If you have studied the work of Sigmund Freud, you are probably familiar with an idea known as the “Oedipal Complex.” But do you know about the Electra Complex?
TheOedipal Complexis very famous, but makes many uncomfortable. It suggests that around the age of 3-6, young boys start to want to replace their father and have sexual desires about their mother. This stage helps the boy establish his gender identity, explore sexuality, and sets himself up for how he will approach romantic relationships as an adult.
There is one glaring error with this theory. AlthoughFreud’s stages of psychosexual developmentapplies to all human children, the Oedipal Complex leaves out half of the entire population. (More than half, if you consider intersex children.) The Electra Complex is the answer to this theory.
What Is The Electra Complex?Freud and JungFreud’s Beliefs and Penis EnvyHow is the Electra Complex Resolved?Is The Electra Complex Real? Critiques of Oedipal and Electra Complex
What Is The Electra Complex?
Freud and Jung
Freud’s Beliefs and Penis Envy
How is the Electra Complex Resolved?
Is The Electra Complex Real? Critiques of Oedipal and Electra Complex
Like the Oedipal Complex, the Electra Complex involves a sexual desire for one parent and a jealous rage of the other. According to Carl Jung, young girls developed a desire for possession of their father, and therefore, a rage against their mother.
While many people associate the Electra Complex with Sigmund Freud, it was actuallyCarl Jungwho coined the term in 1913. Jung and Freud worked closely together for many years.
Carl G Jung
This complex develops at the same time as the Oedipal complex: during the phallic stage of psychosexual development. Between the ages of 3-6, the erogenous zone moves from the anus to the genitals, and this new exploration begins.
Freud did believe that there was a big difference in the way that boys and girls developed. One of these big differences involve penis envy.
To Freud, the Oedipal Complex was not just about the desire to have sex with your parent. It’s also about discovering and identifying your gender identity. It’s at this stage when girls and boys discover the presence of a penis or vagina. Or, as Freud would most likely put it, the presence or absence of the penis.
During the phallic stage, Freud believed that the female child recognizes that while her father has a penis, she does not. This leads to a feeling of “penis envy,” which further fuels the conflict.
If a child did not resolve the conflicts that occurred during this stage, they would have problems later in life. These problems may include relationship problems, neurosis, or fixations.
Freud believed that there was more emotion involved in the female Oedipal complex than in the male Oedipal complex. He believed that girls had more to repress. This is why, according to Freud, women took the more subservient role in society. They were simply repressing more of the rage, envy, and desire that had developed when they were young.
For those of you wondering, this is such an interesting phenomenon that we’ve actually had to cover a whole article onwhy some girls call their boyfriends “daddy"due to the massive amount of people wondering why this happens.
Ironically enough, Freud and Jung went their separate ways because Jung felt that Freud focused too heavily on the role that sexuality played in a child’s development.
Sexuality and gender identity remain at the center of most critiques of Freud’s work. Freud knew himself that he was not as well-versed on the sexuality of women as he was of men. His ideas of this conflict were clearly developed with the society he lived in. Women were considered second-class citizens at the time. Freud outright believed that women were inferior. Gender roles in society were also much different than they are now.
Although many psychologists still share and teach Freud’s work, it is not largely accepted. Talk therapy has, in general, moved from Freud’s methods to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT.) But this does not mean that the Oedipus Complex and Electra Complex must be forgotten. Understanding the popular theories of the past gives us a better understanding of how we developed the theories we have today.
Related posts:Oedipal Complex (Definition + How To Resolve)Carl Jung BiographyFreud’s Psychosexual Stages of Development (Definition and Examples)Sigmund Freud (Psychologist Biography)Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality
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Reference this article:Practical Psychology. (2020, July).Electra Complex (Definition + How To Resolve).Retrieved from https://practicalpie.com/electra-complex/.Practical Psychology. (2020, July). Electra Complex (Definition + How To Resolve). Retrieved from https://practicalpie.com/electra-complex/.Copy
Reference this article:
Practical Psychology. (2020, July).Electra Complex (Definition + How To Resolve).Retrieved from https://practicalpie.com/electra-complex/.Practical Psychology. (2020, July). Electra Complex (Definition + How To Resolve). Retrieved from https://practicalpie.com/electra-complex/.Copy
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