Anal retentiveness

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Anal retentiveness is a personality trait that is characterized by excessive concern with details. The concept originated in Freudian psychoanalytic theory, where one aspect of the anal stage of psychosexual development is pleasure in the retention of feces. Fixation in this stage can potentially result in a personality marked by frugality, obstinacy and orderliness. Despite its psychoanalytic roots and the literal meaning of the words, in common usage the term generally refers merely to certain kinds of obsessive behaviour.

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