The Theory of Object Relations

Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development was the first theory that demonstrated the development from “womb-to-tomb.” His theory posited three tenets, the first that each era in life had a developmental crisis, and that at each period there was the opportunity for growth and development. Each developmental stage poses a developmental crisis that is central to that age, and as stated in Erikson’s second tenet, if there is an interruption in the development of one of the stages, the stages following will be effected. Though each developmental stage has one fundamental stage that is being worked on, Erikson’s third tenet states that the challenges of all of the other stages are still present; although there is one crisis that is

* M1 Discuss the principal psychological perspectives applied to the understanding of the development of individuals

Identity-“Ones personal qualities.”Identiy is something only he or she can fully define. My uncle says I am affectionate,cheerful, and calm. My grandmother sees me as slim, pretty and sweet. My dad described me as perky, cheerful and happy, my mom says beautiful, gentle, and self-conscious. These adjectives describe me accurately, yet they are only abstract versions of me. Adjectives cannot begin to describe me and I aknowlege these descriptions for what they are, a condensed translation from my outward self to the world. It is impossible for anyone to understand me completely because nobody has experienced the things I have. My mother has never cherished a raggedy doll named Katie and my father never

“Object Relations Theory is an offshoot of psychoanalytic theory that emphasises interpersonal relations, primarily in the family and especially between mother and child. States that an object (a person, part of that person or his symbol) relates to another through actions or behaviours

During this process, children discover how people around them think and these social activities evolve into internal mental activities, also known as internalization. Vygotsky also discussed how children begin

Freud was known for having the inclinations to follow every mental issue back to sexual issues. Despite the fact that lone parts of his hypothesis of psychosexual advancement are being acknowledged by standard analysts, Freud's hypothesis of the Oedipal Complex has turned out to be extremely well known in the way of life. That hypothesis is the critical for sexual association with the parent of the inverse sex and a corresponding feeling of contention with the parent of a similar sex. Sigmund Freud acquainted us with the idea in his "Interpretation of Dreams" in 1899. Psychoanalysis is a system of psychological theory and therapy that aims to treat mental disorders by investigating the interaction of conscious and unconscious elements. Freud developed this theory all because of his study of the unconscious mind. And that the unconscious mind will govern your mind and behavior to a greater than anyone would ever think would be done. The whole purpose of of the psychoanalysis theory is to to turn the unconscious conscious. That's what psychoanalysis is and how it was developed (McLeod, 2014).

Ronald Fairbairn was a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh teaching medicine where he incorporated his extensive knowledge of Freud’s structural model in his lectures. It was during this time that uncertainties provoked Fairbairn to questions the accuracy of the structural model and initiated Fairbairn’s quest to find an alternative theory, which later led to him becoming one of the key contributors to Object relations theory along side, Melanie Klein, and D.W Winnicott. (Object relations theory and practice An introduction, David E. Scharff, pg 5 1996)

Schemas are detailed cognitive networks stored in long term memory. They organise and relate information from past experiences to represent an individual’s construal of different objects and events (Eysenck & Keane, 2015). Similar cognitive networks about oneself are self-schemas. According to Markus (1977) these guide self-related actions and behaviour, and form self-concept. This knowledge is important for improving oneself, building self-esteem, and striving for success (Suls & Wheeler, 2011). The initial development of schemas and self-awareness is thought to occur in childhood; detailed in Piaget’s Stage Theory (Piaget, 1976). Rather than exploring child cognitive development, this essay will discuss some of the theories of individual self-schema development and some ways they are maintained under threat.

Throughout time the development of psychology has had many different theorists but I would like to explore these three particular theories.

The Representational Theory of Mind proposes that we, as both physiological and mental beings, are systems which operate based on symbols and interpretations of the meanings of such symbols rather than beings which operate just on physiological processes (chemical reactions and biological processes). It offers that humans and their Minds are computing machines, mental software (the Mind) which runs on physical hardware (the body). It suggests, too, that we are computing machines functioning as something other than a computing machine, just as every other machine does.

There are various kinds of identity (individualized or shared) that people are expected to possess. (Hollinger, 2004) namely; personal identity which is known as a

When a client attends individual therapy, the focus is traditionally on the client and their internal thoughts, feelings, and perceptions. A relational therapy would encourage an inward look, but also a recognition that the goal of therapy is to help the client not to understand themselves through introspection, but to relate to others well and to experience belonging (Slife & Wiggins, 2009). RACT theorizes that interpersonal problems are often what bring clients into the therapy room and good relational connections with the therapist and others is often what they are looking for. As Wachtel (2008) explains, relational therapy is less of an interview or an examination and more of a conversation. Relational therapy is a relationship and has the potential to be a good healing one as therapist and client(s) work towards common goals.

Sigmund Freud defines self-psychology as the conceptualization of the relationships within self-object. Identically self-psychology, is design to

Ego: In this second developmental stage, compromises in instinctive responses to environmental circumstances begin to develop. The ego mediates with the id by considering the rules of the real world and the consequences of actions taken in that world.

Psychoanalysis was the first theory that I seemed to show a very big interest in because of the way in which it deals with the conscious and unconscious mind. Our conscious mind is one that contains information, feelings or actions that we are aware of whereas our unconscious mind is one that contains information, feelings or actions that we are not aware of. We may act a certain way or dream about a particular incident, but not have any consciousness as to why this is occurring. I took a very big interest in this because I know for myself that there are things within my unconscious that I am not aware of. Not only do I feel that it pertains to myself, but when I talk to a lot of my friends and they express their feelings or such to me, always in the back on my