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
center of the individual’s psychological universe
Self
gives unity and consistency to one’s experiences, and is the center of initiative and a recipient of impressions
Self
the child’s focus of interpersonal relations, shaping how he or she will relate to parents and other self-objects
Self
2 basic narcissistic needs:
Grandiose Exhibitionistic Self
Idealized Parent Image
infant relates to a “mirroring” self object who reflects approval of its behavior
Grandiose Exhibitionistic Self
someone else is perfect; you are perfect but I’m part of you
Idealized Parent Image
attachments formed during childhood have an important impact on adulthood as childhood attachments are crucial to later development
John Bowlby’s Attachment Theory
3 stages of separation anxiety
Protest Stage
Despair
Detachment
when their caregiver is first out of sight, infants will cry, resist soothing by other people, and search for their caregiver
Protest Stage
infants become quiet, sad, passive, listless, and apathetic
Despair
infants become emotionally detached from other people (caregiver)
Detachment
relationship between two people
Attachment style
secure attachment
anxious resistant attachment style
anxious avoidant
Mary Ainsworth and the Strange Situation
infants are happy when their mother returns and initiate contact
Secure Attachment
they seek contact when their mother returns but reject attempts at being soothed
Anxious-Resistant attachment style
infants stay calm when their mother leaves, they accept the stranger, and when their mother returns, they ignore and avoid her.
Anxious-Avoidant
