Freud's five developmental stages are collectively known as what?

• A. Psychosexual stages
• B. Erikson's stages
• C. Piaget's stages
• D. Kohlberg's levels

Answer: (A)

Freud’s five developmental stages are known as psychosexual stages. This term links personality growth to how a child’s pleasure and energy (the libido) are expressed through different body zones at different ages. Each stage centers on a specific erogenous zone—oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital—and how well the child navigates the conflicts tied to that zone shapes aspects of later personality. If conflicts aren’t resolved, a person can become fixated at that stage, influencing behavior in adulthood.

The other options point to different theories: Erikson’s approach outlines eight psychosocial tasks across the lifespan, Piaget describes four stages of cognitive development, and Kohlberg maps stages of moral reasoning.