We study the 5 phases of human sexual development according to Freud
At the beginning of the 20th century, Freud”s extraordinary psychoanalysis of sexuality became a bombshell that exploded the scientific community of its time. The distinctive feature of Sigmund Freud was that he accepted sexuality as the basis of all human interests, and not just one aspect of his being. This view of one of the most forbidden things in society fundamentally distinguished him from his colleagues.
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According to Freud”s teachings, the basis of psychological energy is “libido”, sexual attraction. Thus, human love is based on sexual attraction. This means that his goal becomes the desire for sexual intimacy.
Even in such sources of anti-second feelings as love for parents, sisters, brothers, one’s homeland and friendly affections, Freud saw attraction of a sexual nature. The same applies to love for inanimate objects and natural phenomena. According to Freud, all this relates to the area of human sexual interests.
Human sexual development. Phases
After conducting scientific research, S. Freud established, in his opinion, that the human body is equipped with several sexual zones, when stimulated, various sexual sensations arise. At the same time, he paid great attention to such important criteria as a person’s age. Based on his theory, several phases of human sexual development can be distinguished.
Phase No. 1. This period covers the first years of a child”s life, when the child uses the mouth as an instrument for receiving oral pleasure (pulling objects into the mouth and sucking various objects from the breast).
Phase No. 2-Anal. covers the period from the first year of life to the third year. During this period, the child is interested in the act of defecation beyond measure. The process itself gives the little creature sensual pleasure.
Phase #3 — Fallic. This period lasts from 3 to 5 years. At this point, the child”s interest in their genitals is pronounced. They touch and examine them with interest and even pleasure. If you observe them, you might even notice that touching their genitals gives them sensual pleasure. The main task during this time is learning to determine whether they are male or female. During this phase, boys must overcome their subconscious attraction to their mother (the Oedipus complex) and identify with their father (the Oedipus complex), while girls must overcome their attraction to their father (the Electra complex).
Phase #4 — Latent: 5 years before puberty. According to Freud, this is when sexual interests fade. Sexual instincts are latent and await their time. During this period, the child is very active and engaged in intellectual pursuits, sports, and games with peers. The child begins to identify themselves as an individual, consisting of the ego, superpersonality, and identity.
- The superpersonality is the human conscience, which represents a system of norms and life values.
- The ego is the contact with the outside world. It is responsible for perception, learning, and thinking.
- The ID represents innate drives originating from the subconscious.
Read also: Sexuality according to Freud. The Psychology of Female and Male Sexuality
The psychology of sexuality has not been fully studied by humans, and the behavior of men and women born since ancient times, when humans were hardly human, has been studied. B.
Phase 5: Generation. Declines at the onset of puberty. Along with sexual instincts, sexual desire also awakens, beginning to seek the realization of new possibilities through sexual contact. Adolescents are characterized by increased sexual activity and heightened arousal.
According to Freud”s theory of sexuality, every adolescent typically experiences a homosexual period. In this case, all of their sexual energy is directed toward a single acquaintance. This is reflected in the fact that children of this age choose partners of the same sex as themselves.
Freud believed that the genital type is the highest level of psychoanalytic theory. Only humans are mature, responsible, and capable of playing an active role in resolving life”s situations. Childhood should not be characterized by innate passivity. A world full of feelings and emotions was built around the child and did not demand any commitment from them.
However, if this does not happen, disruptions may occur in sexual development. As a result, a person must live through all the phases from the very beginning. Scientists have called the phenomenon of returning to a past phase
Overprotection or lack of attention in the oral phase leads to cynicism and passivity of character.
A star in the anal phase imparts character traits such as stinginess, cruelty and stubbornness.
Stages of psychosexual development according to Freud. basics.
If a person fails to solve problems with the Oedipus complex, he may develop a tendency towards promiscuity, coldness, neurotic disorders and impotence.
Lack of understanding at the reproductive stage leads to the fact that an adult is not able to take responsibility and leads a passive lifestyle.
S. Freud”s teaching was based on the fact that deviations in a person”s psychological or sexual development can be influenced through psychoanalysis. To do this, it is necessary to determine the psychological misconduct, recognize and eliminate the reasons that led to it.
In Freud”s time, it was believed that the mind was completely subordinate to consciousness. However, Freud was not the first researcher whose attention was focused on the subconscious and the many phenomena associated with it.
His work has been repeatedly studied and verified by other scientists. Even today, based on the research of the “father of psychoanalysis,” it is almost impossible to say with certainty what corresponds to the fruits of reality and imagination.
About times and customs
Many research works of his contemporaries speak about the strict morality of the times in which Freud lived.
The presence of any sexual desire in a woman indicated that she was suffering from nymphomania, a serious illness during this period. Its symptoms may include sexual attraction to one”s own husband, masturbation and frivolous behavior. If a woman was considered predisposed to excessively heightened sexuality, she could be prescribed the following procedures: cooking without spices, applying leeches to the genitals, refusing silk underwear and dresses, prohibiting dancing, reading romance literature. As a last resort method of fighting the license, they could use the kotaj cut (female circumcision). All these appointments and restrictions were necessary to extinguish the spark of passion before it flared up and stopped the woman’s sensual attraction. At that time, women were respected for their weak temperament and treated coldly because of their holiness.
As for men, the society was much more humiliating. Therefore, their increased sexuality can be considered as evil, but not as a disease. For a man to be considered highly sexual at that time, the number of his love triumphs had to exceed the exploits of Casanova.
Freudian sexuality is a prohibition against the suppression of basic human instincts. They must be symbolized and directed in the right direction. If instincts are suppressed, they still look for loopholes, even if this is expressed in neurotic symptoms.
