oral stage

n. 1. In Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis, the first stage in personality development, in which the infant is focused on oral stimulation and pleasure through sucking, biting, chewing, and swallowing. Ego forms in this stage as the id's wishful thinking is incapable of dealing with frustration, and so frustrated energy is directed into the formation of a self that is capable of the beginnings of rational thought and planning. There is no conscience or superego in this stage. 2. In Erik Erikson's epigenetic development cycle, this stage is characterized by the development of sensory organization and the necessity for establishing trust through predictable relationships with adult caregivers, which establish the basis for hope for the future.