Freud's stages of psychosexual development - Essay Example

Psychology Summary of Freuds Stages of Psychosexual Development Freud illustrated psychosexual development in five stages: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital stages. These stages account for what Freud observed as the determining and crucial factors in the development of the child and the latter stages in a person’s life (Weiten, Dunn, and Hammer 40). Oral stage is observed within the first year of the child, characterized by centering the pleasure and erogenous area in the mouth, as observed by sucking on fingers and breastfeeding.

Any problems unresolved during this stage constitute to negative behaviors, such as smoking and drinking (Carroll 31). Anal stage follows next, which characterizes toilet training, and happens when the child is two years old (Carroll 31). The child gains pleasure either from defecating or controlling his or her bowel, and the problems encountered in this stage, such as toilet punishment, could lead to hostility and cleanliness concerns in later life. Phallic stage characterizes the genitals as the source of pleasure around the age of four, and it is in this stage that affection towards the mother and jealousy towards the father (Oedipus complex) as well as the reverse (Electra complex) happens to boys and girls, respectively.

Unlike Oedipus, Freud believed that Electra complex is never fully resolved that is why women are viewed as inferior to men (Carroll 31). Latency stage happens from six to eleven years old characterized by unresolved issues on sexes. As a result, sexually-related queries are diverted into school activities. Lastly, the genital stage, which happens from twelve years onward, is characterized by consciousness towards the opposite sex and learning on how to express those urges in ways acceptable by the society is starting.

Compare and Contrast the Theories of Adler and Jung The most notable similarity between Adlers Individual Psychology and Jung’s Structure of Personality and Analytical Psychology is the contention that humans are driven to a common purpose: to seek the meaning of life by balancing the complexities within the personality. Adler highly emphasizes that the motivational energy used by humans is the ultimate goal of every action. Apparently, both psychologists also agree on understanding teleology in order to consequently understand human behavior (Engler 93; Papadopoulos 30).

Jung believes that aside from looking at previous cause as the reason of the present effects, there is also the term final causality which emphasizes goals as the motivating factor in man’s search for meaning in life, while Adler also believes that the final goal constitutes the driving force in every human action. The difference in both their theories revolves around Jung’s notion of the ego and the vaster collective unconscious that constitutes human behavior and Adler’s insistence that ego is separate from human character in general.

While both have agreed on the importance of psyche, Jung has classified it as functioning consciously and unconsciously, while Adler sees it as a determining factor in achieving goals, therefore, it is conscious by nature. The goal of the collective unconscious is to resolve problems within the personality to establish harmony in Jung’s perspective, while Adler believes that humans strive for superiority, that is, the innate drive to attain perfection and not simply to outshine others. Works CitedCarroll, Janell L.

Sexuality Now: Embracing Diversity. 3rd ed. California: WadsworthCengage Learning, 2010. Print.Engler, Barbara. Personality Theories. 8th ed. Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin harcourtPublishing Company, 2009. Print.Papadopoulos, Renos K., ed. The Handbook of Jungian Psychology: theory, Practiceand Applications. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.Weiten, Wayne, Dana S. Dunn, and Elizabeth Yost Hammer. Psychology Applied toModern Life: Adjustment in the 21st Century. 10th ed. California: WadsworthCengage Learning, 2012. Print.