Once the children realize that they cannot be with their mother or father, they identify with the parent of the same sex. The latency stage, the fourth of the psychosexual stages occurs throughout the school years starting approximately with age five and continuing through to age twelve. During this stage there is no erogenous zone all of the libidinal energy is focused on schoolwork. This stage is a time of relative calm. The last stage is the genital stage. This stage occurs during adolescence from twelve years of age to approximately eighteen years of age. During the genital stage the erogenous zone is that of the genitals. This stage is marked by true sexual desire and sexual relationship and in this stage most people find themselves beginning long tern relationships. .
Erikson took Freud's ideas and enhanced them, he added stages for the adult years and he also shifted his attention to identity rather than sexuality. Erikson developed the psychosocial stages of development. He is well known for his eight stages of life. .
Erikson's first stage occurs during infancy. It deals with trust versus mistrust. The child develops an outlook on life and whether the world can be trusted or not. The child develops trust if the parents give the child something it can rely on. According to Erikson, the child develops a sense of optimism or pessimism during this stage. This stage corresponds with Freud's oral stage. .
The next stage in Erikson's psychosocial development comes about during early childhood from ages 1-3 and is known as autonomy versus shame and doubt. The child becomes autonomous and realizes he can say yes or no. This stage will determine whether or not a child develops a sense of self-certainty and will. This stage can be closely associated with Freud's anal stage. .
Erikson's next stage takes place during the ages of three to six years. This stage is marked by initiative versus guilt.