KLEIN- OBJECT RELATIONS THEORY Flashcards
What is Object Relations Theory an offspring of?
Freud’s instinct theory.
How does Object Relations Theory differ from Freud’s instinct theory?
Less emphasis on biologically based drives; more focus on interpersonal relationships.
More maternal (emphasizing intimacy and nurturing of the mother) than Freud’s paternalistic theory.
Views human contact and relatedness as the prime motive of behavior, rather than sexual pleasure.
Who are the key theorists associated with Object Relations Theory?
Melanie Klein, Margaret S. Mahler, Heinz Kohut, John Bowlby, Mary Ainsworth
: What is the main focus of Object Relations Theory?
The infant’s real or fantasized early relations with the mother or breast as a model for later interpersonal relationships.
Melanie Klein
Early childhood experiences with the mother shape later relationships.
Margaret S. Mahler
She believed that negative transference was essential for successful treatment, unlike Anna Freud.
Heinz Kohut
Studied the formation of the self.
Mary Ainsworth
Developed attachment styles.
John Bowlby
Identified stages of separation anxiety.
How does Freud’s concept of drives relate to Object Relations Theory?
Drives have an impetus, a source, an aim, and an object.
The object (person/thing satisfying the drive) has psychological significance.
How did Melanie Klein extend Freud’s theory?
She emphasized early relations with the mother/breast as the foundation for future relationships.
She introduced the idea of introjection (internalizing objects) and projection (attributing these representations to others).
What is projection in Object Relations Theory?
the process of projecting internal representations of early objects onto one’s partner in later relationships.
What is introjection in Object Relations Theory?
The process by which early significant objects (e.g., mother’s breast) are taken into the infant’s psyche.
What did Freud say when asked about Klein’s work in 1925?
He responded that her work had “aroused considerable doubt and controversy” in Vienna.
What is phylogenetic endowment in Klein’s theory?
It is the inherited capacity to react and reduce anxiety, a concept also accepted by Freud.
What innate predisposition do infants have according to Klein?
Infants inherit a predisposition to reduce anxiety caused by the conflict between the life instinct and the death instinct.
How does Klein’s emphasis on infancy differ from Freud’s?
Klein stressed the importance of the first 4 to 6 months, while Freud emphasized the first few years of life.
What are phantasies according to Melanie Klein?
Psychic representations of unconscious id instincts present at birth.
Different from conscious fantasies of older children and adults.
Why did Klein spell phantasy differently from fantasy?
To distinguish unconscious phantasies from the conscious fantasies of older children and adults.
How do infants express phantasies according to Klein?
A full stomach = “good” breast.
An empty stomach = “bad” breast.
Sucking on fingers = Phantasizing about the mother’s good breast inside them.
Crying and kicking = Phantasizing about destroying the bad breast.
What is the relationship between Klein’s phantasy life and Sullivan’s theory?
Klein’s good and bad breast is similar to Sullivan’s good and bad mother.
How do phantasies change as an infant matures?
shaped by reality and inherited predispositions.
Later phantasies include the Oedipus complex (desire to destroy one parent and sexually possess the other).
How does introjection differ from just thinking about external objects?
Introjected objects are felt as physically present inside the body.
Example: A child who has introjected their mother believes she is constantly inside them.
What did Klein believe about objects in human development?
Drives need objects (e.g., hunger → good breast).
Earliest object relations are with the mother’s breast.
Other early objects: mother’s hands, face, father’s penis.
How can unconscious phantasies be contradictory?
A child can both love and hate a parent at the same time (e.g., a boy phantasizing about both beating his mother and having babies with her).
How does Klein’s internal objects concept relate to Freud’s superego?
Both suggest that parental figures become internalized and influence the child’s psyche.
What is introjection in Klein’s theory?
the process of taking external objects into the infant’s psychic structure.
Infants internalize objects like the mother’s breast, father’s penis, hands, and face.
What basic conflict do human infants constantly engage in, according to Klein (1946)?
Life instinct (good, love, creativity)
Death instinct (bad, hate, destruction)
What are positions in Klein’s theory?
Ways infants deal with internal and external objects.
Not stages but alternate back and forth throughout life.
