Five-year-old Rohan is passing through the phallic stage. Arrange the following experiences of Rohan in the order in which Freud describes the course and resolution of the Oedipus complex.
(A) Rohan begins to fear that his father will punish him.
(B) Rohan starts copying the way his father talks and behaves.
(C) Rohan wants his mother's love only for himself and resents his father.
(D) Rohan comes to accept his father's relationship with his mother.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → C, A, D, B
(C) Rohan wants his mother's love only for himself and resents his father. — First. First comes the <strong>Oedipus complex</strong> itself: love for the mother and hostility towards the father.
(A) Rohan begins to fear that his father will punish him. — Second. The fear of punishment by the father follows as a <strong>consequence</strong> of that hostility, so it comes second.
(D) Rohan comes to accept his father's relationship with his mother. — Third. Resolution begins when the boy <strong>accepts his father's relationship with his mother</strong>, so the rivalry ends.
(B) Rohan starts copying the way his father talks and behaves. — Fourth. Last, he models his behaviour on his father. This <strong>identification with the same-sex parent</strong> completes the resolution.
NCERT (2026-27): “Stages of Personality Development … “… A major developmental achievement of this stage is the resolution of the Oedipus complex. This takes place by accepting his father’s relationship with his mother, and modelling his own behaviour after his father.” |