Freud’s Stages of

Psychosexual Development
&
Defence Mechanisms

Dr. Sagar Karia

MD.Psychiatry
L.T.M.M.C. & G.H.
TOPOGRAPHICAL THEORY OF
MIND
• Top of the iceberg: Conscious mind. We can
access this, we are aware of this part of “us.” We
understand it logically.
• Middle of iceberg: Preconscious mind.(Ordinary
memory). You don’t keep a lot of information in
your conscious mind all the time
• Bottom of iceberg: Unconscious mind.
“Underwater”
The unconscious: Plays a very large role in how
we function as human beings.
ID, EGO AND SUPEREGO
 THE ID

Reservoir Of Unorganized Instinctual Drives

Based On The Pleasure Principle

Unconscious Primary Process

 No Logic And No Time Line

 SUPER EGO
Internalized Societal And Parental Standards
Predominantly Unconscious
The Conscience
The Ego Ideal
Children Internalize Parental Values And
Standards At About The Age Of 5-6 Yrs
 EGO
 The Moderator Between The Id And Superego
 Sense Of Time And Place
 Based on reality principle
 Predominantly Conscious ,Some part Is
Unconscious
 Defense Mechanisms Reside In The Unconscious
Domain Of Ego.
 Psychosexual Stages
• Were given by Sigmund Freud.

• According to him, personality is mostly established by the

age of five. Early experiences play a large role in personality
development and continue to influence behavior later in
life.

• Freud believed that personality develops through a series

of childhood stages during which the pleasure-seeking
energies of the Id become focused on certain erogenous
areas. This psychosexual energy, or libido (sex drive), was
described as the driving force behind behavior
• According to him from birth on, we have an innate tendency
to seek pleasure, especially through physical stimulation and
particularly through stimulation of parts/zones of the body
that are sensitive to touch:
• The mouth
• The anus
• The genitals
Which are referred to as erogenous zones.
• Various body zones are active as per the age and stage or
there occur shift of dominant erogenous zone from one age/
stage to other.
 Fixation
• If the child need’s at one of the psychosexual stages
were either unsatisfied or oversatisfied, fixation
would take place.

• This means the child would show continued

attachment to an old stage even after moving on to a
new one as per his/her age.

• This results into problematic behavior patterns

 STAGES
• There are five stages to his theory which
include
• The oral stage
• The anal stage
• The phallic stage
• The latent stage
• The genital stage
 1.Oral stage (Birth to about age 1.5)
• In this stage the infant obtains sensual
pleasure first by sucking and later by
biting. The center of libido is mouth.

• The mouth is vital for eating, and the

infant derives pleasure from oral
stimulation through gratifying activities
such as tasting and sucking.

• Also the infant is entirely dependent upon

caretakers, the infant also develops a
sense of trust and comfort through this
oral stimulation.
• HELPFUL
• Feeding and contact with the mother.
• Mouthing new objects.
• Relief of teething pain by biting.
• A conflict at this stage occurs with a child being weaned off the
mother’s breast
• Signs of Fixation or affects on adult personality in this stage are:
– Overeating or Pessimism
– Smoking
– Envy
– Gullibility
– Suspicion
– Dependency
– Passivity
• Changes occur in the normal expression of
oral behavior as a person grows older.
 2. Anal stage (ages 1.5 - 3)

•The region around the anus become highly

sensitive to the stimulation of “holding on” and
“letting go”.

•Freud believed that the primary focus of the libido

was on controlling bladder and bowel movements.

•The major conflict at this stage is toilet training--the

child has to learn to control his or her bodily needs.

•Developing this control leads to a sense of

accomplishment and independence.

•Toilet training is child’s first encounter with

authority.
• First part of this stage involves pleasure from
expulsion of feces; latter part involves pleasure from
retention.

• Fixation at first stage

• Messiness
• Disordered
• Fixation at second stage
• Excessive compulsiveness
• Over conformity
• Exaggerated self control.
• Parenting play a very important role in success of this
stage and development of personality.

• Parents who utilize praise and rewards for using the

toilet at the appropriate time encourage positive
outcomes and help children feel capable and
productive.

