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The first stage of personality development is the oral stage. Ever notice how babies put everything in their mouth? Sometimes it can make us cringe to think about all the germs on an object, like car keys or their feet. Babies suck, bite and chew on things for pleasure and to relieve tension, according to Freud (Papalia, Wendkos-Olds, & Duskin-Feldman, 2002). He believed during the first 18 months of life the erogenous zone, or area that gives a lot of pleasure, is the mouth. If a baby gets too much or too little pleasure during this stage Freud thought a person could be fixated in their adult life. An adult extension of oral stage can be smoking, eating, kissing, oral hygiene, drinking and chewing gum (Nye, 2000). Everyone eats, drinks, and takes oral hygiene as normal activities that give a certain pleasure, but it can turn into negatives. Some negative fixations can include, overeating, smoking compulsively, talking too much, drinking beyond moderation and biting one's nails. .
The next stage is the anal stage. This stage happens between the ages of 18 months to 3 years. In this stage of development the erogenous zone is the anus or elimination functions associated with it. Potty training is a very important activity. During potty training the child gets great pleasure from having a bowel movement (Papalia, Wendkos-Olds, & Duskin-Feldman, 2002). Children in this stage also find toilet humor to be the funniest thing ever. If you say the word fart or poop to a three year old, for the most part, they will laugh like there is nothing funnier in the world. Although some people beyond the age of three will do the same thing its common in children, who are potty training. Some extensions of the anal stage that follows into adulthood are notable interest in one's bowel movements, love of bathroom humor and extreme messiness. Some negative extensions are traits such as stinginess, obstinacy, and over concern about cleanliness and order (Mitchell & Black, 1995).