One of the most substantial contributions to understanding personality was Freud's theory of opposing tensions in the world. He explained that underlying these tensions was sexual energy motivating and driving all human personality development which is described in the psychosexual development theory; there are five stages: oral, anal, phallic, latent and genital (Friedman, H. S., & Schustack, M. W, 2016). According to Freud, successful completion of each developmental stage was necessary for healthy personality development while the unsuccessful conclusion of any stage could result in maladaptive issues to that specific stage, usually identified with fixations.
The first two stages are the oral and anal stages and occur during infancy and toddlerhood, respectively. During the oral stage, infants are driven to fulfill oral desires in the form of nursing. An infant's oral instinct is so strong that they will put anything in their mouth. Further intensifying their oral desires is the biological issue of teething wherein rubbing things against their gums relieves the pressure of the teeth breaking through the gums. However, upon weaning an infant is forced to transition from nursing to solid food. Freud's theory explains the infants who experience difficulty with this transition may become fixated in the oral stage which would result in an oral preoccupation. An example of possible oral fixations can include smoking, chewing, overeating, lollipops, excessively talking or chewing on pencils. This is further elaborated on by Freud's explanation on by saying that an infant may swallow that which is experienced as pleasant and spit out anything experienced as unpleasant. According to Freud, "the original pleasure-ego wants to introject into itself anything that is good and to eject from itself everything that is bad (Garcia, J. L., 1995)".
The second stage in the course of the theory is the anal stage where a toddler learns to use the toilet. Freud's theory explains that an infant derives pleasure from bowel movements. Learning when and where to relieve themselves also teaches them delayed gratification while it may result in increased tension and a potential power struggle with the parent. Successful completion of this stage may manifest in them having learned self-control and can move onto the next stage, but others who struggle can become fixated at this stage and may result in potential maladjustments as well. These can become personality traits relating to control issues such as wanting too much control or not enough such as being too clean and organized or disorganized and messy (Friedman, H. S., & Schustack, M. W., 2016).
Influence on Modern Personality Theory
While there is a lack of empirical support for disparate structures such as the id, ego, and superego, the concept of unconscious versus conscious emotions and behaviors continued to be explored much later than Freud's time. Furthermore, the biological evidence of different parts of the brain being responsible for emotions, motor movement, expressiveness, sociability and personality traits (Friedman, H. S., & Schustack, M. W., 2016).
Dan and Bradley (2010) believed personality development is a reiterative process continuously evolving and coalescing throughout our lives, beginning with essential traits and temperaments, later expanding to incorporate goal and motivational characters, lastly growing to include meaning-making elements. Freud is referenced by authors discussing agentic characteristics that focus on goal orientation and motivation behaviors (Dan P., M., & Bradley D., O., 2010).
Pleasure and Reality Principles
Successfully transitioning from each developmental stage also requires a transition from instinctive, pleasure-seeking behaviors to behaviors necessary for society and culture, reality. The transition requires evolution on the personality from focusing on pleasure principle associated with the id to the reality principle associated with the ego. It is important to note that to transition to the reality principle fully; the superego must have internalized social values taught by the surrounding environment to make the transition necessary. An example of this can be the different ages where weaning a child is acceptable in different cultures. Similarly, it is only societal standards that identify the appropriate period for toilet training.
References
Dan P., M., & Bradley D., O. (2010). Personality Development: Continuity and Change Over the Life Course. Annual Review Of Psychology, 517. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.100507
Friedman, H. S., & Schustack, M. W. (2016). Psychoanalytic Aspects of Personality. In Personality: Classic Theories and Modern Research (6th ed.). (pp. 44-74). Pearson.
Garcia, J. L. (1995). Freud's Psychosexual Stage Conception: A Developmental Metaphor for Counselors. Journal Of Counseling & Development, 73(5), 498-502.
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