Freud's psychoanalytic theory saw childhood as going through several very definite stages - the oral, the anal and the phallic stages (Quigley). It proposed that human beings are born with certain instincts to satisfy their biologically determined needs for food, shelter and warmth. Satisfying these needs is practical and gives a sense of pleasure, which Freud referred to as sexual pleasure. He suggested that when an infant derives pleasure from suckling on the mothers breast, this awakens sexuality in the infant, and the child discovers an erotogenic zone which can be reactivated later in life through thumb sucking and kissing. This intimate action with the mother awakens the sex drive in the child. The drive eventually becomes separated out from its original function as a strictly biological instinct and achieves relative autonomy.
During early childhood development, the first stage the child goes through is the oral stage associated with the drive to incorporate objects through the mouth (Quigley). This is followed by the anal stage, during which the anus becomes an erotogenic zone. The child takes pleasure in defecation, which Freud characterized as sadistic because the child is understood to be enjoying the expulsion and destruction. Freud also associated the anal stage with the desire for retention - for possession and control. It is a stage of granting or withholding for the child. The next stage is the phallic stage, when the sexual drive focuses on the genitals. Freud referred to this as the phallic stage because he considered only the male organ is recognized. The three stages show some overlap, and are not seen as a strict sequence. They also do not account for female sexuality in children.
Social learning theory, the most common of the learning theories, and Albert Bandura is the leading authority in this field (Isom). Bandura believed that children learn their behavior from their parents and other si...