MELANIE KLEIN: OBJECT RELATIONS THEORY Flashcards
psychological birth begins during the first weeks of postnatal life and continues for during the next three years or so
Margaret Mahler’s View
the child becomes an individual separate from his/her primary caregiver which leads to ________
psychological birth
sense of identity
3 major developmental stages and four substage:
Normal Autism
Normal Symbiosis
Separation-Individuation (Differentiation, Practicing, Rapproachment, and Libidinal Object Constancy)
sense of omnipotence; their needs are automatically cared for without expending too much effort; stage of primary narcissism
Normal Autism
infants recognize their primary caregiver and seek symbiotic relationship with them
Normal Symbiosis
children become psychologically separated from their mothers, achieve a sense of individuation
Separation-Individuation
infants smile in response to their own mother
Differentiation
crawling and walking
easily distinguish their body from their mother
Practicing
they desire to bring their mother and themselves back together (physically and psychologically)
Rapprochment
children of this age often fight dramatically with their mother
Rapproachement Crisis
children must develop a constant image of their mother so that they can tolerate being physically separate from her
Libidinal Object Constancy
the self evolves from a vague and undifferentiated image to a clear and precise sense of individual identity
Heinz Kohut
key to understanding later development
Early mother-child relationship
core of human understanding
Human Relatedness
self objects or
Adults
