This type of thinking happens from the time a person is born, according to Freud. When growing up, the child will go though three different libidinal stages. The first is called the oral stage, in this stage the infant takes his or her thumb and stimulates the mouth with it; we may know this act as the baby sucking his or her thumb. The second stage of libidinal is the anal stage. In this stage, pleasures like the ones in the oral stage are similar. These pleasures are repeated through pleasures to the anus. The bowel movements mark this pleasure. .
The final stage in the libidinal stages of a child is the phallic stage. This is done when the child manipulates their genitalia in order for gratification. (Grolier) .
Freud thought that a child in the phallic stage had a strong attraction to the parent of the opposite sex. He called this Oedipus Complex. (Encarta) Most people throughout the world turned against this idea of Freud's. Which was the attraction to the parent of the opposite sex. According to Freud, the child is taught to turn against those feelings and desires which then fall into their unconscious minds. This leads to three defense mechanisms of the mind in the Freudian theory. The first one is the ID, this is "the unconscious system of the personality, which contains the life and death instincts and operates only on the pleasure principle." (Wood 432) The second is known as the Ego, .
"In Freudian theory, the rational, largely conscious system of personality, which operates according to the reality principle." (Wood 432) The last and final stage in the libido .
Freudian theory is the Superego. By definition the Superego can best be defined as "the moral system of the personality, which consists of the conscience and the ego ideal." (Wood 432) They according to Freud, all function together. .
When the Id, Ego, and Superego clash, a problem can occur. What can happen is a person can have nightmares or a slip of the tongue can happen.