Freudians would say a child traumatized in childhood may ____ a given psychosexual stage.

• A. Regression
• B. Move through
• C. Skip
• D. Become fixated at

Answer: (D)

The key idea here is fixation. In Freudian theory, unresolved conflicts or disruptions during a psychosexual stage can cause a person to become stuck at that stage, continuing to be preoccupied with its concerns long after childhood. When trauma occurs, it can halt normal development at that point, so the individual remains fixated there, shaping behavior and personality later on. This is why the blank is best filled with becoming fixated at—the stage remains a focal point of the person’s psyche.

If someone regresses, they fall back to an earlier stage under stress rather than staying stuck at the one affected. Moving through suggests eventual progression to later stages, and skipping would bypass the stage entirely, not reflect lingering attachment to it.