oral character, (in psychoanalysis) a kind of personality that exhibits patterns of behavior originating in the first phase of infancy, the oral stage. This personality is characterized by optimism, self-confidence, and carefree generosity, reflecting the pleasurable aspects of the stage, or by pessimism, futility, anxiety, and sadism as manifestations of frustrations or conflicts occurring during the period. See also oral eroticism, psychosexual development.
