Freud called the first stage in the process of psychosexual development an oral stage in the development of a child. At this stage, the main source of pleasure for the child is the mouth. The word āoralā itself comes from the Latin language and literally translates as āreferring to the mouthā.
The main features of the stage
The oral stage of development continues on average from birth to one and a half years. In fact, its completion occurs at the moment when the child is weaned. At this stage, the baby and mother communicate through the breast. The baby enjoys sucking and biting his chest. This is one of the most important interactions between mother and child at this stage. The main feature of the oral stage is the desire of the baby to pull various objects into the mouth. When a child is frightened or upset by something, the mother puts it on her chest. This allows him to calm down. Features of behavior at the oral stage determine how much in the future the child will be self-confident or dependent. Freud believed that even at this age children can be divided into pessimists and optimists.
Features of Erickson's views on the oral stage: differences from Freud's theory
Stages of development have also been described by Erickson. They were based on Freud's research. Erickson's oral-sensory stage also lasts from birth to 18 months. At this time, the child decides for himself one of the most important issues that will determine his whole future fate: can I trust the outside world? If the needs of the child are met, then he believes that peace can be trusted. In the event that the situation around the baby develops in a contradictory way, causing him suffering, then this is what children learn to expect from life. As adults, they are convinced that other people are not trustworthy.
Despite their commonality, there are differences between the concepts of Freud and Erickson. If the founder of psychoanalysis puts instinctual drives at the forefront, then Erickson's theory focuses on social development. Freud describes the development of the child in the triad "mother - father - child", and Erickson emphasizes the importance of interaction with society.
Oral formation
Fixation is the lack of ability to move from one stage of development to another. Its main consequence is the excessive manifestation of needs inherent in the stage at which the fixation took place. For example, a twelve-year-old child who sucks a finger will be regarded by Freudians as being stuck in the oral stage of psychosexual development. Its libido energy is manifested in the form of activity that is characteristic of an earlier stage. The worse a person is able to solve problems in certain age periods, the more he is exposed to emotional stress in the future.
Fixation of behavior at the oral stage occurs for a number of reasons: early separation of the infant from the mother, transfer of care for the baby to other relatives or nannies, early weaning. And so the type of character that Freud called oral is formed. An adult with a similar personality pattern is characterized by passivity, dependence on others (oral-passive type), negativity, sarcasm (oral-sadistic type).
An equally important concept is the term āregressionā, or the personās return to an earlier stage of psychosexual development. Regression is accompanied by childish manners that are characteristic of the early period. For example, an adult in a stressful situation regresses, which is manifested by tears, biting nails, an obsessive desire to drink "something stronger." Regression is a special case of fixation.
Unexpressed aggression in a baby
During the oral stage, the child needs the presence of the mother, her love and care. However, if he does not have the opportunity to find a satisfactory contact with the parent, the baby learns to suppress this feeling of loss until his needs (including emotional) are satisfied. Growing up, the child begins to behave in such a way as if he did not need a mother at all. Unexpressed aggression is directed not at the mother, but at himself. In other words, in the process of development, the image of the parent is created inside the child, who did not love him and which, in turn, is also impossible to love.
The impetus for this is always the abandonment of the baby. He lacks the presence of his mother, physical contact, psycho-emotional nourishment, and sometimes food. Perhaps the mother of such a baby was psychologically immature, was not ready for the appearance of the child, and therefore could not establish contact with him. She could also have difficulties in relationships with her own mother. The most common situation in which an oral stage gets stuck is when the baby is given in a nursery or left in the care of other relatives. Mother at this time works, studies or goes about her business.
What fixation leads to: consequences in adults
Since the baby has always remained without attention, it develops such a model of behavior to constantly cling to others, hold on to a person or any object. In other words, he develops in himself a dependence on people, things, phenomena.
The objects of affection, as a rule, are the main objects of love and hatred - mother, father, and other close households. There may be a strong feeling for pets, which also indicates a serious lack of mother's love in the oral stage. Problems in adulthood are usually associated with relationships with sexual partners, their own children. Since a person is psychologically stuck in early childhood, he does not feel really adult in the presence of other people. This creates a dependency on them.
Also, the oral nature is distinguished by greed, insatiable object of its dependence. However, on the other hand, a person who is looking for a constant feed for himself is unable to accept it. After all, deep down in his soul, he is sure that he will not be given this. Children's psychological trauma tragically shapes his life path, worldview.
The oral nature is manifested in the obsessive habit of biting your lips, biting your nails or a cap of a pencil, constantly chewing gum. In addition to this, fixation at this stage also has a number of other manifestations, from talkativeness and verbal aggression to gluttony, addiction to smoking. A similar character can be called depressive, prone to excessive pessimism. Such a person is characterized by a feeling of acute lack of something important, significant.
