmemories during his experiments and examinations . Based on their accounts of

experiences and dreams in youth, Freud defined five basic stages of development that he

believed to be crucial in the formation of adult personality. He called his idea the psychosexual
theory of development, with each stage directly related to a different physical center of pleasure.

At each stage, the child is presented with a conflict between biological drives and social

expectations. His/her ability to resolve these internal conflicts determined future coping and

functioning ability as a fully-mature adult.

Sigmund Freud
Freud developed the theory of psychoanalytic personality development which implicated certain
structures of the human mind and conflicts among these structures in the development of human
personality.
1. Oral Stage (birth to 1.5 years of age): The oral stage's major pleasure center is the oral cavity.

A baby's first experience with much of the physical world is through the mouth. The goal of this

stage was to develop the proper amount of sucking, eating, biting, and talking, which aid in early

development steps such as breast feeding and speaking. Children who did not master this stage

would develop an oral fixation that might lead to drinking, smoking, and nail-biting or other

mouth-based aggressive behaviors.

2. Anal Stage (1.5-3 years of age): The anal stage's major pleasure center is the anal cavity. One

of the first impulses that a baby must learn to control is his/her excretion system. The goal of this

stage is mastery of this system, which usually culminates in proper toilet training. Children who

do not adequately master this stage or were harshly punished during the toilet training process

developed an anal fixation. This might lead to anal retentive or anal expulsive personalities in

which one is overly tidy, and the other overly messy.

3. Phallic Stage (3-5 years of age): The phallic stage's major pleasure center is the main genital

organ in either boys or girls. The child is thought to develop his/her first sexual desires which are

directed at the closest known adult: the opposite sex parent. Boys develop the Oedipal

complex  with affection for their mothers while girls developed theElektra complex with

affection for their fathers. The goal of this stage is to master this internal conflict and move

toward more appropriate sexual desires. Children who struggle here develop phallic fixations

which affect their relationships with their parents adversely.

4. Latency Stage (5-12 years of age): The latency stage's major pleasure centers are dormant

sexual feelings for the opposite sex. Here, the child consolidates character habits developed in

the previous three stages. Successful mastery in each of these stages is necessary for a mature,

adult personality to develop before puberty. If the child does not learn to derive pleasure from
external sources such as schooling or friendships, he/she may develop neuroses or fixations on

socially unacceptable activities.

5. Genital Stage (12 years - adulthood): The genital stage's main pleasure center is the surge of

sexual hormones in the body during puberty. Adolescents must establish successful relationships

with peers in order to master this stage. Young adults who do not transition from solitary,

infantile sexuality to consensual, mature sexuality develop fixations on sex and tend to have

unsuccessful relationships.

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2 questions for use in quizzes have been written about this concept below
According to Freud, what was the main cause of many of his patients suffering?
They had neurological issues., They were not open to talk therapy., They had sexual
dysfunction., and They had unresolved psychosexual development.
What does Freud theorize as the cause of neurosis in adults?
Some form of genetic abnormality., Some form of anxiety that interferes with only the first stage
of psychosexual development., None of these answers., and Some form of fixation that interferes
with any of the 5 stages of psychosexual development.