Human Behavior and the Social Environment I - #141 - Jim Martin

Class #8: October 26, 1999

Update: "What is in the news."

Remember that we will not have class next week.

Information technology home page: Please remember to continue visiting this page for weekly information.

Some Web pages to visit:

Information on Personality Theories: http://www.ship.edu/~cgboeree/perscontents.html

Information on "The Personality Project" and links to psychological journals: http://fas.psych.nwu.edu/personality.html

Information on attachment theory: http://galton.psych.nwu.edu/greatideas/attachment.html

 

Discuss exam:

Course review:

Film:

Presentation: McLaughlin, Tabangin, Zegers, & Clarke (K) - 6:10 to 7:10

 

Discussion and Readings: Feinsod & Tabangin and Hiers & Shinkle

Review notes on English and American Schools of Thought on Object Relationship Theory.

The "lens" for understanding personality here is the focus on relationships of self to the other.

Key issues are: self as independent and "separate" and the nature of attachments to others.

Object relationships refer to real relationships with others, the internalization of these relationships and the meaning of these internal relationships with others and with the self.

The use of the word "object" refers to "person" in psychoanalytic literature.

Object relations theory links at how relationships address how relationships meet needs (understood in a broad context).

Optimum development includes concepts like:

Examine the analogy of the body metabolizing food and drink in terms of the person processing experiences with others and how these experiences becoming part of ones own personality. Think about your own life experiences and your personality.

Review the meaning of the quote from Freud: "Thus the shadow of the object fell upon the ego." Berzoff page 133. Object relations theory involves the search for the process and meaning of how & why a person identifies with others, takes in others, and terms feelings about others into ways of feeling about self.

Basic concepts from British School of Object Relationships:

Review Winnicott’s concept of "True Self" (Berzoff, p 140).

Examine Klein’s concept of the blurring of what is inside and what is outside for the infant. Also the concept of love AND hate being held as emotions at the same time in primary relationships. The ability to see the complexity of self and others as persons. Discuss what it was like when you began to see your own parents as REAL people.

Consider the notion of "mature dependence" - connection to others vs. the concepts of independence and autonomy as reflections of mental health. How are these concepts presented in the media?

Understand the use of the terms "conflict model" and "deficit model" related to psychological dysfunction caused by maladaptive defenses vs. dysfunction understood as being caused by developmental arrest. Seen in Berzoff’s example about "splitting" as a developmental concept or as a defense mechanism.

Understand the meaning of the terms:

a. Splitting: describes the process by which the good and bad or positive and negative aspects of the self and others are experienced as separate or are kept apart. Refers to how objects are seen prior to seeing then as whole.

b. Introjection: Assimilating part of the external object (e.g., badness) a part of self. Believing that I am bad (that is why I am being treated this way) is better than believing that the world is bad - the sense of hopelessness that would otherwise prevail. Consider in terms of violence as an issue in society.

c. Projection: Discuss examples in childhood. Get rid of feelings that are unacceptable.

Basic Concepts from the American School of Object Relationships:

Examine (Berzoff, beginning on page 158) Mahler’s schema (separation-individuation) that explains how a child makes attachments to significant others, internalizes those attachments and yet ultimately is able to become a separate, autonomous person.

Remember the limitations to Mahler’s model - both cultural and practical in terms of stage-specific, and time/developmental moments, and the knowledge from current research on development.

Understand the concept - object constancy (Berzoff p 164/165. establishment of a relatively stable, benign, and positive representation of the mother, and eventually of others, that holds even in the face of absence, disappointment, or anger.

Examine the notion of "mother blaming" in our society.

Discuss Berzoff’s critique of the socio-economic and family structure realities of our society with current developmental psychology research findings.

Remember

Bowlby’s theory of attachment:

Understand the concept of attachment as rooted in biology and according to Bowlby has the function of protection.

It is important over the life-course.

Consider Bowlby’s assertion about the relationship between an individual’s experiences with his parents and his later capacity to make affectional bonds with spouse and children.

Some new thoughts to consider:

Mahler’s "clinical" infant begins undifferentiated and moves through sequential phases toward self-other differentiation. Stern’s ‘observed" infant starts out differentiated and achieves the capacity for symbolic merger or undifferentiation only as the result of sophisticated and emotional capacities that come with maturation.

Mahler provides a conceptionalization of the psychodynamic mental processes surrounding the emergence of self. Stern builds on this work and he describes the transactional interchanges.