• Positive experiences during this stage served as the

basis for people to become
 Competent
 Productive
 Creative
• If parent punish, ridicule or shame a child for accidents or
other inappropriate parental responses can result in negative
outcomes.
• If parents take an approach that is too lenient, Freud
suggested that an anal-expulsive personality could develop in
which the individual is
 Messy
 Wasteful
 destructive
• If parents are too strict or begin toilet training too early,
Freud believed that an anal-retentive personality develops in
which the individual is
 Stringent
 Orderly
 Rigid
 obsessive
3. Phallic stage (ages 3-5)
•The child grow more interested in their
genitals. At this age, children also begin to
discover the differences between males
and females.

•In this stage, the focus of Libido, where

pleasure is found, is in:
Awareness of sexual organs
Love-hate relationship with the
same-sex parent
• Some critical episodes for development occur during this
stage, but these episodes occur differently for boys (Oedipus
complex) and girls (Electra complex).
• Signs of Fixation or affects on adult personality in this stage
are:
– Reckless or afraid of love
– Narcissistic
– Self-Assured or Selfish
– Poor Opposite sex relationships
 .
Phallic stage cont

Oedipus complex
• Occurs in boys
• Desire for stimulation or masturbation of his own genitals.
• Have sexual/sensual desires for his mother.
• Boys begin to view their fathers as a rival for the mother’s
affections. The Oedipus complex describes these feelings of
wanting to possess the mother and the desire to replace the
father.
• The child also fears that he will be punished by the father for
these feelings, a fear Freud termed castration anxiety.
• Starts identifying with father
Identification with
father
• Reduces anxiety.
• Behave like his father
• Take up his ideas of right
and wrong.
• Tries to dress like his
father.
 Phallic stage cont.

Electra complex
• Occur in girls.

• Attracted towards their father.

• Notice that she does not have the sex organs like her father and
brother (penis envy).

• Feeling of being castrated by her mother which makes her angry

and she starts devaluating her mother.

• Still identify with her mother with the feeling that by doing so she
will stand better chance in her own “romantic relationship”
• Identification with mother
in girls being with feeling
that by doing so she will
stand better chance in her
own “romantic
relationship”.

• It is well said saying “A

father is a daughter’s first
love”
 4.Latency Stage: (age 6 to puberty)
• At this stage, sexual drive lay dormant. The
stage begins around the time that children
enter into school and become more
concerned with peer relationships,
hobbies and other interests.

• Sexual energy is still present, but it is

directed into other areas such as
intellectual pursuits and social interactions.

• Child usually has few opposite sex friends.

• This stage is important in the development

of social and communication skills and self-
confidence.

• A sign of fixation in this stage is a lack of

close friends
 5.Genital Stage (adolescence and beyond)
• Marked by puberty
• Mature heterosexual interests appears.
• A person becomes interested in dating
and marriage
• The more libidal energy that a child has at
this stage, the greater his or her capacity
will be to develop normal relationships
with the opposite sex.
• If the other stages have been completed
successfully, the individual should now be
well-balanced, warm and caring. The goal
of this stage is to establish a balance
between the various life areas.
• Signs of fixation in this stage include:
– Guilt about sexuality
– Feelings of inadequacy
– Poor sexual relationships
– Anxious feelings regarding the
opposite sex
 DEFINITION

Defense mechanisms are defined as

unconscious psychological strategies brought
into play by various entities to cope with
reality and to maintain self-image.

Purpose of the Ego Defense Mechanisms is to

protect the mind/self/ego from anxiety.
 George Valliant’s classification
• 1.Narcissistic defenses- appear in children and
psychologically disturbed people.

• 2.Immature defenses- in adolescent.

• 3.Neurotic defenses- seen in OC and hysterical

patients also in adults under stress.

