Freud proposed that psychological development in childhood takes place in a series of fixed stages. These stages are: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and gentital.

Freud saw the human psyche as three parts; the id, ego and superego, that all develop at different parts in life. The id (or it), is the deals with our impulses. The ego (or I), is the decision making component of personality. The superego (or above I), demonstrates the values and morals of society which are learned by one's parents.

Sigmund Freud highlighted the idea of conscious versus unconscious mind throughout his psychological theory. McLeod (2009), said that the unconscious mind acts as a repository, a cauldron of primitive wishes and contains biologically based instincts.