Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionII. Psychodynamic
Theories- Freud: Psychoanalysis © The McGraw−Hill^45
Companies, 2009
can be satisfied through organs other than the genitals. The mouth and anus are par-
ticularly 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 develop-
ment. 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 contin-
ues 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 nour-
ishment through the oral cavity, but beyond that, they also gain pleasure through the
act of sucking.
The sexual aim of early oralactivity is to incorporate or receive into one’s
body the object-choice, that is, the nipple. During this oral-receptivephase, infants
feel no ambivalence toward the pleasurable object and their needs are usually satis-
fied 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 sched-
uled feedings, increased time lapses between feedings, and eventual weaning.These
anxieties are generally accompanied by feelings of ambivalence toward their love ob-
ject (mother), and by the increased ability of their budding ego to defend itself
against the environment and against anxiety (Freud, 1933/1964).
Infants’ defense against the environment is greatly aided by the emergence of
teeth. At this point, they pass into a second oral phase, which Freud (1933/1964)
called the oral-sadisticperiod. During this phase, infants respond to others through
Chapter 2 Freud: Psychoanalysis 39Infants satisfy oral needs one way or another.