ABSTRACT
Psychoanalytic theories of personality have invoked the idea of critical periods in development in more than one way. Winson (1985, p. 162) describes the critical period as “… a sensitive period within a specific domain. Beyond this period the ability to learn within the domain ceases and whatever has been learned constitutes the basis for future behavior.” Although the concept of a critical period is never mentioned in psychoanalytic writings, the idea is very clearly expressed in most psychoanalytic writings on personality development, from those originally in Sigmund Freud himself to more recent and less Freudian works.
