Anal retentiveness
Anal retentiveness is a personality trait that is characterised by excessive concern with trivial details.[1] The concept originated in Freudian psychoanalytic theory, where one aspect of the anal stage of psychosexual development is pleasure in the retention of faeces. Fixation in this stage can potentially result in a personality marked by frugality, obstinacy and orderliness.[2] Despite its psychoanalytic roots and the literal meaning of the words, in common usage the term generally refers merely to certain kinds of obsessive behaviour.
Origins[edit]
In Freudian psychology, the anal stage is said to follow the oral stage of infant or early-childhood development. This is a time when an infant's attention moves from oral stimulation to anal stimulation (usually the bowels but occasionally the bladder), usually synchronous with learning to control its excretory functions—in other words, any form of child training and not specifically linked to toilet training. Freud posited that children who experience conflicts, in which libido energy is underindulged during this period of time, and the child is perhaps too strongly chastised for toilet-training accidents, may develop "anal retentive" fixations or personality traits. These traits are associated with a child's efforts at excretory control: orderliness, stubbornness, and compulsions for control.[3] Conversely, those who are overindulged during this period may develop "anal-expulsive" personality types.[4]
Influence and refutation[edit]
Freud's theories on early childhood have been influential on the psychological community; the phrase anal retentive and the term anal survive in common usage. The second edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-II) introduced obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD), with a definition based on Freud's description of anal-retentive personality.[5] But the association between OCPD and toilet training is largely regarded as unsupported "pop-psychology" and therefore discredited by the majority of psychologists of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.[6] There is no conclusive research linking anal stage conflicts with "anal" personality types.[6]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Anal retentiveness". Collins Dictionary. Collins. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- ^ "Anal-retentive phase". APA Dictionary of Psychology. American Psychological Association. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- ^ Hall, Calvin S. (1954). A Primer of Freudian Psychology. New York: New American Library. p. 108. ISBN 0-452-01183-3.
- ^ "Psychosexual Development". www.victorianweb.org. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
- ^ Pinto, Anthon y; Eisen, Jane L.; Mancebo, Maria C.; Rasmussen, Steven A. (2008). "Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder" (PDF). In Abramowitz, Jonathan S.; McKay, Dean; Taylor, Steven (eds.). Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Subtypes and Spectrum Conditions. Elsevier. pp. 246–263. ISBN 978-0-08-044701-8.
- ^ a b Berger, Kathleen (2000). The Developing Person. New York: Worth Publishers. p. 218. ISBN 1-57259-417-9.