What is the correct order of Freudian psychosexual stages?

• A. Oral, Anal, Latency, Phallic, Genital
• B. Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, Genital
• C. Oral, Latency, Anal, Phallic, Genital
• D. Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, Genital

Answer: (D)

Freud’s psychosexual stages describe how a child’s pleasure focus shifts through different body zones as they grow. The sequence starts with the oral stage, where pleasure centers on the mouth through activities like sucking and feeding. Then comes the anal stage, with focus on bowel and bladder control. After that is the phallic stage, when attention turns to the genitals and the child begins to navigate early gender identity and related dynamics. This is followed by a period of latency, a calmer phase when sexual energy is less active and the child concentrates on school, friendships, and skills. The final stage is genital, where mature sexual relations and reproduction become the focus. Because of this progression from oral to anal to phallic, then latency, and finally genital, that is the correct order. Placing latency before phallic (or altering the order of these stages) would not align with how the theory describes development.