In Theory, Culture, and Behavior: Object relations in Context, Applegate explores the sociocultural aspects of object relationship theory. The key point (as expressed in the example of transitional objects) is that cultural differences (as expressed in child rearing practices) can lead to different patterns (or expressions) of development and it is important to be sensitive to these cultural differences.

Self Psychology:

The concept of empathy as a way of knowing - to understand from within the experiences of another.

Proposed a tripolar concept of self:

Self Psychology’s view of Psychpathology:

Conflict vs. deficit model of psychopathology - Conflict model: psychological problems and illness arise when internal impulses and desires clash with prohibitions and guilt; in the deficit model: human beings are viewed as much more vulnerable to hurt, neglect, and deprivation than to being disturbed by tumultuous forces from within. Think about the application of these models to social work/social policy.

Self psychologists distinguish between:

Critique of self psychology in its social context:

Self Psychology sees the self as tripartite with each part of the self having specific object needs:

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Notes from previous student presentations:
MARGARET MAHLER AND OBJECT RELATIONS THEORY (U.S.)
Began her career as a pediatrician in Vienna. Arrived in the U.S., via London, in the 1930's. Her work is conceptually related to the British School of OR theory. She built upon the work of Winnecott, in particular. Her work also extends several of Hartmann's (ego psychology) ideas.
Development hinges on modes of relatedness, rather than tension reduction.
Believed that the ego begins to develop only after the child is able to control the need for immediate gratification of needs.
CENTRAL ISSUES OF OR THEORY
1. The need for attachment.
2. The importance of the quality of attachment.
3. The nature of the internal object world.
4. How the self develops through relationship toward greater differentiation and individuation.
5. Emphasize interpersonal relationship rather than innate biological drives.
6. Focus on preoedipal development (first 3 years of life), rather than on later oedipal conflicts. View developmental stages in terms of relationships with object.
7. View pathology as resulting from early developmental arrests deriving from primary family relationships, where the mother is viewed as the primary caretaker, rather than from intrapsychic conflict.
Mahler focuses on the psychological processes by which an infant separates and individuates from the mother, in order to become an individual.
Postulates an epigenetic view of development.
3 PHASES (3rd phase has 4 subphases)
Phase 1: AUTISTIC PHASE (first few weeks of life)
Objectless (no self or other); Oblivious to all stimulation; Sleeps most of the time; Lacks the ability to be aware of, or to relate to, external objects; Time of complete non-relatedness and nonmeaning
Phase 2: SYMBIOTIC PHASE (1 month - 10 months)
Mother and child merge, sharing a common boundary, as if one; Infant views mother and self as a single unit; Feeling of safe and security; Physiological maturation crisis occurs whereby the infant shows increased sensitivity to external stimulation; Toward end of the phase, emerging awareness of mother as an external object (particular with respect to the mother's ability to aid in tension reduction); Infant begins to organize experience according to bipolar categories (good or bad)
Used the term symbiosis with two different referents:
1. actual relationship between infant and mother
2. an intrapsychic event, or fantasy
Phase 3: SEPARATION - INDIVIDUATION (has 4 subphases)
Recently termed "psychological birth"; Through all the subphases of separation-individuation, the response of the mother is stressed. The mother must continually readapt her responses to be in line with her infants changing needs.
Separation: Experiencing oneself as a separate, distinct entity that stands alone
Individuation: Experiencing oneself as a unique individual being
This aspect of the theory reflects Mahler's Western, white, middle class views, where autonomy and independence are highly valued. Jeffrey Applegate has addressed issues of cultural diversity within the context of this theory in his article "Theory, Culture, and Behavior: Object Relations in Context".
Subphase 1: DIFFERENTIATION (5 months - 1 year)
Sometimes called "hatching"; Infant begins to separate out of the symbiotic union; Physical relationship with mom expands to include self-determining body positions; Infant searches beyond the mother-child sphere; Establishing a difference between mother and other; Infant's ego is developing; Mother is still important, but is no longer the center of the universe
Subphase 2: PRACTICING (1 year - 2 years)
Coincides with increasing physical abilities; Can physically stand alone; Can also walk away (interpreted as a symbol of an innate tendency toward separation and autonomy); Omnipotent view; When the world does become overwhelming, the child returns to the mother for emotional support and reassurance, often called refueling; This is the phase where transitional objects may appear as important in the child's world.
Subphase 3: RAPPROCHEMENT (begins at about a year and a half)