• 4.Mature defenses
 Narcissistic Defenses

Denial

Distortion

Projection
 IMMATURE DEFENCES
Acting out
Hypochondriasis
Introjections
Passive aggressive behavior
Regression
Schizoid fantasy
Somatization
 NEUROTIC DEFENCES

 Intellectualization  Inhibition

 Reaction Formation  Isolation

 Dissociation  Rationalization

 Displacement  Sexualization

 Repression  Compensation

 Externalization  Splitting
 MATURE DEFENCES

Humour
Sublimation
Suppression
Altruism
Anticipation
Asceticism
1.Denial
• Denial is an outright refusal to admit or
recognize that something has occurred or is
currently occurring.
 For eg-a person who is a functioning alcoholic
will often simply deny they have a drinking
problem, pointing to how well they function in
their job and relationships.
 Eg- victims of traumatic events may deny that
the event ever occurred.
 2.Distortion
• -reshaping external reality to suit inner needs.
• Eg-wish fulfilling delusions, hallucination
 3.Projection
• defense mechanism that involves perceiving and
reacting ones own unacceptable qualities or
feelings and ascribing them to other people.
• Eg- if you have a strong dislike for someone, you
might instead believe that he or she does not like
you.
• Eg-on a psychotic level this takes the form of
frank delusions about external reality(mainly
persecutory)
 Immature defense mechanisms
1.Acting out
• is performing an extreme
behavior in order to express
thoughts or feelings the
person feels incapable of
otherwise expressing.
• For eg- Instead of saying,
“I’m angry with you,” a
person who acts out may
instead throw a book at the
person, or punch a hole
through a wall
• Eg- a child’s temper
tantrum is a form of
acting out when he or
she doesn’t get his or
her way with a
parent.
• Eg- Self-injury may
also be a form of
acting-out, expressing
in physical pain what
one cannot stand to
feel emotionally.
 2.Introjection
• Involves the internalization of characteristics
of the object with goal of ensuing closeness of
the object and constant presence of object.
• Eg-a person who picks up traits from their
friends (e.g., if someone
exclaims "Ridiculous!" all the time and their
friends start saying it too) is participating in
introjection.
• For eg-when a child
envelops
representational
images of his absent
parents into himself,
simultaneously fusing
them with his own
personality.
 3.Passive aggressive behavior
• aggression towards an object expressed
indirectly through passivity or turning against
self.

