These are the five stages of child development theorized by Sigmund Freud, where pleasure-seeking energies focus on different erogenous zones. The stages include oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital.
Psychosexual stages are a key concept in Freudian psychology, reflecting the psychoanalytic perspective that early childhood experiences shape personality development and behavior through a series of stages centered on erogenous zones.
Sigmund Freud's own writings and case studies form the primary source for understanding psychosexual stages. Subsequent research in developmental psychology has critiqued and expanded upon his ideas, often questioning their generalizability and empirical support.