Video:What Is the Oral Stage of Psychosexual Development?
with Dr. Jean LeahyThe oral stage of psychosexual development is based on Freud's theory that children establish trust by engaging with the world through the mouth. Watch this About.com video to learn more about the oral stage of psychosexual development.See Transcript
Transcript:What Is the Oral Stage of Psychosexual Development?
Hello, my name is Dr. Jean Leahy. I'm a clinical psychologist in private practice in Chicago, and I'm here today with About.com. Today we're going to talk about Freud's oral stage of development.
The Oral Stage is the First in Psychosexual Development
Sigmund Freud was the founder of psychoanalysis and psychosexual stages, upon which he built his theory of personality. The first sage is the oral stage. The oral stage begins at birth and ends around one year of age. The focus of the infant is the mouth and taking in the world through his feeding experience with his caretaker.
Babies Learn to Trust in the Oral Stage of Development
During the oral stage, feeding, sucking, and putting objects in the baby's mouth is the primary focus. That is how the baby learns, plays, and engages in the world. If the stage is successful, the baby learns to trust his environment and others in his world. If the weaning stage is not successful, it can lead the baby to feel uncared for and not trust his environment. Then he can become fixated and have problems with smoking, alcohol, or food.
The oral stage is the first stage of psychosexual development, and it's the first contact the baby has with his environment and with others. It is extremely important that this stage be navigated carefully so the baby does move into a trusting relationship with others and his environment before he moves on to his second stage.
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