Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsThe Electra Complex at a GlanceHistoryHow it WorksResolutionModern Views
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
The Electra Complex at a Glance
History
How it Works
Resolution
Modern Views
Close
You’ve probably heard of the Oedipus complex but might not be as familiar with its feminine counterpart: the Electra complex. Where the Oedipus complex focuses on boys coveting their mother’s attention, the Electra complex centers on girls. And where people often suggest the Oedipus complex leads to “mommy issues” in men, the Electra complex is popularly implicated in what is dubbed “daddy issues” in women.
The Electra complex is a psychoanalytic term that describes a girl’s sense of competition with her mother for her father’s affection. It is comparable to theOedipus complexin males.
According to Freud, during female psychosexual development, a young girl is initially attached to her mother. When she discovers that she does not have a penis, she becomes attached to her father and begins to resent her mother, who she blames for her “castration.”
As a result, Freud believed that the girl then begins to identify with and emulate her mother out of fear of losing her love. Resolving the Electra complex ultimately leads to identification with the same-sex parent.
Do young girls compete with their moms for their dad’s attention? That’s the basic idea behind what Carl Jung dubbed the Electra complex, an idea that riffed on Freud’s infamous Oedipus complex. Essentially, this concept suggests that girls go through an attachment phase where they engage in a sort of rivalry with their mothers, usually during early childhood.
This convoluted process, Freud suggested, was all about helping girls learn to eventually identify with their mothers and internalize their attitudes into their personalities. Not surprisingly, these ideas are controversial and not widely accepted.
Today, most psychologists take the Electra complex with a grain of salt and view it as more of a historical artifact than a legitimate psychological theory. It certainly offers an interesting look at the development of psychoanalytic thought, but contemporary psychologists focus on other attachment and identity formation theories.
History of the Electra Complex
While the term “Electra complex” is frequently associated withSigmund Freud, it was actuallyCarl Jungwho coined the term in 1913. The term is derived from the Greek myth of Electra and her brother Orestes, who plotted the death of their mother as revenge for their father’s murder.
Freud developed the underlying ideas of the Electra complex, although he did not term it as such. He rejected the term Electra complex and described it as an attempt “to emphasize the analogy between the attitude of the two sexes.”
Freud referred to a daughter’s tendency to compete with her mother for possession of her father as the feminine Oedipus attitude or the negative Oedipus complex. It was Jung who dubbed Freud’s feminine Oedipus attitude as the Electra complex.
Freud andJungwere originally close friends and colleagues, but Jung increasingly grew dissatisfied with certain aspects of Freud’s theories. He felt that Freud emphasized the role sexuality played in motivating human behavior. Eventually, Jung resigned from his psychoanalytic affiliations and acrimony grew between the two men.
How Does the Electra Complex Work?
According to Freudian theory, an important part of the developmental process is learning to identify with the same-sex parent. During the stages of Freud’s theory of psychosexual development, thelibidinal energyis focused on different erogenous zones of the child’s body.
If something goes wrong during any of these stages, afixationat that point in development might occur. A fixation is a persistent focus on an earlier psychosexual stage. Such fixations, Freud believed, often led to anxiety and played a role inneurosisandmaladaptive behaviorsin adulthood.
Freud described the feminine Oedipus attitude complex as a daughter’s longing for her father and competition with her mother. The daughter possesses anunconsciousdesire to replace her mother as her father’s sexual partner, thus leading to a rivalry between the daughter and mother.
The Electra complex develops during the phallic stage of psychosexual development. The phallic stage occurs between the ages of three to six, during which time daughters spend more time with their fathers, flirting and practicing sexual behaviors without sexual contact.
Like many other Freudian ideas, the notion of the Electra complex was controversial, both in his own time and today. Freud did admit that heknew less about the development of girlsthan boys.
Freud’s Stages of Human Development
Resolving the Electra Complex
A number ofdefense mechanismsplay a role in resolving the Electra complex. It is theprimal id(a component of personality present from birth) that compels the child to possess her father and compete with her mother. To resolve the conflict, these urges and desires must first be repressed fromconsciousmemory.
Freud also suggested that when a young girl discovers she does not have a penis, she develops “penis envy” and begins to resent her mother for “sending her into the world so insufficiently equipped.”
Eventually, this resentment leads the daughter to identify with her mother and incorporate many of the same personality characteristics into her ego. This process also allows the daughter to internalize her mother’s morality into hersuper-ego,which ultimately directs her to follow the rules of her parents and society.
Freud believed that it was this process that also leads children to accept theirgender roles, develop an understanding of their ownsexuality, and even form a sense of morality.
Modern Views on the Electra Complex
The Electra complex is not widely accepted among mental health professionals today, who often view Freud’s ideas about psychosexual development as outdated and sexist since they rely on century-old gender roles. That said, research does show that children learn about gender roles and sexuality from their parents.
Takeaway
If you’re concerned about your child’ssexualized behavior, a mental health professional can conduct an assessment. They can then make treatment recommendations to address any sexual behavior problems. Look for treatment options in your area for traditional face-to-face treatment, or consider anonline therapy program.
Freud’s Perspective on Women
1 SourceVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Mazrekaj D, Fischer MM, Bos HMW.Behavioral outcomes of children with same-sex parents in The Netherlands.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(10):5922. doi:10.3390/ijerph19105922Additional ReadingFreud S.Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality. Basic Books; 1962.Jung CG. The Theory of Psychoanalysis.Psychoanalytic Review. 1913;1:1-40.Scott J.Electra After Freud: Myth and Culture. Cornell University Press; 2005.
1 Source
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Mazrekaj D, Fischer MM, Bos HMW.Behavioral outcomes of children with same-sex parents in The Netherlands.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(10):5922. doi:10.3390/ijerph19105922Additional ReadingFreud S.Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality. Basic Books; 1962.Jung CG. The Theory of Psychoanalysis.Psychoanalytic Review. 1913;1:1-40.Scott J.Electra After Freud: Myth and Culture. Cornell University Press; 2005.
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Mazrekaj D, Fischer MM, Bos HMW.Behavioral outcomes of children with same-sex parents in The Netherlands.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(10):5922. doi:10.3390/ijerph19105922
Freud S.Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality. Basic Books; 1962.Jung CG. The Theory of Psychoanalysis.Psychoanalytic Review. 1913;1:1-40.Scott J.Electra After Freud: Myth and Culture. Cornell University Press; 2005.
Freud S.Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality. Basic Books; 1962.
Jung CG. The Theory of Psychoanalysis.Psychoanalytic Review. 1913;1:1-40.
Scott J.Electra After Freud: Myth and Culture. Cornell University Press; 2005.
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