As you read in Chapter 13, in his seduction theory of neurosis, Freud initially suggested that all neurotic behavior resulted from childhood sexual abuse.
As you read in Chapter 13, in his seduction theory of neurosis, Freud initially suggested that all neurotic behavior resulted from childhood sexual abuse. Under pressure from his colleagues, he later recanted this position. However, some psychoanalysts (Sandor Ferenczi, 1930; Jeffrey Masson, 1984) have questioned Freud's reversal, suggesting that it set back our understanding of the effects of childhood sexual abuse by a 100 years. What do you think?
Before answering this question, you should compare Freud's initial seduction theory to his later theory of infantile sexuality. In the latter theory, he suggested that personality is formed as we move through several psychosexual stages in infancy and early childhood. See this week's handout on the Oedipus and Electra complexes, crises points that boys and girls experience during the phallic stage of psychosexual development. In comparing the two theories, the point is to catch the shift away from an emphasis on the effects of child sexual abuse and toward the role of childhood sexual desire in personality development.
Remember that the word count for your response should be 200.
Freud’s Psychosexual Stages
Freud suggested that personality develops through five psychosexual stages: oral, anal, phallic, latent, and genital. At each stage the child experiences a conflict between instinct gratification of the libido (sexual drive or instinct) and social boundaries in his/her environment. In the oral stage (birth to 1), libidinal satisfaction is attempted through the mouth, mainly through breast feeding. In the anal stage (1 to 3), libidinal pleasure is obtained through defecation as the anus is now the pleasure zone. In the phallic stage (3 to 6) the genitals become the organ of focus as the child attempts to satisfy libidinal energy through manipulation of the genitals through masturbation. Attempts to discharge libido energy through body organs ceases during the latency stage. The child represses the urge by the defense mechanism called sublimation, the discharge of energy into constructive activities not sexual in nature. Finally, in the genital stage (puberty to adult), the individual actually begins to experiment with sex and libidinal energy is discharged in sexual intercourse.
The Oedipal Complex
Freud felt that the Oedipal Complex was a natural part of personality development in males, and that it occurs during the phallic stage of male development. His natural love object becomes his mother, and he secretly desires to possess her sexually. Fearing the wrath of his father, and specifically castration by the father, he resolves the Oedipal Complex by identifying with the father and moving away (at least symbolically) from the mother. The young males adopts his father’s values and characteristics, hence the statement…”like father, like son.”
Freud even attempted to apply the Oedipal Complex to Religion.
“Freud argued that the key elements in all religions included the veneration of a father figure and a concern for proper rituals. He traces the origins of religion to the Oedipus complex. At some point in the history of the human race, Freud argues (without substantiation), the father figure had exclusive sexual rights over females in his tribe. The sons, unhappy at this state of affairs, overthrew the father figure and
killed him. Thereafter, they are haunted by the secret of parricide, and its associated sense of guilt. Religion, according to Freud, has its origins in this prehistorical parricidal event, and for this reason has guilt as a major motivating factor. This guilt requires purging or expiation, for which various rituals were devised. The emphasis within Christianity upon the death of Christ and the veneration of the risen Christ seemed to Freud to be a superb illustration of this general principle” (p. 180, McGarth, 2010).
Accordingly, “Christianity, having arisen out of a father -religion, became a son -religion. It has not escaped the fate of having to get rid of the father” (Freud, 1964, p. 136, as noted in McGrath, 2010, p. 180).
The Electra Complex
Like the male, the young female child also goes through the Electra complex during her phallic stage of personality development. This complex occurs when the female discovers that she has already been castrated, as evidenced in her young mind by the fact that she doesn’t possess a penis. The girl, however, blames her mother for the castration rather than the father. Freud (as interpreted by Hothersall, 2004, p. p. 290) believed that the Electra Complex (he preferred the term castration complex) is resolved in one of three ways:
1. A revulsion toward sex
2. The desire to become a man and the belief that she will one day obtain a penis. Freud believed that the castration complex resolved in this manner could lead to a choice of homosexuality (Strachey, 196, pp. 229-243, as noted in Hothersall, 2004, p. 290).
3. Taking the father as a love object (unconscious that is) which leads to a feminine sexual orientation.
References:
Hothersall, D. (2004). History of Psychology (4th Ed.). New York: McGraw Hill
McGrath, A.E. (2010). Science and Religion (2nd Ed.). MA Blackwell Publishers
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Your text writes about Freud's psychosexual stages and mentions the Oedipus complex but doesn't go into detail. Nor does it go into detail on the female version, the Electra Complex. Here is an 'Utne Reader' version. Oedipal Complex: during the phallic stage, the boy begins to desire the mother, the person who has been most intimately involved with his previous psychosexual stages (oral & anal). This is the stage at which little boys become very clingy to their mothers. The problem is that someone already has Mom – Dad! So, the kid has a rival, but a rival 3 times his size. (I'm going to ignore all of Freud's castration complex theories here). The boy has a choice, compete against an all-powerful rival or try to neutralize the threat of this rival by becoming his buddy. The boy knows he can't beat Dad, so when Dad starts mowing the lawn, there the little boy is with his Fisher-Price lawn mower. When Dad works on the house, there the little boy is with his Fisher-Price tool kit. In the process of becoming Dad's 'little buddy', the boy learns from dad the 'rules' of the culture for a man. He learns what the right things to do are and what the wrong things to do are. Of course, one of these rules is that you don't mess with your buddy's girl, so Mom is now off-limits. Freud called this the 'identification process' and said the boy will 'internalize' these rules, thus developing a super-ego – AKA, a sense of morality. The Electra Complex is different. The girl realizes that men (particularly Dad) have a penis, while she does not. By observing the interactions between Mom and Dad, the girl quickly realizes that the penis equals power. She wants power (the famous 'penis-envy') and, again from watching the interactions between mom and dad, realizes that whatever power mom has comes from Dad's penis – the role of mother. O.K., I know that this sound weird, but throughout history (and even today in many cultures), a woman who can't provide a male heir could be divorced, banished, or even killed and replaced. So traditionally, a woman's power did come from her ability to have children – thus from Dad's penis. So the girl wants to share Dad's penis (power) with him. However, Mom is already sharing Dad's penis, so Mom becomes the rival. Unlike in the Oedipus Complex where the boy fears the all-powerful rival, the little girl knows that Mom doesn't have any real power so she doesn't fear Mom. She doesn't have to become Mom's little buddy. Instead, she observes what Mom does to 'get' Dad and she starts imitating Mom. This is the age of Suzy Homemaker Ovens and getting into Mom's makeup and jewelry. NOTE that the girl is doing this without Mom's help or participation. Well, according to Freud, the little girl's imitation strategies won't end up with her getting Dad (we hope) and her desire for Dad's penis (power) will gradually fade. Freudians thought that women would settle for a penis (power) substitute – a baby, preferably a male baby. The little girl would begin playing with dolls as a representative of that penis substitute until they could have a real baby. Again, before you say "balderdash", think of how women traditionally got power – by producing a male child. Well and good, but with imitation instead of identification, Freud felt that girls would develop a weak superego at best. He felt that they had a lesser moral sense.
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