The Freudian Psychosexual stage that corresponds to the above stage of Erickson is _______ which is usually from birth to one and a half years.

• A. Anal
• B. Phallic
• C. Oral
• D. Latency

Answer: (C)

In the very early months of life, pleasure centers on the mouth as the infant sucks, chews, and swallows to feel comfort. This time frame—roughly birth to about 18 months—belongs to Freud’s oral stage. The way the infant is fed and soothed by caregivers shapes not only eating and self-soothing habits but also a sense of trust in the caregiver. When needs are met consistently, the infant develops trust; when they are not, mistrust can form. This same early period in Erikson’s model is the trust versus mistrust stage, so the oral stage best corresponds to that infancy window. The other stages occur later: the anal stage follows as toilet training begins, the phallic stage comes in the toddler years, and latency spans later childhood, so they don’t align with birth to 1½ years.