Latency Phase (Noun)
Meaning
(psychoanalysis) the fourth period (from about age 5 or 6 until puberty) during which sexual interests are supposed to be sublimated into other activities.
Classification
Nouns denoting time and temporal relations.
Examples
- During the latency phase, children often redirect their libidinal energy into friendships and group activities.
- The latency phase is characterized by a repression of overtly sexual feelings and behaviors.
- Freud believed that the latency phase was a critical period for the development of social and cultural norms.
- In the latency phase, children may experience a decrease in openly expressed sexual curiosity and exploration.
- The latency phase is thought to be a time of relative calm before the resurgence of sexual feelings during puberty.