Oral stage in the development of the child Freud called the first stage in the process of psychosexual development. At this stage, the main source of pleasure for the child is the mouth. The word “oral” itself comes from the Latin language and literally translates as “pertaining to the mouth.”
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 falls on the moment when the child is weaned. At this stage, communication between the child and the mother occurs through the breast. The baby gets pleasure from sucking and biting the breast. This is one of the most important interactions between mother and child at this stage. The main feature of the oral stage is the tendency of the infant to pull various objects into his mouth. When the baby is frightened or upset about something, the mother puts it to the breast. This allows him to calm down. Behavioral features at the oral stage determine how self-confident or dependent a child will be in the future. Freud believed that already at this age childrencan be divided into pessimists and optimists.
Features of Erickson's views on the oral stage: differences from Freud's theory
The stages of development were also 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 questions that will determine his entire future fate: can I trust the outside world? If the child's needs are met, then he believes that the world can be trusted. In the event that the situation around the baby develops in a contradictory way, causes him suffering, then this is exactly what children learn to expect from life. As adults, they become 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 instinctive 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.
Formation of oral character
Fixation is the inability to move from one stage of development to another. Its main consequence is the excessive expression of the needs inherent in the stage at which the fixation took place. For example, a twelve-year-old child who sucks his thumb would be viewed by Freudians as being stuck onoral stage of psychosexual development. His libido energy is manifested in the kind 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 subject to emotional stress in the future.
Fixation of behavior at the oral stage occurs for a number of reasons: early separation of the baby from the mother, shifting care of the baby to other relatives or nannies, early weaning. This is how the type of character that Freud called oral is formed. An adult with a similar personality type is characterized by passivity, dependence on others (oral-passive type), negativism, sarcasm (oral-sadistic type).
An equally important concept is also the term "regression", or the return of a person to an earlier stage of psychosexual development. Regression is accompanied by childish manners, which are characteristic of the early period. For example, already an adult regresses in a stressful situation, which is manifested by tears, biting nails, an obsessive desire to drink “something stronger”. Regression is a special case of fixation.
Unexpressed aggression in an infant
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 such time as his needs (including emotional ones) are satisfied. Growing up, the child begins to behave in such a wayas if he didn't need his mother at all. Unexpressed aggression is directed not at the mother, but at himself. In other words, in the process of development, the child creates inside the image of a parent who did not love him and who, 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 a child, and therefore failed to establish contact with him. She may also have had difficulties in her relationship with her own mother. The most common situation in which the oral stage is stuck is when the baby is sent to a nursery or left in the care of other relatives. The mother at this time works, studies or goes about her business.
What Fixation Leads to: Consequences in Adults
Because the baby was always left without attention, it develops such a behavior pattern to constantly cling to others, hold on to a person or an object. In other words, he develops dependence on people, things, phenomena.
The object of affection, as a rule, are the main objects of love and hatred - mother, father, other close household members. There may be a strong feeling for pets, which also indicates a serious lack of mother's love in the oral stage. Problems in adulthoodusually associated with relationships with sexual partners, their own children. Since a person is psychologically stuck in early childhood, he does not really feel like an adult in the presence of other people. This creates an addiction to them.
Also, the oral character is characterized by greed, insatiability with the object of its dependence. However, on the other hand, a person who seeks constant nourishment for himself is unable to accept it. After all, deep in his soul he is sure that he will not be given this. Childhood psychological trauma tragically shapes his life path, worldview.
Oral character manifests itself in the obsessive habit of biting lips, biting nails or the cap of a pencil, constantly chewing gum. In addition, fixation at this stage has a number of other manifestations, ranging from talkativeness and verbal aggression to gluttony, addiction to smoking. A similar character can also be called depressive, prone to excessive pessimism. Such a person is characterized by a feeling of an acute lack of something important, significant.
Relationships with other people
In relationships with other people, a person will strive to ensure that those around him teach, educate, and help realize their own potential. In other words, he has a strong tendency to depend on other people - this is one of the main features of being stuck in the oral stage. The phase was not completed successfully by the infant, which leaves an imprint on the unconscious level. Therefore, such adults require long-term interaction with a psychologist in order to get rid ofthis 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 he himself begins to teach others, unbidden invading their personal space, constantly imposing himself. 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 endlessly complains about fatigue, passivity, a tendency to endless depression. He also has an exaggerated sense of his 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 tests 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 “I need everything or nothing”, “if this person does not understand me on this issue, then he does not understand me in principle”, “I will not explain anything to you, because you you still don't understand anything. In other words, he completely lacks flexibility in communication, tolerance.
Psychological attitudes of an adult fixed in the oral phase
Let's consider the main beliefs of a person who has an oral character.
- "I won't be able to achieve this."
- "There's nothing here that suits me."
- "You owe me thisgive, I will make you do it.”
- "I don't want anything from you."
- "Everyone wants to leave me alone with my problems."
- "I don't need anyone."
- "I'll do it on my own without anyone else's help."
- “Everyone condemns me.”
- "I seem like a beggar to people."
- "Others have what I need."
- "I don't need you, I won't ask you for anything."
- "Take care of me, shelter me, provide for my needs."
Features of the stage determined by breastfeeding
The main process that determines the characteristics 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 around.
The oral phase is the first in the development of human sexuality. At this stage, the infant still feels oneness with his mother. Symbiosis does not stop with the completion of pregnancy and the birth of a child, so the mother's breast is in some way for the baby an extension of himself. In this state, according to Freud, the sexuality of the child is focused on himself. The mother's breast brings a sense of security, comfort. That is why it is essential to breastfeed the baby throughout the oral stage.