Child has opposing needs: close vs separate; Child realizes they are very small, in contrast to the feeling of omnipotence in the previous phase. This realization causes anxiety. Frustration sets in as the child begins to realize that mom is a separate person, and will not always be available. Leads to a conflicting and ambivalent view of mother; Child must discover that distance doesn't necessarily mean abandonment; Developmental and maturation changes include developing ego functions (particularly language and reality testing) and awareness of anatomical differences between the sexes, and his/her own gender; Successful resolution of this crisis is a central developmental requirement in order to avoid subsequent pathology. The mother's reaction during this phase is particularly important for a healthy outcome; Most complex of the phases (one that is often viewed as the source for the development of psychopathology, narcissism and borderline personality, in particular); Awareness of the father increases.
Phase 4: ON THE WAY TO OBJECT CONSTANCY
The establishment of a relatively stable, benign, and positive representation of the mother, and eventually of others; Provides security, strength, and the feeling that the self can endure and be well, whether or not the object is meeting its needs at the moment.
KEY CONCEPTS
MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS
Infant develops internal representations of object relationships in the real world. Initially, these are based on the infant's relationship with its mother. These mental representations may, or may not, be accurate reflections of the person and of the relationship. In addition to mental representations of others, internal representations of self also develop, called self representation. Mahler, and other OB theorists believed these representations (of others and self) become the foundation upon which future relationships are based, and set the stage for individual functioning in relationships in one's future. Templates for future relationships.
ADAPTATION
Mahler's work follows from the work of Hartmann in this area. She was considered the most influential of his followers. Mahler organized her theory around the adaptive capacities of he infant (more than Winnecott did). Based on her observational research, she believed the infant is actively involved in the task of adaptation in the mother-infant interaction. (Winnecott believed that the good enough mother responded to the infant's needs. This was a uni-directional view vs Mahler's bi-directional view.)
Mahler also believed the infant adapts to the requirements (conscious and unconscious) of the mother. Mahler believes the mother and infant cue each other as to their needs.
Mahler believed that the most important adaptive feature for infants is their capacity to extract from the environment. The extent to this capacity varies from one individual to the next. Mahler's believes that, in this way, infant's are uniquely suited to deal with their environment. They are an active participant in finding and shaping good enough mothering. This is a survival instinct.
These points highlight Mahler's interactive view, which is in line with other developmental theories to come, which view children as acting upon, interacting with, and shaping their environment.
When using the term environment in discussing Mahler's theory, it is meant in an extremely narrow sense. For Mahler, environment meant mother. She did not use the term broadly as is more common to think of how it is defined now.
For adequate development, a well matched mother-child pair would be:
- child who elicits response, matched with responsive mother.
- child with a lesser capacity to extract from the environment, matched with mother who can to reach out to the infant.
- child with heightened capacity to extract who reaches out, with less responsive mother, but who thus forces the mother to respond.
A poorly matched mother-child pair would be:
- child with adequate capacity to extract matched with mother who is incapable of response.
- child who cannot connect with mother, no matter how much mother extends herself.
These patterns can be extrapolated to the treatment/therapeutic environment, with respect to client/therapist matches.
ATTACHMENT AND SEPARATION - INDIVIDUATION
Attachment and separation are crucial determinants of later interpersonal relationships.
Attachment and separation are necessary to the developmental process.
Mahler viewed object relations in later life (interpersonal relationships) as dependent on the early mother-child symbiosis and merger, as well as the child's successful differentiation and separation.
SPLITTING
Originally developed by Winnecott.
Mental representations in infants reflect simplistic, opposing categories of perceptions of people (such as good or bad). As a result of this polarization, infants engage in a process called splitting.
- Example: the infants idea of mother as good when being held and nurtured, and the mother as bad, when facing unmet needs through separation.
According to the theory, infants cannot integrate conflicting information. Ultimately, however, as the child develops, they must learn to mend splits by finding a way to retain an internal image of the good enough mother while simultaneously experiencing feelings that the mother is bad.
- It is from this idea that the notion of transitional objects developed, in that such objects are viewed as symbols of the caregiver for self-soothing.
The process of splitting can also refer to the development of two selves: a true self and a false self. The true self represents the unique person. The false represents the child's need to comply with mother's demands, leading to a person eager to please people and out of touch with their own needs. This view conflicts with Mahler's perspective on adaptation, whereby it was normal and natural for both the mother and the infant to respond to each others needs.
GENERAL CRITIQUES
Recent work suggests that Mahler's first stage of symbiosis is inaccurate on one important point: In contrast to Mahler's view of the infant as an objectless, non-related being, it has been shown that infants have cognitive capacities to recognize others in their environment from birth.
