• Most popular and most controversial

psychologist that studied the

development of personality
• Theory of psychosexual development
5 distinct stages
• Freud: a person goes through the
sequence and along the way there are
needs to be met (whether met or not,
determines if the person will develop
a healthy personality or not)
• Erogenous zone specific area that
becomes the focus of pleasure needs
(“pleasure areas”)
 mouth, anus, genitals
• If needs are not met, a fixation occurs.
• Fixation results from failure to satisfy
the needs of a particular psychosexual
stage
• As an adult, the person will now manifest
behaviors related to the erogenous zone.
 (OAPhaLaGe)
1. Oral Stage -mouth
2. Anal Stage -anus
3. Phallic Stage -genitals
4. Latency Stage -none
5. Genital Stage -genitals
 STAGE AGE FOCUS MAJOR DEV’T FIXATION
Mouth- Weaning off of Smoking,
Birth to 18 sucking, breastfeeding overeating
1. Oral
months chewing, biting
Anus- bowel Toilet training Orderliness,
18 moths to 3 and bladder messiness
2. Anal
years elimination
Genitals- Resolving Deviancy,
coping with Oedipus and sexual
3. Phallic 3-6 years
incestuous Electra dysfunction
sexual feelings Complex
None- dormant Developing None
4. Latency 6- puberty sexual feeling defense
mechanisms
Genitals- Reaching full If all the stages
maturation of sexual maturity are successfully
sexual interest completed, the
5. Genitals 12+ person would be
sexually mature
and mentally
healthy.
1. Id- pleasure
if not constrained by reality, it seeks immediate
gratification; satisfaction of own needs

2. Ego- reality
satisfying the id’s desires in ways that will realistically
bring pleasure rather than pain; practicality

3. Superego- morality
 Represents internalized ideals and provides
standards for judgment and for future aspirations;
inner voice or conscience
• Too much id:
-too impulsive
-pleasure-seeking
• Too much superego:
-harsh
-judgmental to himself & others
• How he/she was brought up
• How parents give needs
• Allowed things wanted to do
• How he was thought about right &
wrong
“Personality of an individual is formed
early during the childhood years.”
-Freud
• The Unconscious- deep within/ out of reach but still
affects our actions, emotions, feelings, thinking
• The Conscious- all that we are aware of; we are only
aware of a very small part of what makes up our
personality; most of what we are is hidden and out of
reach
• The Subconscious- a.k.a. preconscious; we can reach if
prompted/ asked but not in our active conscious; right
below the surface but still “hidden” unless we search
for it
• Nonconscious- all that we are not aware of, have not
experienced, and has not been part of our personalities