Represent normal social growth and development.
What are the two basic positions in Klein’s object relations theory?
Paranoid-Schizoid Position (First 3–4 months)
Depressive Position (Begins at 5–6 months)
Why does the infant split the good breast and the bad breast?
To protect the good breast from being annihilated.
To direct rage and destruction toward the bad breast.
To control and keep the ideal breast inside as protection.
What is the Paranoid-Schizoid Position?
A way infants organize experiences that includes:
- Paranoid fears of persecution (bad breast).
- Splitting objects into good and bad (good breast vs. bad breast).
How does the infant’s ego function in the paranoid-schizoid position?
Splits itself to manage life and death instincts.
Perceives the world subjectively and fantastically rather than objectively.
Has persecutory fears that are not based on real danger.
What is the significance of splitting in the paranoid-schizoid position?
It serves as a prototype for ambivalence in later life, such as:
Transference in therapy (seeing a therapist as all good or all bad).
Ambivalent relationships (having both love and hate for a loved one).
When does the Depressive Position develop?
Around the 5th or 6th month of life.
How does the paranoid-schizoid position manifest in adults?
They project paranoid feelings onto others.
May see others as entirely good or bad (black-and-white thinking).
Feel like a passive object rather than an active subject (e.g., saying “He’s dangerous” instead of “I feel he is dangerous to me”).
What happens in the Depressive Position?
The infant sees external objects as whole rather than split into good and bad.
Recognizes that the same person (mother) can be both good and bad.
Develops a realistic view of the mother as an independent person.
Why does the infant experience guilt and anxiety in the depressive position?
Realizes past destructive urges toward the mother.
Fears losing the mother forever.
Wants to protect and repair the mother but lacks the ability.
What emotions are central to the depressive position?
Guilt (for past destructive impulses).
Anxiety (fear of losing the mother).
Empathy (desire to make reparation).
What is the role of reparation in the depressive position?
The child fantasizes about making up for past aggression.
This helps to resolve the depressive position.
What are the consequences of an incomplete resolution of the depressive position?
Lack of trust.
Morbid mourning (excessive grief at losing loved ones).
Psychic disorders (e.g., depression, low self-worth).
What happens when the depressive position is resolved?
The split between the good and bad mother is closed.
The child trusts that the mother will return after each absence.
The child is able to give and receive love.
What is introjection?
Introjection is the fantasy of taking external objects (like the mother’s breast) into the body, either as a protection (good objects) or as an attempt to gain control over dangerous objects (bad objects).
What are the key psychic defense mechanisms proposed by Melanie Klein?
introjection
projection
splitting
projective identification.
What are psychic defense mechanisms?
Psychic defense mechanisms are strategies infants use to protect their ego from anxiety caused by their destructive fantasies (Klein, 1955).
How does introjection influence infants?
Infants fantasize about having their mother constantly inside them, even though she is not physically present. Bad introjections (e.g., bad breast) can become internal persecutors and create frightening emotions.
What is projection?
Projection is the fantasy of getting rid of one’s own impulses by attributing them to external objects or people.
How does projection help reduce anxiety?
By projecting destructive impulses onto others, infants alleviate the fear of being destroyed by their own dangerous feelings.
Can projection involve positive feelings?
Yes, infants may project good feelings onto external objects, like believing the breast is inherently “good” because of their own positive emotions.
How does splitting affect personality development?
Healthy splitting allows individuals to recognize positive and negative aspects of themselves and others. Extreme splitting can lead to repression and psychological issues.
What is splitting?
Splitting is the process of separating good and bad aspects of the self and others, forming a “good me” and “bad me.”
What happens if splitting is excessive?
If children cannot integrate good and bad aspects, they may repress their bad impulses, leading to internal conflicts and anxiety.
What is projective identification?
Projective identification involves splitting off unacceptable parts of oneself, projecting them onto another person, and then reintegrating them in a changed form.
How does projective identification affect relationships?
It influences interpersonal interactions by causing the recipient to behave according to the projected characteristics (e.g., a submissive husband making his wife appear domineering).
How do these defense mechanisms impact adult psychology?
