Four-year-old Chuck has been heard to say, "When I grow up, I'm going to marry Mom." Recently, however, he has begun to pretend-shave with his father in the mornings and comb his hair the way his father does. Freud would say that Chuck is experiencing:

Question

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Chuck's behavior suggests that he is experiencing the Oedipus conflict, which is a psychoanalytic concept that describes a child's unconscious desire for their opposite-sex parent and rivalry with their same-sex parent. Chuck's desire to marry his mother is a typical Oedipal wish, and his imitating his father's grooming habits may be a way of identifying with his same-sex parent and resolving his Oedipal conflict.

Four-Year-Old Chuck Has Been Heard to Say, "When I Grow