1. Oral Stage (Age 0 - 1.5)
Erogenous Zone in Focus: Mouth
Gratifying Activities: Nursing - eating, as well as mouth movement, including sucking, gumming, biting and swallowing.
Interaction with the Environment: To the infant, the mother's breast not only is the source of food and drink, but also represents her love. Because the child's personality is controlled by the id and therefore demands immediate gratification, responsive nurturing is key. Both insufficient and forceful feeding can result in fixation in this stage.
Symptoms of Oral Fixation:
Smoking
Constant chewing on gum, pens, pencils, etc.
Nail biting
Overeating
Drinking
Sarcasm ("the biting personality") and verbal hostility
2. Anal Stage (Age 1.5 - 3)
Erogenous Zone in Focus: Anus
Gratifying Activities: Bowel movement and the withholding of such movement
Interaction with the Environment: The major event at this stage is toilet training, a process through which children are taught when, where, and how excretion is deemed appropriate by society. Children at this stage start to notice the pleasure and displeasure associated with bowel movements. Through toilet training, they also discover their own ability to control such movements. Along with it comes the realization that this ability gives them power over their parents. That is, by exercising control over the retention and expulsion of feces, a child can choose to either grand or resist parents' wishes.
Anal Fixation
Anal-Expulsive Personality: If the parents are too lenient and fail to instill the society's rules about bowel movement control, the child will derive pleasure and success from the expulsion. Individuals with a fixation on this mode of gratification are excessively sloppy, disorganized, reckless, careless, and defiant.
Anal-Retentive Personality: If a child receives excessive pressure and punishment from parents during toilet training, he will experience anxiety over bowl movements and take pleasure in being able to withhold such functions. Individuals who fail to progress pass this stage are obsessively clean and What do
you think?
orderly, and intolerant of those who aren't. They may also be very careful, stingy, withholding, obstinate, meticulous, conforming and passive-aggressive.
