APA Dictionary of Psychology

in classical psychoanalytic theory, the second phase of the oral stage of psychosexual development, from about the 8th to the 18th month of life. During this phase, the child begins to feel that they are an autonomous person, develops ambivalent attitudes toward the mother, and expresses hostility by biting her breast or the nipple of the bottle. In later childhood, the urge to bite may take the form of nail-biting, spitting, sticking out the tongue, or chewing on a pencil or gum. Also called oral-sadistic phase. Compare oral-sucking phase. See oral sadism. [identified by German psychoanalyst Karl Abraham (1877–1925)]