The Anal Stage
The anal stage, according to Sigmund Freud's theory of psychosexual development, occurs between the ages of 18 months and 3 years. According to Sigmund Freud, the anus is the main erogenous region, and pleasure is gained when bladder and bowel motions are controlled (Ewen, 2014). The key conflict throughout this stage is how the youngster learns to control the needs on his or her body. When a character becomes fixated on this stage, he or she develops rigidity or, on the contrary, displays a disordered demeanor. Sigmund Freud maintains that throughout this time, babies rely on others and can only accomplish so much for themselves. If this phase is not entirely fulfilled there is the development of issues of mistrust. Consequently, in case if this stage is over-fulfilled, the personality will find it hard to face the world by developing a trait of being unable to fulfill all the demands.
The Oral Character
Sigmund Freud also suggests that when a baby is fixated on the anal stage, there is the development of the oral character. Individuals defined under this phenomenon develop extreme dependence when they always want things to be done for them (Ewen, 2014). The anal stage is also responsible for passiveness in personality at the adult stage. Importantly, Freud further suggests that the oral character resulting from fixation on this stage can result in other traits. For instance, the individual develops and exhibit a highly independent characteristic such as in the case of stress or pressure these individuals tend to be fixated to the extent of flipping their nature. It is worth to mention that the issues such as obsession with cleanliness and perfection are associated with this stage through an aspect termed as anal retention. Consequently, anal expulsive personality can develop when the individuals tend to be disorganized and messy.
Reference
Ewen, R. (2014). An introduction to theories of personality. Psychology Press.