They shape personality, coping strategies, and relationships by influencing how individuals perceive themselves and others.
How is projective identification different from simple projection?
Unlike projection, which can exist purely in fantasy, projective identification occurs in real interpersonal relationships and influences behavior.
How does projective identification work in adulthood?
A person projects unwanted traits onto another (e.g., dominance), then acts in a way that provokes the other person to exhibit those traits.
Internalizations
The process of taking in (introjecting) aspects of the external world and organizing them into a psychologically meaningful framework.
Key Internalizations in Kleinian Theory
Ego
Superego
Oedipus Complex
Ego [freud]
Ego exists at birth but develops complex functions only around 3rd or 4th year.
Young child is dominated by the id.
Ego [klein]
Klein (1930, 1946) on the Ego:
1. Matures much earlier than Freud assumed.
- Infants have a strong enough ego at birth to feel anxiety, use defense mechanisms, and form object relations.
- Ego senses destructive and loving forces early on, managing them through splitting, projection, and introjection.
Development of the Ego
Infant’s First Object Relation: The Mother’s Breast
Splitting of the Ego
Infant’s First Object Relation: The Mother’s Breast
Good Breast → Provides milk, love, security → Leads to positive object relations.
Bad Breast → Absent or non-nurturing → Leads to negative object relations.
Ego evaluates all experiences in relation to the good and bad breast.
Splitting of the Ego
The ego splits into “good me” and “bad me” to avoid disintegration.
The good me exists when the infant experiences love and nourishment.
The bad me exists when the infant lacks these experiences.
As infants mature, their ego becomes more integrated, seeing people as whole objects rather than partial objects.
Superego [Differences from Freud’s Superego]
Emerges earlier (before age 5, rather than after the Oedipus complex).
Not an outgrowth of the Oedipus complex.
Much harsher and cruel compared to Freud’s superego.
Key Features of the Early Superego
Produces terror rather than guilt.
Young children fear being devoured, cut up, and torn into pieces (out of proportion to actual threats).
These extreme fears come from the child’s own destructive instinct.
The ego defends against its own destructive tendencies, leading to the development of a harsh superego.
This harsh superego is linked to antisocial and criminal tendencies in adulthood.
Later Development (After Age 5-6) [superego]
Superego arouses guilt rather than terror.
Becomes less harsh and more realistic.
Klein rejected Freud’s idea that the superego develops after the Oedipus complex and instead saw them as developing simultaneously.
Differences from Freud’s Oedipus Complex
Begins much earlier (in infancy, rather than during the phallic stage at 4-5 years).
Overlaps with the oral and anal stages (not separate from them).
Fear of retaliation from the parent is a key feature.
Retains positive feelings toward both parents (rather than hostility toward one).
Both boys and girls start with the same needs
Seeking a positive relationship with the gratifying object (breast or penis).
Avoiding the bad or terrifying object (breast or penis).
Capable of homosexual and heterosexual attachments to both parents.
Under Less Ideal Circumstances [Female Oedipal Development ]
The girl sees the mother as a rival.
Fantasy of stealing the father’s penis and mother’s babies → Leads to paranoid fear of maternal retaliation.
Main anxiety: Fear that the mother has injured her internally.
This anxiety can only be resolved by later giving birth to a healthy baby.
Female Oedipal Development [stages]
Early Stage → The girl sees the mother’s breast as both good and bad.
Around 6 months → The breast is seen as more good than bad.
Later, sees the whole mother as full of “good things” → Leads to fantasies about how babies are made.
Fantasizes that the father’s penis “feeds” the mother with babies.
Develops a positive relationship with the father’s penis and fantasizes that it will give her a baby.
Penis Envy [klein]
The girl does not blame the mother but instead wants to internalize the father’s penis to receive a baby.
The girl retains a strong attachment to the mother throughout the Oedipal period.
Penis Envy [freud]
The girl blames the mother for her lack of a penis.
Final Stage [Male Oedipal Development]
The child sees both parents as whole objects.
Leads to a healthy resolution of the Oedipus complex.
No rivalry remains, allowing healthy adult sexual relationships.
Male Oedipal Development
[ Stages]
Initially sees mother’s breast as good and bad.
