Which statement best captures Freud's concept of fixation?

Which statement best captures Freud's concept of fixation?

• A. A complete cessation of development.
• B. A temporary stall in growth due to unresolved conflicts.
• C. In development it occurs when children leave behind some psychic energy tied up in resolving a crisis.
• D. A general tendency to repeat early experiences.

Answer: (C)

In Freudian theory, fixation is when a portion of psychic energy remains tied to a particular stage because the crisis of that stage wasn’t fully resolved, so development stalls at that point and the energy sticks there. The statement reflects this by saying that development leaves behind some psychic energy connected to resolving a crisis, meaning the energy is still invested in that earlier stage rather than moving on. This lingering energy helps explain why someone might show patterns associated with that early stage later in life. The other options miss the core idea: fixation isn’t a complete halt of development, nor merely a temporary stall, and it isn’t simply a general tendency to repeat early experiences.

In Freudian theory, fixation is when a portion of psychic energy remains tied to a particular stage because the crisis of that stage wasn’t fully resolved, so development stalls at that point and the energy sticks there. The statement reflects this by saying that development leaves behind some psychic energy connected to resolving a crisis, meaning the energy is still invested in that earlier stage rather than moving on. This lingering energy helps explain why someone might show patterns associated with that early stage later in life. The other options miss the core idea: fixation isn’t a complete halt of development, nor merely a temporary stall, and it isn’t simply a general tendency to repeat early experiences.