Sigmund Freud had much to say about psychosexual development. In fact, most of his psychological studies revolved around his theory on the matter. The rest of the world has been left to ponder his thoughts and theories and some agree while others think it to be complete insanity; bordering on the absurd.

Freud believed that an individual’s personality was totally established by the time he or she was five years old. The experiences one has up until that point plays a massive hand in a person’s life and continues to influence behavior later in life, according to Freud.

Freud claimed that there were stages in which each person went through. If each stage was completed successfully, a healthy adult personality would emerge. If the stages were not completed as they are meant to be, fixations occur.

1st stage – The Oral Stage – During infancy, a baby relies solely on it’s caregivers for nourishment. Suckling and rooting about to find the nipple to seek nourishment is part of this stage. It is in this stage an individual learns trust. As this stage draws to a close, weaning must occur. If it does not, oral fixations will occur which Freud believed would lead to dependency issues or aggression. For example, nail biting, smoking or other oral fixation could plague an individual.

2nd stage – The Anal Stage – This stage is centered on toilet training. When done properly through praise, a child learns to be productive. If done inappropriately, the child is an emotional mess throughout life – having a wasteful, messy and destructive personality. By the way, those who do not believe the other bits of Freud’s theory, do feel this bit to be accurate most of the time.

3rd stage – The Phallic Stage – In this stage, the focus is primarily on the genitals. This is when children most often discover there’s a difference between male and female bodies.
According to Freud, boys begin to see their father as a rival for their mother’s affections. The Oedipus Complex is the feeling of wanting to possess the mother while desiring to step into a father’s role. A little boy will also have a fear that he will be punished by his father for feeling these things, Freud called this fear castration anxiety.

The Electra Complex describes the feeling little girls have. Instead of wanting to overtake the role of the mother though, girls tend to experience penis envy. Freud thought females never fully completed this stage and would always have penis envy. Many psychologists have been appalled by this and refused to accept this theory as they felt it was demeaning to women in general.

4th Stage – The Latent Period – Around the time that a child enters into the school system, the development of the ego and superego emerge. During this time, a child is more concerned with relationships, hobbies and other things involving his or her peers.

While sexual desire or energy is still present, during the latent period that sexual energy is directed toward other areas such as learning, sports, hobbies, etc.

Successfully completing this stage is important in the department of social skills, communication skills and areas of self-confidence.

5th Stage – The Genital Stage – During this final stage of psychosexual development, a person develops strong interest in the opposite sex. It is during this time that the interest and well-being of others becomes important. Assuming all the other stages were completed successfully, the outcome should be a well-balanced, caring, warm and affectionate individual.

You can read more about Freud and his theory on psychosexual development here:
http://www.cla.purdue.edu/academic/engl/theory/psychoanalysis/freud.html