Sigmund Freud thought that children may get sexual pleasure from any area of their bodies and that they go through five psychosexual phases during childhood that create their adult personalities. The human psyche, according to Freud, comprises three components that operate on distinct levels of consciousness and interact with one another to form actions. The Id is there from the moment we are born and symbolizes everything we get from our parents (Baltes, 1987). It is the fundamental component of our personality and the source of our desires and instincts. The pleasure principle governs this unconscious aspect of our mind, which wants immediate fulfillment regardless of repercussions or reality.
The Id gives birth to the Ego, which develops due to the result of our attempts to meet the I wants. The id works on the reality principle and acts as a mediator, attempting to find a middle ground between what the Id desires and what the outside world can provide (Baltes, 1987). The Superego emerges from the Ego and serves as an internal representation of the environment’s moral ideals (Baltes, 1987). The Superego evaluates what we should or should not do morally, and it guides us through the shoulds of our lives. When we do good, the Superego rewards us with pride and happy sensations; when and when we do not, the Superego punishes us with guilt, humiliation, or fear.
Sigmund Freud claimed that humans undergo a succession of psychosexual phases in a set order during childhood. These stages include activities that focus on a particular erogenous zone – a sensitive section of our body. We create a healthy personality, according to Freud, by effectively transitioning from one psychosexual stage to the next (Baltes, 1987). A troublesome personality results from failure to address difficulties or becoming trapped at any psychosexual stage.
Sigmund Freud’s psychosexual theory is notable for emphasizing the relevance of early childhood experiences in personality development and as a factor in later actions. The quality of experiences they experience during the psychosexual phases impacts the relationships that people form, their perspectives on themselves and others, and their degree of adjustment and well-being as adults. Despite being one of the most complicated and contentious theories of child development, we cannot overlook Freud’s essential contributions to psychology and human development.
Reference
Baltes, P. B. (1987). Theoretical propositions of life-span developmental psychology: On the dynamics between growth and decline. Developmental Psychology, 23(5), 611–626. Web.