Relationships with other people
In relations with other people, a person will strive for those around him to teach, educate, and help realize their own potential. In other words, there is a strong tendency in it to depend on other people - this is one of the main features of stuck in the oral stage. The phase was not successfully completed by the infant, which leaves an imprint on an unconscious level. Therefore, such adults require a long interaction with a psychologist to get rid of this kind of fixation.
There is another manifestation of this type of character - displacement. Such a person will take care of the other with all his might or else he will begin to teach others around him, intruding intently into their personal space, constantly imposing themselves. It also creates conflicts in relationships with people.
An adult with such a fixation constantly fails, because internally, unconsciously, he considers himself an unloved child. He complains endlessly of fatigue, passivity, a tendency to endless depression. He also has an exaggerated sense of independence. It disappears at the first stress - here a person with an oral character most acutely feels the need for the support of other people.
Such a person constantly checks himself for strength and easily finds suitable situations for this. He tries to prove to himself that he is better than others, thus compensating for the feeling of his inferiority and dislike.
From him you can hear phrases like āI need everything or nothing,ā āif this person does not understand me in this matter, then he does not understand me in principle,ā āI will not explain anything to you, because you still wonāt understand anything ". In other words, he completely lacks flexibility in communication, tolerance.
Psychological attitudes fixed in the oral phase of an adult
Consider the main beliefs of a person who is characterized by oral character.
- "I will not be able to achieve this."
- "There is nothing that suits me."
- "You have to give it to me, I will make you do it."
- āI donāt need anything from you.ā
- āEveryone wants to leave me alone with my problems.ā
- "I don't need anyone."
- "I will do it on my own, without the help of others."
- "Everyone condemns me."
- "I seem like a beggar to people."
- āOthers have what I need.ā
- "I donāt need you, I wonāt ask you anything."
- "Take care of me, shelter me, provide my needs."
Features of the stage determined by breastfeeding
The main process that determines the features of the oral stage is breastfeeding. It allows the child not only to receive the necessary nutrition, but also brings pleasure, allows you to learn about the world.
The oral phase is the first in the development of human sexuality. At this point, the infant still feels oneness with its mother. Symbiosis does not stop with the completion of pregnancy and the birth of a baby, so the maternal breast is in some way a continuation of the baby for him. In this state, according to Freud, the sexuality of the child is focused on himself. Maternal breasts bring a sense of security, comfort. That is why throughout the entire oral stage it is necessary to breastfeed the baby.
If for some reason you have to feed the baby with mixtures, you should at the same time take him in your arms to maintain physical contact. It is extremely important in this period. The feeling of maternal warmth allows the baby to formally feed partially compensate for the shortcomings of this process.
In infancy, children often express concern if their mother is not around. Often it is difficult to leave them alone even for a short while - they begin to sniffle, scream, ask for their hands. Psychologists recommend not denying your child. So far, the mother does not just indulge the whims of her child, but allows him to feel confident in an unfamiliar world. Excessive severity will adversely affect the future development of the child.
The role of hyperprotection
Along with excessive strictness and neglect of the needs of the child, Freud singled out another type of maternal behavior that leads to unpleasant consequences - hyper-custody. This term refers to increased attention, the desire to please the baby in everything, while doing this even before he signals his needs. Freud believed that both types of behavior lead to the formation in a child of a character such as oral-passive, which will be discussed later.
For about six months, the child begins to erupt. They are a sign of the beginning of the second phase of the oral stage - oral-aggressive, or oral-sadistic. Chewing and biting are regarded as aggressive actions by which the child gets the opportunity to demonstrate discontent. Such people in adulthood seek to rule over others in order to achieve their goals. Thus, the main oral stages, of which there are only two, also affect the further psychosexual development of the child. If the baby's needs are met, it will occur harmoniously. If there is a conflict, then deviations and various psychological disorders are possible.
The emergence of "ego" and "superego"
The oral phase of psychosexual development is characterized by a gradual development in the child of a sense of āIā. The psyche of the infant is initially represented by unconscious drives and instinctual impulses that must be satisfied immediately. In turn, a sense of pleasure spreads throughout the babyās body. At first, his āegoā takes shape as an authority capable of delaying the satisfaction of these needs, as well as choosing a way to achieve pleasure and using it. Further, the ability to reject unacceptable drives or ways to get pleasure will be developed - this function is correlated by psychoanalysts with the "superego".
"Ego" has a direct impact on the form in which instinct can achieve consciousness, become an active action. The "ego" can either allow the instinct to be embodied in action, or prohibit, transforming attraction. One way or another, the development of instinct depends on the characteristics of the ego. It is a kind of lens in which the stimuli coming from the inner world are refracted.
The interaction of the ego and the unconscious
Thus, during the oral stage, the "I" develops while being in the service of the "it." At this time, the "ego" is represented by a variety of narcissistic experiences, since the vast majority of the libidoās internal energy is directed to the childās own body. If an adult specifically represents his "I" in the process of self-knowledge, then in an infant under the age of one and a half years, the "ego" exists as a pleasure. At the same time, any pleasant aspects of the world around him are joined.