If, for any reason, you have to feed the baby with mixtures, you should take him in your arms at the same time so that physical contact is maintained. It is extremely important at this time. The feeling of maternal warmth allows a bottle-fed child to partially compensatedisadvantages of this process.
In infancy, it is not uncommon for children to express anxiety when their mother is not around. It is often difficult to leave them alone, even for a short time - they begin to sniff, scream, and ask to be held. Psychologists recommend not to refuse 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 strictness will negatively affect the development of the child in the future.
The role of overprotection
Along with excessive severity and neglect of the needs of the child, Freud singled out another type of maternal behavior that leads to unpleasant consequences - overprotection. 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 the child of such a character as oral-passive, which will be discussed later.
At about half a year, the baby's teeth begin 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 through which the child gets the opportunity to show discontent. Such people in adulthood seek to dominate others in order to achieve their goals. Thus, the main oral stages, of which there are only two, also influence the further psychosexual development of the child. If the needs of the baby are met, it will occur harmoniously. If there is a conflict, then deviations and various psychological disorders are possible.
Rise of ego and super-ego
The oral phase of psychosexual development is characterized by the gradual development of the child's sense of "I". The psyche of the infant is initially represented by unconscious drives and instinctive urges, which must be immediately satisfied. In turn, the feeling of pleasure spreads throughout the baby's body. At first, his "ego" takes shape as an instance that can delay the satisfaction of these needs, as well as choose a way to achieve pleasure and use it. Further, the ability to discard unacceptable desires or ways of obtaining pleasure will be developed - this function is correlated by psychoanalysts with the "super-ego".
"Ego" has a direct impact on the form in which the instinct can reach consciousness, be embodied in active action. "Ego" can either allow the instinct to be embodied in action, or forbid, transforming the attraction. One way or another, the development of instinct depends on the characteristics of the ego. It is a kind of lens in which stimuli coming from the inner world are refracted.
Interaction between ego and the unconscious
Thus, during the oral stage, the "I" develops 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 internal energy of the libidodirected at the child's own body. If an adult person concretely 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, absolutely any pleasant aspects of the world around him join him.
At the oral stage of development, the development of the conscious "I" of a person as his main observed and experienced (phenomenological) property takes place. The concept of the boundaries of personality comes to the forefront of consciousness.
The role of the mother in the development of the baby
Spitz's research shows how devastating lack of attention can be for a child during their first year. The scientist observed the kids from the shelter, who always satisfied the feeling of hunger. However, they were left to themselves for a long period of time. These children showed profound delays in several areas of development at the same time. Part of this syndrome is called hospitalism.
Other studies by scientists Provens and Lipton describe the replacement of early genital onanism or play (which every child has in a satisfactory relationship with the mother) with other autoerotic activities in cases of relationship problems. If the mother was completely absent (as in an orphanage), these phenomena disappeared completely. Research shows that breastfeeding is critical for normal baby development.
Another look at the boundaries of the oral stage: micropsychoanalysis
IfClassical psychoanalysis suggests that this phase of psychosexual development lasts from 0 to 18 months, but now the point of view is becoming more widespread, according to which it begins even earlier - in the womb.
Freud was able to debunk the myth of the "golden childhood", which suggested that the child was unaware of conflicts and dark attractions. But in the 70s of the last century, another myth was called into question - about the "golden age" 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. Its supporters showed that there can be no talk of any prenatal symbiosis between mother and child. 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 a primary psychotrauma. And even more so, stopping breastfeeding does not claim this role.
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 the means to get rid of it in contact with the mother, which is what happens during the oral stage. Helplessness is revealed only at the moment when the baby for some time feels the need for water, food, food. And exactlythe satisfaction of these needs for the child at this stage is associated with the mouth area.
The need for autoerotic pleasure for a child: the view of A. Freud
The fact that a baby experiences pleasure comparable to erotic pleasure during breastfeeding is proved by the presence of an erection in male babies. Girls experience similar excitement. As shown by Anna Freud, Sigmund's daughter, a certain amount of such stimulation is essential for normal psychological development in infants. In this regard, at any age (not only in the oral stage), the prohibitions of parents are inappropriate. Otherwise, the child grows up passive, dependent. He may have not only disorders in psychosexual development, but also intellectual deviations.
Physical and psychological unity
In the oral stage, the child has not yet separated himself from his mother psychologically. He considers his own body to be one with her body. In the case of a deficit 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.
Special danger arises in a situation where the child is not just separated from the mother at the oral stage, but in an environment where the approach of an adult means a guarantee of painful procedures. In such a person in the unconsciousan unconscious fear of physical contact with other people is imprinted, as well as serious deviations of a sexual nature. Therefore, the stay of the child in a hospital should be organized only as a joint with the mother.
Oral and anal stages: differences
The next stage was called anal by Freud. It begins at the age of about 18 months and lasts up to three years. The oral and anal stages differ in the source of pleasure for the child. If for an infant this is the mouth, then in the next stage the child receives satisfaction from retaining the intestines and then pushing out the feces. Gradually, the child learns to increase 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 child's 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 labor contribution to it.
The characteristics of the anal and oral stages are also different. If at the first stage the basis of high-quality psychological development is the care and love of the mother, then at the next stage, the baby needs acceptance from both parents.and praise. Interest in feces in a child is completely natural. Children at this age are devoid of squeamishness. They perceive feces as the first thing they own. If parents praise the child for successful use of the potty, fixation will not occur at this stage.
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 get the opportunity to avoid causing psychological trauma to the child. Personality formation in this case will occur with the least damage, which means that the child will grow up happier.
