APA Dictionary of Psychology

in classical psychoanalytic theory, a pattern of personality traits derived from fixation at the oral stage of psychosexual development. If the individual has experienced sufficient sucking satisfaction and adequate attention from the mother during the oral-sucking phase, they are posited to develop an oral-receptive personality marked by friendliness, optimism, generosity, and tolerance of dependency on others, allowing the individual to move on to late stages of psychosexual development. If the individual does not get enough satisfaction during the sucking and biting phases (see oral-biting phase), they are posited to develop an oral-aggressive personality marked by tendencies to be hostile, critical, envious, and exploitative. Also called oral character. [identified by German psychoanalyst Karl Abraham (1877–1925)]