Freud's stages of human development, referred to as the psychosexual stages of development, describe how the libido develops through childhood, guiding behavior. Freud viewed development as discontinuous Freud's developmental theory of psychosexual development was one of the first attempts to align psychology with the scientific structure and methodology of medicine
This unification was achieved by first defining the stages of normative human sexual development
Freud categorized psychosexual maturation into 5 distinct phases, with each stage representing a focus of the libido or instincts on.
In psychoanalysis, psychosexual development is a central element of the sexual drive theory An erogenous zone is characterized as an area of the body that is particularly sensitive to stimulation Psychosexual stages refer to the five stages of personality development proposed by sigmund freud Oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital
According to freud, during each stage, an individual’s libido is focused on a different erogenous zone, and the successful completion of each stage is essential for healthy personality development. For freud, childhood experiences shape our personalities and behavior as adults