Oedipus Complex

Theorized to occur during the phallic stage of psychosexual development, it is charac terized by a child developing sexual desires toward the parent of the opposite sex. Proposed by Sigmund Freud (1900–1953) and used as a rationalization of the formation of the superego, the Oedipus complex is based on Greek mythology. According to the legend, Oedipus, albeit unknowingly, killed his father, Laius, and married his mother, Jocasta. A child with Oedipus complex feels rivalry toward the same-sex parent while trying to attract the parent of the opposite sex. The child has to successfully resolve the Oedipus complex in order to advance in psychosexual development. That is, the child has to learn to resolve the feelings of hostility and competition with the same-sex parent in order to later be able to view that parent as a role model and to be able to identify with him or her. Freud proposed that not resolving the feelings of hostility and not being able to identify with the same-sex parent will ultimately hinder the child's developmental progress. The female equivalent to the Oedipus complex is the Electra complex. For more information, see Freud (2000b).