Oral Stage: The earliest of the stages of infantile psychosexual development, lasting from birth to 12 months or longer. Usually subdivided into two stages: the oral erotic, relating to the pleasurable experience of sucking; and the oral sadistic, associated with aggressive biting. Both oral eroticism and sadism continue into adult life in disguised and sublimated forms, such as the character traits of demandingness or pessimism. Oral conflict, as a general and pervasive influence, might underlie the psychological determinants of addictive disorders, depression, and some functional psychotic disorders.

 

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Oral Stage: The earliest of the stages of infantile psychosexual development, lasting from birth to 12 months or longer. Usually subdivided into two stages: the oral erotic, relating to the pleasurable . . . View Full Definition

Oral Transmission: Preservation of music without the aid of written notation.

Oral Tradition: Music that is transmitted by example or imitation and performed from memory.

Pastoral: Following theocritus (3rd cent. B.c.), verse about those shepherds and their beloveds who lived the simple vice-free life in arcadia, a mountainous region in the peloponnese of greece. Also . . . View Full Definition