Phallic stage

The psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud (ca. 1921)

In Freudian psychoanalysis, the phallic stage is the third stage of psychosexual development, spanning the ages of three to six years, wherein the infant's libido (desire) centers upon their genitalia as the erogenous zone. When children become aware of their bodies, the bodies of other children, and the bodies of their parents, they gratify physical curiosity by undressing and exploring each other and their genitals, the center of the phallic stage, in the course of which they learn the physical differences between the male and female sexes and their associated social roles, experiences which alter the psychologic dynamics of the parent and child relationship.[1] The phallic stage is the third of five Freudian psychosexual development stages: (i) the oral, (ii) the anal, (iii) the phallic, (iv) the latent, and (v) the genital.

  1. ^ "Sigmund Freud 1856–1939" entry (2000) Encyclopaedia of German Literature Routledge:London Retrieved 2 September 2009: http://www.credoreference.com.library.capella.edu/entry/routgermanlit/sigmund_freud_1856_1939