After reading the week's material, do you agree or disagree with Freud’s belief that the most crucial developmental stage in personality formation is the infantile stage? Why or why not?

          I do agree with Sigmund Freud's belief that the most crucial developmental stage in personality formation is the infantile stage. The infantile stage occurs during one's first four or five years of life, and Freud thought this was the most crucial stage for an individual's personality formation. During this stage infants are in possession of a sexual life and go through a pregenital sexual development period (Feist & Feist, 2009). Freud thought the infantile stage occurred in three phases, which are the oral phase, anal phase, and phallic phase. During each phase the three primary erogenous zones undergo the most salient development (Feist & Feist, 2009). The first phase or oral phase occurs in infancy and the particular part of the body is the mouth. The second phase or anal phase occurs in early childhood and the particular part of the body is the anus. The third phase or phallic phase occurs in the preschool years and the particular part of the body is the penis. The infantile stage details how an individual's behaves and how aspects of one’s personality develop during each phase.   

Reference

Feist, J., & Feist, G. J. (2009). Theories of personality (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.