Freud did a lot of work for modern day psychology and in many opinions is the father of psychology. Along with this, most of those who have worked on stages of development have started from those imagined by Freud. It is important to look at these stages so that we can get a better understanding of where it all began. I do not agree with a lot of Freudian psychology, but I do respect the work that he has done and how it has shaped into what we use today.
The first stage is the oral stage and it begins at birth and goes to age 1. This is where the child is fixated on the mouth. We see this in children as they chew on things (about anything they can fit into their mouths). The most important part in this stage is the weening process. This is the first time that a child loses something, feeling a sense of loss. Here the child learns about pain and delayed gratification.
If a child does not get through this stage well they become "orally fixated." Which can lead to Orally aggressive: chewing gum and the ends of pencils, etc. Orally Passive: smoking, eating, kissing, oral sexual practices. Oral stage fixation might result in a passive, gullible, immature, manipulative personality.
So when we are creating our characters we have some more psychology to back up certain behaviors that they may have. I don't agree completely with Freud's ideas on this but I do see some of it in the world today.
I hope that we all have fun exploring the Freud's stages of development over the next few days.
I am out of town so I may be a little slower in my posts and comments but I do plan on keeping up.
well i am pretty passive in this regard...ahem...
ReplyDeleteMost interesting to read have never thought of this aspect of development.
ReplyDeleteHave a good day.
Yvonne.
'Orally aggressive: chewing gum and the ends of pencils, etc. Orally Passive: smoking, eating, kissing, oral sexual practices.'
ReplyDeleteNever thought of distinguishing between the two in terms of habits.
This was a good refresh. I'd learned about it in my high school psychology class but hadn't thought about it in years. This is definitely something I will consider as I continue writing.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of giving characters little quirks. This could come in really handy!
ReplyDeletehmm... I always think that Freud's theories are interesting to read, but like you, I can't always agree... This, I suspect, is another set of theories I don't agree with.
ReplyDeleteStill, I'd love to read more in this series. Have a great weekend!