Overview
This lecture covers Sigmund Freud’s psychosexual stages of personality development, psychoanalytic therapy techniques, criticisms, and Freud's view of human nature.
Freud's Stages of Personality Development
- Freud's theory divides childhood into three main periods: infantile (birth–5 years), latency (5–puberty), and genital (puberty onward).
- Freud believed personality is largely formed in early childhood, with little emphasis on adulthood.
- The infantile period includes three stages: oral, anal, and phallic.
Infantile Period Stages
- Oral Stage: (0–1 year) Pleasure and nourishment through the mouth; includes oral receptive (sucking) and oral sadistic (biting) sub-phases.
- Anal Stage: (1–3 years) Focus on anus and defecation; early phase involves aggression, later phase includes pleasure in defecation; strict toilet training may cause anal fixation (orderliness/control).
- Phallic Stage: (3–5 years) Genitals become main erogenous zone; marked by Oedipus complex (boys: desire for mother, rivalry with father) and Electra complex (girls: desire for father, penis envy).
Resolution of the Oedipus/Electra Complex
- Boys resolve Oedipus complex via castration anxiety and identification with their father, leading to development of a strong superego.
- Girls experience "penis envy," identify with their mother, and develop a weaker superego according to Freud.
Latency and Genital Stages
- Latency Period: (5–puberty) Sexual drives subside; children form same-sex peer relationships.
- Genital Period: (puberty onward) Sexual urges reawaken and are directed toward others; reproduction becomes possible.
Maturity and Personality Pathology
- Maturity is rarely achieved due to unresolved stages; most people develop some neurotic traits or fixations.
Psychoanalytic Therapy
- Aimed at making the unconscious conscious through free association and dream analysis.
- Free association: verbalize all thoughts to uncover unconscious material.
- Transference: patients redirect feelings for others onto therapist; countertransference is therapist projecting onto the patient.
- Resistance occurs when patients unconsciously block progress in therapy.
Applications and Criticisms
- Dream analysis seeks the latent (hidden) content behind manifest (surface) dream content.
- Freudian slips (slips of the tongue) are believed to reveal unconscious desires.
- Criticisms: theory seen as outdated, sexist, unfalsifiable, and deterministic; however, influential in psychology.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Libido — Basic sexual energy driving behavior.
- Fixation — Persistent focus on a previous psychosexual stage due to unresolved conflicts.
- Oedipus Complex — A boy’s unconscious sexual desire for his mother and rivalry with his father.
- Electra Complex — A girl's psychosexual competition with her mother for her father.
- Transference — Patient projects feelings for significant others onto the therapist.
- Countertransference — Therapist projects their own feelings onto the patient.
- Resistance — Patient unconsciously blocks therapy progress.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Note any questions on Freud’s theory for discussion in the next synchronous session.
- (Optional) Email the instructor with urgent queries.