Object Relation Theory

Object Relation Theory 

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Introduction:

Object relations theory is a psychodynamic theory. Ronald Fairbairn coined the term “object relation and Melanie Klein is most commonly identified with the term “object relation theory” it describes the process of developing a mind as one grows in relation to others in the environment. Object relations is a variation of psychoanalytic theory that diverges from Sigmund Freud's belief that humans are motivated by sexual and aggressive drives, suggesting instead that humans are primarily motivated by the need for contact with other. the need to form relationships. The theory may be defined as:

   “A system of psychological explanation based on the premise that the mind comprises elements taken in from outside, primarily aspects of the functioning of others persons”.

Object relations theory is an offspring of Freud instinct theory, but it differs from its ancestor in at least three general ways.

First, object relations theory places less emphasis on biologically based drives and more importance on consistent pattern of interpersonal relationship.

Second, as opposed to Freud rather paternalistic theory that emphasizes the power and control of the father, object relation theory tends to be more maternal, stressing the intimacy and nurturing of the mother.

Third, object relation theorists generally see the human contact and relatedness as not sexual pleasure as a prime motive of human behaviour.

                   Object relations theory in psychoanalytic psychology is the process of developing a psyche in relation to others in the childhood environment. It designates theories or aspects of theories that are concerned with the exploration of relationships between real and external people as well as internal images and the relations found in them. It maintains that the infant's relationship with the mother primarily determines the formation of his personality in adult life. Particularly, the need for attachment is the bedrock of the development of the self or the psychic organization that creates the sense of identity.

Basic concept in object relation:

object relations theory, the term "objects" refers not to inanimate entities but to significant others with whom an individual relates, usually one's mother, father, or primary caregiver. In some cases, the term object may also be used to refer to a part of a person.

Object relations theorists stress the importance of early family interactions, primarily the mother-infant relationship, in personality development. It is believed that infants form mental representations of themselves in relation to others and that these internal images significantly influence interpersonal relationships later in life. Since relationships are at the center of object relations theory.

The term “object relations” refers to the dynamic internalized relationships between the self and significant others (objects). An object relation involves mental representations of:

1.      The object as perceived by the self

2.      The self in relation to the object

3.      The relationship between self and object

For example, an infant might think:

1.      "My mother is good because she feeds me when I am hungry" (representation of the object).

2.      "The fact that she takes care of me must mean that I am good" (representation of the self in relation to the object).

3.      "I love my mother" (representation of the relationship).

 

DEVELOPMENT AND HISTORY OF OBJECT RELATIONS:

Object relations theory is composed of the diverse and sometimes conflicting ideas of various theorists, mainly Melanie Klein, Ronald Fairbairn, and Donald Winnicott. Each of their theories place great emphasis on the mother-infant bond as a key factor in the development of a child’s psychic structure during the first three years of life. 

 

·         Klein is often credited with founding the object relations approach. From her work with young children and infants, she concluded that they focused more on developing relationships, especially with their caregivers, than on controlling sexual urges, as Freud had proposed. Klein also focused her attention on the first few months of a child’s life, whereas Freud emphasized the importance of the first few years of life.

·         Fairbairn agreed with Klein when he posited that humans are object-seeking beings, not pleasure-seeking beings. He viewed development as a gradual process during which individuals evolve from a state of complete, infantile dependence on the caregiver toward a state of interdependency, in which they still depend on others but are also capable of being relied upon.

·         Winnicott stressed the importance of raising children in an environment where they are encouraged to develop a sense of independence but know that their caregiver will protect them from danger. He suggested that if the caregiver does not attend to the needs and potential of the child, the child may be led to develop a false self. The true self emerges when all aspects of the child are acknowledged and accepted.

Important terminology:

 

Psychic life of the infant:

                                                      Whereas Freud emphasizes the first 4 to 6 years of the life, Klein stressed the importance of the first 4 or 6 months. To her, infant don’t begin the life with the blank state but with an inherited predisposition to reduce the anxiety they experience as a result of the conflict produced by the force of the life instinct and the power of the death instinct the infant innate readiness to act or react presupposes the experience of phylogenetic endowment, a concept that Freud also accepted.

 

Fantasies:

                  One of the Klein basic assumptions is that the infant, even at birth, possess are active fantasy life. These fantasies are psychic representations of unconscious id instinct: they should not be confused with the conscious fantasies of the older children and adults. Infants at birth already possesses fantasy about life. They already have their unconscious images of "good" and "bad"...

                           

Objects:

                   Klein agreed with Freud that humans have innate drives or instinct, including a death instinct. Drives or instincts must have an object. This is where exerted and applied. Klein believed that an infant relate there drives to external objects that in fantasy and reality.

 

Importance of object relations theory:

 

                                                                            According to the object relations theory, the way mothers and infants interact plays a crucial role in infant growth and development. If care is adequate or "good enough," children are able to develop their true selves, which is the part of the baby that is creative and spontaneous.

                                                                                  Object relations theorists stress the importance of early family interactions, primarily the mother-infant relationship, in personality development. Since relationships are at the center of object relations theory, the person-therapist alliance is important to the success of therapy.