• Eg- My roommate was talking shit on me, so

when she was trying to study I blasted my
music as loud as I could. I was being passive
aggressive.
• For eg- She was angry
at me for declining her
date invitation so, at the
party, she bumped my
glass spilling wine on
my shirt and said that it
was an accident.
 4.Regression
• It involves the reversion to an earlier stage of
development in the face of unacceptable impulses.
• For eg-An adult has a temper tantrum when he doesn't
get his way.
• Eg-an adolescent who is
overwhelmed with fear,
anger,growing sexual
impulses might become
clingy & start exhibiting
childhood behaviour like
bedwetting.
 5.Somatization
• the defensive
conversion of
psychic derivatives
into bodily
symptoms,
tendency to react
with somatic
rather than psychic
manifestation.
 NEUROTIC DEFENSES
1.Displacement
• Displacement is an unconscious defense
mechanism, whereby the mind redirects emotion
from a "dangerous" object to a "safe" object.
• For eg-a worker, angry at his boss, obviously
unable to direct his anger and hostility to his
intended target, comes home and yells at his
wife. She, now also angry and upset, displaces
her anger on the child, who then further
displaces it on their pet dog.
 2.Dissociation
• A temporary but drastic modification of
character or personal identity to avoid
emotional distress.
• For eg- in dissociative fugue, multiple
personality disorders, hysterical conversion
reaction.
• In dissociation memories are not just lost in
the subconscious (as in repression) but they
are splintered and distorted.
 It is as if under intense stress the ability of the
consciousness to include all the thoughts,
emotions, and somatic sensations fails, and
some aspects become separated and
inaccessible.
 Thus, a person who dissociates can
disconnect from real world for a time & live in
different world not cluttered with unbearable
thoughts, feelings or memories.
 4.Intellectualization
• Intellectualization is a defense mechanism in
which reasoning is used to block confrontation
with an unconscious conflict and its associated
emotional stress.
• For example, a wife whose husband is dying may
try to learn everything about his disease, its
prognosis, and treatment options. She may talk
about it in scientific terms, analyzing and
describing the medical facts about his condition.
• Doing so may help her not to feel all the pain,
anger, and onslaught of other emotions
provoked by the imminent death of her
beloved.
• Intellectualization helps to protect us against
anxiety by separation from the painful or
stressful events, hiding the emotions it
provokes behind big words, almost a scientific
focus on the facts.
 5.Rationalization
• It is the process of constructing a logical
justification for a decision that was originally
arrived at through a different mental process.
• Eg- A student watches TV instead of studying,
saying that "additional study wouldn't do any
good anyway."
• There are two types of rationalization. One is
"sour grapes," a term from Aesop's fable about
the fox who said that the grapes too high to
reach were sour anyway.
• For example, a person after failing to get into a
law school may justify himself by saying: "I would
have hated being a lawyer anyway."
• The second, more productive type of the
rationalization is the "silver lining," an
assumption that everything happens for the best,
so one should try to find the blessing in disguise.
"So, I didn't get into law school, but now I can
really focus on finding my true vocation."
 6.Reaction formation
• in this anxiety-producing or unacceptable emotions
are replaced by their direct opposites.
• For eg- one who is strongly attracted to pornography,
but has moral or religious obligations to avoid it,
might become its staunch critic.
 eg-one would be treating someone he strongly
dislike in an excessively friendly manner in order to
hide his true feelings.
 eg- A parent who unconsciously resents a child spoils
the child with outlandish gifts
 7.Undoing
• A person tries to 'undo' an unhealthy,
destructive or otherwise threatening thought
by engaging in contrary behavior.
• Examples:.
• (1) When asked to recommend a friend for a
job, a man makes derogatory comments
which prevent the friend's getting the
position; a few days later, the man drops in to
see his friend and brings him a small gift.
• (2) Two close friends
have a violent
argument; when they
next meet other, each
act as if the
disagreement had never
occurred.
 8.Repression/suppression
• They both involve a process of pulling
thoughts into the unconscious, and preventing
painful or dangerous thoughts from entering
consciousness.
• The difference is that repression is an
unconscious force, while suppression is a
conscious process, a conscious choice not to
think about something.
 Repression example
• For eg-" A repressed sexual desire, for example,
might re-surface in the form of a nervous cough
or a slip of the tongue. In this way, although the
subject is not conscious of the desire and so
cannot speak it out loud, the subject's body can
still articulate the forbidden desire through the
symptom.
• For eg-A child who is abused by a parent later has
no recollection of the events, but has trouble
forming relationships.
 Suppression

• It actually may be even useful and rational to

focus on one thing at a time, suppressing
other problems until that one is solved.
• For eg-Counting to ten when angry—prior to
taking action.
 MATURE DEFENSES
1.Altruism
• Constructive service
to others that brings
pleasure and
personal
satisfaction.
 2.Sublimation
• Achieving impulse gratification and retention
of goals by altering socially objectionable aim
to a socially acceptable one.
• Freud considered this defense mechanism the
most productive. Truely successful defense
mechanism.
• For eg-A surgeon turns aggressive energies
and deep desires to cut people into life-saving
acts.
• Eg-A person who has an obsessive need for
control and order becomes a successful
business entrepreneur.
• Eg-I am angry. I go out and chop wood. I end
up with a useful pile of firewood. I am also
filter and nobody is harmed.
 3. Anticipation
• Realistic planning for future inner discomfort.
• For eg- a child fails in exams but he thinks that
with his firm hardwork he will definitely pass
the next time.
• Eg- every dark cloud has a silver lining.
 4.Humor
• Overt expression of ideas and feelings
(especially those that are unpleasant to focus
on or too terrible to talk about) that gives
pleasure to others.
 GOLDEN WORDS
• “Start by doing what’s necessary. Then do
what’s possible. And suddenly you are doing
the impossible.”

• “10% of our conflicts are due to diffences in

opinions & 90% of those are due to increased
tone of voice. Raise Your Words Not Your
Voice.”
THANK YOU