Anal retentiveness

The term anal-retentive (also anally retentive), commonly abbreviated to anal,[1] is used conversationally to describe a person who pays such attention to detail that the obsession becomes an annoyance to others, and can be carried out to the detriment of the anal-retentive person. The term derives from Freudian psychoanalysis. People who are said to be anal-retentive usually suffer from obsessive–compulsive personality disorder.

Origins

In the psychology of Freud, the anal stage is said to follow the oral stage of infant or early-childhood development. This is a time when an infant's attention moves from oral stimulation to anal stimulation (usually the bowels but occasionally the bladder), usually synchronous with learning to control his or her excretory functions, a time of toilet training. Freud theorized that children who experience conflicts during this period of time may develop "anal" personality traits, namely those associated with a child's efforts at excretory control: orderliness, stubbornness, a compulsion for control.[2] Although "anal rententive" survives in common usage, the concept is not taken very seriously by psychoanalysts today. Chicago psychoanalyst Robert Galatzer-Levy speaks of how this theory of Freud is mostly a product of its time when indoor plumbing was new and less numerous per household, and families were large, causing "much more control of defecation than was necessary in a world of chamber pots and outhouses."[3]

If these qualities continue into later life, the person is said to be "anal-retentive". Conversely, those who reject anal-retentive characteristics are said to have "anal-expulsive" personality types.

Although Freud's theories on early childhood have been influential on the psychological community, research suggests that the overall pattern of parental attitudes has a much more concrete effect on how an infant will grow up. There is no conclusive research linking anal stage conflicts with "anal" personality types.[4]

References

  1. ^ "anal-retentive". Memidex/WordNet Dictionary/Thesaurus. http://www.memidex.com/anal-retentive. Retrieved 2011-03-04. 
  2. ^ Hall, Calvin S. (1954). A Primer of Freudian Psychology. New York: New American Library. pp. 108. ISBN 0452011833. 
  3. ^ http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/876/how-to-tell-if-youre-anal-retentive
  4. ^ Berger, Kathleen (2000). The Developing Person. New York: Worth Publishers. pp. 218. ISBN 1-57259-417-9. 

See also