Anal retentiveness: Difference between revisions

Content deleted Content added

Inline

Revision as of 01:21, 8 November 2013

The term anal retentive (also anally retentive), commonly abbreviated to anal,^[1] is used to describe a person who pays such attention to detail that the obsession becomes an annoyance to others, potentially to the detriment of the anal-retentive person. The term derives from Freudian psychoanalysis.

It means anal.

References

^ "anal-retentive". Memidex/WordNet Dictionary/Thesaurus. Retrieved 2011-03-04.

[1] "anal-retentive". Memidex/WordNet Dictionary/Thesaurus. Retrieved 2011-03-04.

[1]

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 The term '''anal retentive''' (also '''anally retentive'''), commonly abbreviated to '''anal''',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.memidex.com/anal-retentive |title=anal-retentive |work=Memidex/WordNet Dictionary/Thesaurus |accessdate=2011-03-04}}</ref> is used to describe a person who pays such attention to detail that the obsession becomes an annoyance to others, potentially to the detriment of the anal-retentive person. The term derives from [[Sigmund Freud|Freudian]] [[psychoanalysis]].
+It means anal.
-==Origins==
-In Freudian psychology, the [[anal stage]] is said to follow the [[oral stage]] of [[infant development|infant]] or [[Child development|early-childhood development]]. This is a time when an infant's attention moves from oral stimulation to anal stimulation (usually the [[bowel]]s 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.<ref>{{cite book |last = Hall |first = Calvin S. |title = A Primer of Freudian Psychology |publisher = [[New American Library]] |year = 1954 |location = New York |pages = 108 |isbn = 0-452-01183-3 }}</ref>
-Although the term "anal retentive" survives in common usage, the concept, along with much of Freud's theories of psychoanalysis, is largely regarded as unscientific "pop-psychology" and therefore discredited by the majority of psychologists of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.<ref name=berger>{{cite book |last = Berger |first = Kathleen |title = The Developing Person |publisher = Worth Publishers |year = 2000 |location = New York |pages = 218  |isbn = 1-57259-417-9}}</ref> 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."<ref>[http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/876/how-to-tell-if-youre-anal-retentive The Straight Dope: How to tell if you're anal retentive<!-- Bot generated title -->]{{reliable source|date=May 2013}}</ref>{{reliable source|date=May 2013}}
-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 [[Parenting styles|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.<ref name=berger/>
 ==See also==
 *[[Psychosexual development]]