Anal erotism and anal characterology

Psychosexual developmental theory implies that adult anxiety concerning a particular body part may derive from preoedipal fixation during childhood around the corresponding erotogenic area. Since flight is the most common reaction to anxiety, it was hypothesized that persons with high anal fixation would spend less time in the lavatory than others, since the lavatory would be expected to raise anxiety levels in that area. In this study 53 men and 55 women who had been timed for the duration they spent in public lavatories completed Kline's Ai3 Anality Scale. Results showed that lavatory time was an inverse function of anality for men, but did not confirm the hypothesis for women. The possible role of reaction formation in confounding results for women is discussed.