The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002.
oral stage
According to psychoanalysis, the first social and sexual stage of an infant’s development, during which the infant focuses on satisfying hunger. Psychoanalysts believe that during this stage, the mouth is the focus of the libido; eating, sexual, and aggressive drives are satisfied by chewing, suckling, and biting. (See alsoanal stage, genital stage, andpleasure principle.)
