Editing Psychosexual development (section)

{{Short description|Freudian psychology}}
{{Psychoanalysis |Concepts}}

In [[psychoanalysis]], '''psychosexual development''' is a central element of the [[Drive theory#Psychoanalysis|sexual drive theory]]. According to [[Freud]], personality develops through a series of childhood stages in which pleasure seeking energies from the child become focused on certain erogenous areas. An [[erogenous zone]] is characterized as an area of the body that is particularly sensitive to stimulation. The five psychosexual stages are the [[oral stage|oral]], the [[anal stage|anal]], the [[phallic stage|phallic]], the [[latency stage|latent]], and the [[genital stage|genital]]. The erogenous zone associated with each stage serves as a source of pleasure. Being unsatisfied at any particular stage can result in [[Fixation (psychology)|fixation]]. On the other hand, being satisfied can result in a healthy personality. Sigmund Freud proposed that if the child experienced frustration at any of the psychosexual developmental stages, they would experience [[anxiety]] that would persist into adulthood as a [[neurosis]], a functional mental disorder.<ref name="cla.purdue.edu">{{cite web |title=Introduction to Sigmund Freud, Module on Psychosexual Development |url=https://www.cla.purdue.edu/academic/engl/theory/psychoanalysis/freud.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121211085920/https://www.cla.purdue.edu/academic/engl/theory/psychoanalysis/freud.html |archive-date=2012-12-11 |access-date=2013-08-01 |publisher=Cla.purdue.edu}}</ref><ref>Bullock, A., Trombley, S. (1999) ''The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought'' Harper Collins:London pp. 643, 705</ref>