|
Freud's
5 Stages Of Personality Development:
Freud
believes that there are 5 stages in the formation of your personality:
1.
Oral/Dependency
This
stage takes place from birth to age 2, where the child explores the world using
their mouth. If needs are not satisfied during this stage, one goes through
life trying to meet them. Smoking,
eating and drinking are seen as oral fixations. Recurring dreams, the
feeling of incompleteness or unmet needs are common themes.
2.
Anal/ Potty Training
In
this second stage, the child learns to control their bodily functions. If not
handled properly or if the child is traumatized at this stage, then he or she
might become anal retentive, controlling, or rigid. The child can also
develop obsessive compulsive behaviors.
Dreams of being out of control or trying to keep things in order are common.
3. Phallic Stage
Between
the ages of 3 to 5, the child becomes aware of male and female. Personality is
fully developed by this stage. This stage is also classified by the Oedipus and
Electra Complexes. The Oedipus represents a male child's love for his mother and
the fear/jealousy towards his father. The Electra is the female version where
the female child has anger toward her mother and exhibits "penis
envy".
4.
Latency Period
Little
new development is observable during this stage.
5.
Genital
Starting
from age 12 to the peak of puberty, this stage is classified by the reawakening
of sexual interest.
As
previously mentioned, Freud believes that the motivating force of a dream is
wish fulfillment. Issues of power, lack of control, or unsatisfactory love
may manifest in dreams as a way of satisfying these needs. Thoughts that
are repressed during the day may also find a way into your dream as a way to
getting fulfillment.
Freud
believes that every imagery and symbol that appears in a dream have a sexual
connotation. For example, anxiety dreams are seen as a sign of
repressed sexual impulses.
Critique:
There are many critics on Freud's theory of dreams. Freud
lived in a sexually repressed Victorian era. His preoccupation with sexual
imagery may therefore have been a product of the times, the culture or his own
relationship/conflict with sex.
Freud
Topics:
1:
Sigmund Freud Intro
2
Freudian Dream Tools
3.
5 Stages of Personality Development
|