 

Position: 

Klein saw human infants as constantly engaging in a basic conflict between the life instincts and the death instincts that is between good and bad, love and hate, creativity and destructive. As the ego lives towards integration and away from disintegration, infants naturally prefer gratifying sensations over frustrating ones. In their attempt to deal with this dichotomy of good and bad feelings, infants organize their experiences into positions, or ways of dealing with both internal and external objects. Klein intended these positions to respect normal social growth and development. The two basic positions are as follows: 

• Paranoid-schizoid position.
• The depressive position.

The Paranoid-Schizoid Position:   Initially the child organizes these opposing feelings of destructive and loving impulses through the process of splitting by dividing the world into good and bad objects.

                    The "good breast" nourishes and smoothes while the "bad breast" is absent breast. When the infant is hungry, the one the child images as the cause of frustrated needs, in order to tolerate both these feelings toward the same object at the same time, the ego splits itself, regaining part of its life and death instincts while deflecting parts of both instincts onto the breast, now infants  fear the persecutory breast known as "bad breast", although infant has a relationship with the ideal breast, known as "good breast", which provide nourishment and love, now the infants desires to keep the ideal breast inside against the persecutory. To control the good breast and to fight off its prosecutor, the infant adopts " "paranoid-schizoid position" a way of organizing experiences that includes both paranoid feelings of being persecuted and a splitting of internal and external objects into the good and the bad. According to Klein, infants develop the paranoid-schizoid position during first three to four months of life, during which the ego perception of external world is subjective and fantastic. The paranoid-schizoid position is a lifelong possibility manifested in later life by an inability to except that anyone can be both bad and good.

 Depressive Position:    Depressive position beginning at about the fifth and sixth months, an infant begins to view external object as a whole and to see that good and bad can exist in the same person. At that time, the infant develops more realistic pictures of the mother and recognizes that she is an independent person who can be both bad and good. Also, the ego begins to nature. However, the infants also realize that mother might go away and be lost forever. Fearing the possible loss of mother the infants desires to protect her and keep her from the danger of its own destructive feeling, those cannibalistic impulses that had previewed projected on her but the infant's ego is mature enough to realize that it lacks the capacity to protect the mother and thus the infant's experiences the guilt for previous destructive urges towards mother. *The feeling of anxiety over losing a loved object coupled with sense of guilt for waiting to destroy that object constitute what Klein called the depressive position.

 

Basic concept for position of normal social growth and development:

                                                       To understand human growth and development, healthcare professionals need to understand and learn about 2 areas:

(1) knowledge of milestone competencies, for example, growth in the motor, cognitive, speech-language, and social-emotional domains and

(2) the eco-biological model of development, specifically, the interaction of environment and biology and their influence on development.

Social-emotional development covers 2 important concepts of development including the development of self or temperament and relationship to others or attachment.

Temperament

Temperament is an innate attribute that defines the child’s approach to the world and his interaction with the environment across 9 dimensions which are activity level, distractibility, the intensity of emotions, regularity, sensory threshold, the tendency to approach versus withdrawing, adaptability, persistence, and mood quality. We can define temperament as the child’s “style” or “personality,” and it is intrinsic to a child. It influences child behavior and interaction with others. Based on the above attributes that define temperament, researchers have categorized young children’s temperament into 3 broad temperamental categories:

1.      Easy or flexible: This category includes children who are friendly and easygoing, comply with routines such as sleep and mealtimes, adapt to changes, and have a calm disposition.

2.      Active or feisty: Children who are fussy, do not follow routines and have irregular feeding and sleeping schedules, are apprehensive of a new environment and new people, have intense reactions, and get easily upset.

3.      Slow to warm up or cautious: Children who may be less engaged or active, have a shy disposition to a new situation and new people, may withdraw or have a negative reaction. They become more comfortable and warmer up with repeated exposure to a new environment or person.

This classification is for the ease of discussion, and all temperaments will not fit into one or other categories exactly. Discussion about temperament with parents and caregivers can better identify the child’s strengths and needs. Based on this, caregivers can adapt their management and caregiving styles to match the child’s temperament. This can mold a child’s behavior and facilitate the child’s successful interaction with the environment, defined as “goodness of fit”.

Attachment:

The social-emotional development begins with parental bonding to the child. This bonding allows the mother to respond to the child’s needs timely and soothe their newborn. The consistent availability of the caregiver results in the development of "basic trust" and confidence in the infant for the caregiver during the first year of life. Basic trust is the first psychosocial stage described by Erickson. This allows the infant to seek for parents or the caregiver during times of stress, known as the attachment.

Children must pass through several stages, or take specific steps, on their road to becoming adults. You can begin to understand this age group if you look at its place on the growth sequence. One of the first things they must do is to start making their own decisions. To do this they must put a little distance between themselves and their parents. This does not mean that you can’t continue to “look after them” or help them when needed. You should, as much as possible, let them learn from the results of their actions.

Author/Compiler: Muhammad Sufyan Noor Khan