Early Oedipal Stage → Shifts oral desires from mother’s breast to father’s penis (passive homosexual phase).
Moves to heterosexual desire for the mother.
No castration anxiety initially because he values the father’s penis.
Later, he develops oral-sadistic impulses → Wants to bite off father’s penis and kill him.
Leads to castration anxiety → Fear that father will retaliate.
Resolution: Developing positive relationships with both parents at the same time.
Who were the key theorists who expanded Object Relations Theory after Melanie Klein?
Margaret Mahler, Heinz Kohut, John Bowlby, and Mary Ainsworth.
Rapprochement (16-25 months)
–Child seeks to reconnect with mother, leading to rapprochement crisis.
What was Margaret Mahler’s primary focus in her theory?
The psychological birth of the individual during the first three years of life.
What are the three major developmental stages in Mahler’s theory?
- Normal Autism (0-4 weeks)
- Normal Symbiosis (4 weeks - 5 months)
- Separation-Individuation (5 months - 3 years)
What are the four substages of the Separation-Individuation stage in Mahler’s theory?
- Differentiation (5-10 months)
- Practicing (10-16 months)
- Rapprochement (16-25 months)
- Libidinal Object Constancy (3rd year)
Libidinal Object Constancy (3rd year)
Child develops an inner representation of the mother.
- Differentiation (5-10 months)
Infant begins breaking away from mother.
Practicing (10-16 months)
Increased mobility, exploration of the world.
What is the rapprochement crisis in Mahler’s theory?
A period when children struggle with the desire for independence while still needing their mother’s presence.
How did Heinz Kohut modify Object Relations Theory?
He replaced the concept of the ego with the self and focused on how the self evolves through human relationships.
What are the two key narcissistic needs in Kohut’s Self Psychology?
- Grandiose Self – The need for admiration and validation.
- Idealized Parent Image – The need to look up to an all-powerful caregiver.
What happens if a person does not outgrow their grandiose self or idealized parent image?
They may develop pathological narcissism and struggle with self-centeredness in adulthood.
What was John Bowlby’s main contribution to Object Relations Theory?
He developed Attachment Theory, integrating psychoanalysis with evolutionary theory.
What are Bowlby’s three stages of separation anxiety?
- Protest – Crying, resistance to comfort.
- Despair – Sadness, apathy.
- Detachment – Emotional withdrawal from caregivers.
What happens to children who become emotionally detached, according to Bowlby?
They appear sociable but struggle with deep emotional connections.
Whose approach to therapy is primarily discussed in the context of Object Relations Theory?
Melanie Klein’s approach.
How did Melanie Klein differ from Anna Freud regarding childhood psychoanalysis?
Klein believed that both disturbed and healthy children could benefit from psychoanalysis:
Disturbed children: Receive therapeutic benefits.
Healthy children: Gain prophylactic (preventive) analysis.
What was Anna Freud’s criticism of childhood psychoanalysis?
Young children are still attached to their parents and cannot develop transference to the therapist.
Children lack unconscious fantasies or images, making psychoanalysis ineffective for them.
How did Klein foster negative transference in child therapy?
She provided children with:
Small toys
Pencil & paper
Paint & crayons
Other materials for play
What was Klein’s stance on negative transference?
She believed that negative transference was essential for successful treatment, unlike Anna Freud.
What was Klein’s reaction when children attacked her verbally during therapy?
she used these attacks to interpret the unconscious motives behind them.
How did Klein replace traditional Freudian techniques for children?
Dream analysis & free association with play therapy.
Klein believed children express both conscious and unconscious wishes through play.
What is the aim of Kleinian therapy?
Reduce depressive anxieties and persecutory fears.
Mitigate the harshness of internalized objects.
how did Klein help patients differentiate reality from fantasy?
She encouraged them to reexperience early emotions and fantasies while the therapist pointed out:
Differences between reality & fantasy.
Differences between conscious & unconscious.
Why did Klein allow
both positive and negative transference?
Understand how unconscious fantasies connect to everyday situations
Feel less persecuted by internalized objects.
Experience reduced depressive anxiety.
Project previously frightening internal objects onto the external world.