At the oral stage of development, the conscious self of a person develops as his main observable and experienced (phenomenological) property. The concept of the boundaries of personality comes to the forefront of consciousness.
Mother's role in baby development
Spitzās research shows how devastating a childās lack of attention during the first year of life can be. The scientist watched the kids from the shelter, who always had a feeling of hunger. However, they were left on their own for a long period of time. These children showed deep delays simultaneously in several areas of development. Part of this syndrome is called hospitalism.
Other studies by scientists Prowens and Lipton describe the substitution of early genital masturbation or games (which every child has, provided they have a satisfactory relationship with their mother), with other autoerotic actions in cases of relationship problems. If the mother was completely absent (as in the orphanage), these phenomena disappeared completely. Studies show that maternal breastfeeding is critical to the normal development of the baby.
Another look at the boundaries of the oral stage: micropsychoanalysis
If classical psychoanalysis suggests that this phase of psychosexual development lasts from 0 to 18 months, then at present, the point of view according to which it begins even earlier, in the womb, is becoming more widespread.
Freud was able to debunk the myth of a "golden childhood", which suggested that the child is not aware of conflicts and dark drives. But in the 70s of the last century another myth came into question - the āgolden ageā of the prenatal period, when the child and mother are in complete psychological and physical symbiosis and the needs of the unborn baby are automatically satisfied. The direction that studies the psychosexual development of a person during fetal development is called micropsychoanalysis. His supporters showed that no prenatal symbiosis of mother and child can be discussed. The participants in this dyad are in complex, and often in conflict, relationships. A child is born, already having a difficult experience of struggle, confrontation. From this point of view, the psychological trauma of birth is not the primary trauma. And even more so for this role does not pretend to stop breastfeeding.
Is the baby defenseless?
It is believed that a child is born completely helpless. However, this is not quite true. He has yet to discover his own helplessness and find means to get rid of her in contact with his mother, which happens during the oral stage. Helplessness is detected only at that moment when the infant for some time feels the need for water, food, food. And it is precisely the satisfaction of these needs for the child at this stage that is associated with the area of āāthe mouth.
The Need for Autoerotic Pleasure for a Child: A. Freud's Perspective
The fact that the infant during breastfeeding experiences pleasure comparable to erotic is proved by the presence of an erection in male infants. Girls experience similar excitement. As shown by Anna Freud, the daughter of Sigmund, a certain amount of such stimulation is absolutely necessary for babies for normal psychological development. In this regard, at any age (not only in the oral stage), parental prohibitions are inappropriate. Otherwise, the child grows up passive, dependent. He may experience not only disturbances in psychosexual development, but also intellectual deviations.
Physical and psychological unity
In the oral stage, the child does not yet separate himself from his mother psychologically. He considers his own organism as one with her body. In the case of deficiency of tactile contact, various behavioral disorders occur in adulthood. These violations relate primarily to sexual behavior and are observed not only in humans, but also in primates. This was shown by a large number of studies conducted in the 50-70s of the last century.
Particular danger arises in a situation where the child is not just in the oral stage, isolated from the mother, but in a situation where the approach of an adult means a guarantee of painful procedures. An unconscious fear of physical contact with other people, as well as serious deviations of a sexual nature, are captured in such an unconscious person. Therefore, the finding of a child in a hospital should be organized only as a joint with the mother.
Oral and anal stages: differences
The next stage was called Freud anal. It begins at the age of about 18 months and lasts up to three years. Oral and anal stages are a source of pleasure in a child. If this is the mouth for the baby, then at the next stage the child receives satisfaction from the retention of the intestines and subsequent expulsion of feces. Gradually, the child learns to enhance pleasure by delaying emptying.
Oral and anal stages of development, according to Freud, largely determine the behavior of an adult. At these stages, the vector of his personal development is set. If a child stuck in the oral stage can become a dependent or aggressive person, then fixation in the next phase leads to pedantry, greed, and stubbornness. The oral and anal stages of development are just the first two stages in a childās life. They are followed by the phallic, latent and genital stages. During this time, the child must overcome the Oedipus complex and learn to live in society, making his own labor contribution to it.
The characteristics of the anal and oral stages are also different. If at the first stage the basis of qualitative psychological development is the care and love of the mother, then at the next stage from both parents the baby needs acceptance and praise. Interest in feces in a child is completely natural. Children at this age are deprived of disgust. They perceive feces as the first thing that belongs to them. If parents will praise the child for the successful use of the pot, fixation at this stage will not occur.
The oral stage according to Freud is the most important stage in the development of personality. Knowing the features of this stage and other phases of development, parents and teachers are able to avoid causing psychological trauma to the child. The formation of personality in this case will happen with the least damage, which means that the child will grow happier.