Chapter 2 Freud: Psychoanalysis 43In summary, all defense mechanisms protect the ego against anxiety. They
are universal in that everyone engages in defensive behavior to some degree. Each
defense mechanism combines with repression, and each can be carried to the point
of psychopathology. Normally, however, defense mechanisms are beneficial to the
individual and harmless to society. In addition, one defense mechanism—sublima-
tion—usually benefits both the individual and society.
Stages of Development
Although Freud had little firsthand experience with children (including his own),
his developmental theory is almost exclusively a discussion of early childhood. To
Freud, the first 4 or 5 years of life, or the infantile stage, are the most crucial for
personality formation. This stage is followed by a 6- or 7-year period of latency
during which time little or no sexual growth takes place. Then at puberty, a renais-
sance of sexual life occurs, and the genital stage is ushered in. Psychosexual
development eventually culminates in maturity.
Infantile Period
One of Freud’s (1905/1953b, 1923/1961b) most important assumptions is that
infants possess a sexual life and go through a period of pregenital sexual develop-
ment during the first 4 or 5 years after birth. At the time Freud originally wrote
about infantile sexuality, the concept, though not new, was met with some resis-
tance. Today, however, nearly all close observers accept the idea that children show
an interest in the genitals, delight in sexual pleasure, and manifest sexual excitement.
Childhood sexuality differs from adult sexuality in that it is not capable of reproduc-
tion and is exclusively autoerotic. With both children and adults, however, the
sexual impulses can be satisfied through organs other than the genitals. The mouth
and anus are particularly sensitive to erogenous stimulation (Freud, 1933/1964).
Freud (1917/1963) divided the infantile stage into three phases according to
which of the three primary erogenous zones is undergoing the most salient devel-
opment. The oral phase begins first and is followed in order by the anal phase and
the phallic phase. The three infantile stages overlap with one another and each
continues after the onset of later stages.
Oral Phase
Because the mouth is the first organ to provide an infant with pleasure, Freud’s
first infantile stage of development is the oral phase. Infants obtain life-sustaining
nourishment through the oral cavity, but beyond that, they also gain pleasure
through the act of sucking.
The sexual aim of early oral activity is to incorporate or receive into one’s
body the object-choice, that is, the nipple. During this oral-receptive phase, infants
feel no ambivalence toward the pleasurable object and their needs are usually
satisfied with a minimum of frustration and anxiety. As they grow older, however,
they are more likely to experience feelings of frustration and anxiety as a result of
scheduled feedings, increased time lapses between feedings, and eventual weaning.