Final answer:
During the Oedipus complex, a boy feels jealousy and rivalry towards his father due to his desire for his mother. This jealousy is part of Freud's phallic stage of psychosexual development and is resolved when the boy begins to identify with his father.
Step-by-step explanation:
During the Oedipus complex, the little boy feels hatred and jealousy towards his father.
In Freud's theory of psychosexual development, the phallic stage occurs around ages 3-6 and it is characterized by the child's growing awareness of their own body and differences between the sexes. The Oedipus complex arises in this stage, as a boy develops a desire for his mother and sees his father as a rival for her attention. The complex is named after the Greek mythological character Oedipus, who unknowingly killed his father and married his mother. It embodies a boy's unconscious wishes and fears during this stage of his development. Ultimately, the boy resolves these feelings by beginning to identify with his father, which allows him to relinquish his sexual desire for his mother and helps him internalize societal norms and morality.
If the complex remains unresolved, it can lead to psychological issues in adulthood. This critical stage was a cornerstone in Freud's psychoanalytic theory, despite the contentious views on its universal applicability and scientific evidence among the contemporary psychological community.