Object Relations Theory (4)

Question 1

What is the main premise of object relations theory?

Answer 1

Adult personality characteristics depend on the nature of the individual’s early relationships, particularly that which the child has with the mother or primary caregiver.

Question 2

Who are the two primary object relations theorists?

Answer 2

John Bowlby & Mary Ainsworth

Question 3

How is object defined in this theory?

Answer 3

As the internal mental structure that the infant forms of that person through introjection.

Question 4

What is introjection?

Answer 4

A defense mechanism that involves the individual internalizing attitudes, behaviors, emotions, and perceptions of others, usually influential or authoritative people in one’s life, such as parents.

Question 5

What is projective identification?

Answer 5

The process where the split-off parts of the self are projected onto another person with whom the self can then identify.

Question 6

What does this theory see as the template for the relationship patterns that follow?

Answer 6

The early mother (or primary caretaker) and child experience

Question 7

During what phase of life do object theorists believe the critical events that shape people’s life occur?

Answer 7

5 or 6 months

Question 8

Who is regarded as the mother of object relations theory?

Answer 8

Melanie Klein

Question 9

What idea is attachment theory based on?

Answer 9

The style of attachment experienced between youth and their parents predicts peoples’ personal characteristics and patterns of relating to others

Question 10

What are the four types of attachment styles?

Answer 10

Secure
Anxious/avoidant
Anxious/resistant
Disorganized/disoriented

Question 11

Describe the secure attachment style.

Answer 11

Children demonstrated curiosity and comfort in the presence of their caregiver, became anxious and distressed in the presence of the stranger, and sought and accepted comfort when the caregiver returned, soon resuming exploration.

Question 12

Describe anxious/avoidant attachment style.

Answer 12

These children were less anxious with the stranger, did not seek comfort from the caregiver, and did not seem to prefer the caregiver over the stranger. These children probably had experiences in which the caregiver did not help them regulate their emotions; consequently, they overregulate emotions and avoid troubling situations.

Question 13

Describe the anxious/resistant attachment style.

Answer 13

Children in this group engaged in little exploration, were highly distressed during the separation, but had difficulty accepting comfort from the caregiver and continued to manifest anxiety or anger.

Question 14

Describe the disorganized/disoriented attachment style.

Answer 14

Children in this group manifested confusing and undirected behavior, such as head banging and a wish to escape, even after the caregiver had returned. Caregivers of these children had evoked both fear and comfort. A history of neglect or abuse often is associated with this pattern.

Question 15

Therapists facilitating object relations theory should provide what certain conditions?

Answer 15

• A secure base
• Help and encouragement to understand the connections between patterns in their current relationships and those in unconscious and internalized images
• Encouragement for people to consider actions may be the products of childhood experiences and messages, especially those connected to their parents
• A therapeutic alliance
• Help in assessing the appropriateness of people’s models of themselves and others.

Question 16

What are internal objects?

Answer 16

The psychological structures people internalize from their interactions with others. They include an image of the self, an image of the other person, and associated emotions

Question 17

Who proposed the theory of separation-individuation?

Answer 17

Margaret Mahler

Question 18

What does the separation-individuation theory propose?

Answer 18

Concentrates on intrapersonal processes: on young children’s ability to establish a sense of separateness in relation to others, especially in relation to their primary love object. Mahler’s theory centers on how children develop a sense of themselves as separate and unique from others.

Question 19

What are the two fundamental positions that Klein proposes?

Answer 19

The paranoid-schizoid position and the depressive position.

Question 20

Describe the paranoid-schizoid position.

Answer 20

People’s emotional focus is on aggression and other-directed destructiveness, manifested through envy and grandiosity, and characterized by defenses such as splitting and projective identification.

Question 21

What is splitting?

Answer 21

Conceptualized as a defense, common among people with borderline personality disorders, in which they view themselves, others, and their life experience in extremes—as either all good or all bad.

Question 22

Describe the depressive position.

Answer 22

Reflects people’s concern that images of and connections with the internalized objects are threatened by internal conflicts. Characterized by the defense of regression; people in this position focus on emotions such as love, understanding, empathy, and reparation of the internalized object.

Question 23

What is the goal of object relations theory?

Answer 23

Develop healthy object relations, which will in turn allow clients to assume a cohesive sense of self.

Question 24

How does projective identification work in therapy?

Answer 24

A part of the internalized object or the self is projected onto the therapist. The internal object relationship is then re-created in the client–therapist relationship, where it can be reworked to allow modification of the internalized object

Question 25

How is resistance understood in object relations?

Answer 25

As reflecting a rigid transference, growing out of the strong need for a particular type of object relationship.

Question 26

What does “working through” mean in object relations?

Answer 26

The process of obtaining clarification and resolution of projective identification patterns by experiencing them over and over at progressively higher levels of development, which constitutes the main work of therapy