Theory was originally developed in England and the U.S. during a decade when belief in the existence and value of the nuclear family was at its height. Within that, the theory came to focus specifically on the mother-child relationship. Here, two assumptions were made:
1) mothers are primary caregivers
2) mothers would be available all day during child rearing
The theory, thus, became a mother-blaming theory. By zeroing in on the infant's relationship with its mother, the theory lost sight of other relationships the infant has (both inside and outside the immediate family).
- The 1990 U.S. census showed that only 21% of the population lives within traditional nuclear family of a biological mother and father.
- Only 10% of mothers do not work outside the home and can be full-time moms (of this group, 3% use nannies and other outside caregivers, so the child is still not being raised exclusively by the mom).
FEMINIST CRITIQUES AND GENDER ISSUES
Feminist critiques focus on several theoretical limitations:
- notions pertaining to gender roles and parenting
- lack of attention to larger sociocultural systems
- methodological weaknesses
Because OR theory focuses on the mother as the primary determinant of the child's development, it assumes that women possess an innate capacity to merge with another and to sacrifice their own needs in the interest of others (maternal instinct).
OR theory pathologizes women who do not adapt well enough to their baby's needs and as a result, mothers are blamed for the baby's ego splits and later psychopathology. There is no acknowledgment of the father or of sociocultural influences on the mother-infant relationship. (This is an area of research that Jeffrey Applegate is clearly into for those people who are particularly interested these issues.)
Our sociocultural values devalue women and mothering. Mothers become the overwhelming targets of love and hate for their children, seen as powerfully rejecting or engulfing. The success or failures of children are viewed as the mother's responsibility.
Feminist writers have addressed differences in male and female development. Although the original theorists did not focus on gender development, feminists have focused on the aspect of the theory that positions the mother as the necessary primary parent. Traditional object relations theory assumes the mother-child relationship is both inevitable and necessary and that the father's role is peripheral. This results in the assumption of gender-unequal child care.
Feminist theories address the issue of same-gender and opposite-gender parenting by postulating that attachment and separation are unequally weighted for males (sons) and females (daughters):
- Males and females are socialized differently because of their same-gender or opposite-gender parenting.
- Males/sons are taught to separate from mother (opposite-gender parent) whereas females are taught to remain attached to mother (same-gender parent). Because mothers identify with their daughters, they extend the identification period, longer. This results in females defining their self as in relation, and males defining their self in separation. Therefore, males and females experience relatedness and separateness differently. Males and females, thus, experience different vulnerabilities and strengths, which deeply affects their self concepts and lifestyles. (Example: Kanfield (1985) supported the notion that women unconsciously fear success because of anxiety about arousing others' envy and mother's, in particular. The logic goes that if they achieve, they may face isolation, loss of connectedness in relationship, and therefore, loss of their feminine identify.
Several recent studies have replicated the findings that daughters and sons are not treated differently in these ways.
Some feminist theorists (Miller and colleagues, Gilligan) believe that women's development is primarily relational, that the self can only develop within the context of connectedness and, therefore, the object relations goal of autonomy does not apply to women.
The irony is that OR theory deviated from Freud, replacing instinctual pleasure drives with the need for relationship (identified, above, as female). However, the theory ultimately breaks with this vision by setting individuation as the final goal.
Chodorow, a feminist writer, also has a different spin on the Oedipus complex:
- Girls have a core feminine identity that is never abandoned.
- During the oedipal phase, girls add love for the father to love for the mother.
- Girls, therefore, having greater complexity in their object world than boys.
- The Oedipus complex is not as traumatic for girls as Freud claimed.
- Girls assume heterosexuality to gain some autonomy from their primary love object (mother) rather than to make up for a lack. The girl, in turning to the father, does not repudiate the mother, but ultimately gains, by this turn, a richer endopsychic life than is available to boys, who must renounce the mother.
- Where Freud had girls as lacking, Chodorow does not level out the playing field, but instead, flips things around in such a way so that, ultimately, boys are lacking.
INFLUENCE UPON FUTURE THEORISTS
Mahler's delineation of processes of attachment, separation, and differentiation provided the foundation for understanding normal and pathological development which influenced the work of others, including Kernberg and Kohut.
OR theories continued to move the field in a direction away from personality as based solely on innate biological drives, and to include consideration of the environment.
OR theorists have drawn attention to environmental and social factors in the form of primary caretakers by focusing on relationships. They have also drawn attention to the importance of mental representations (one's idiosyncratic inner life based on one's interpretation of reality).
In applying this to social work practice, it carries over nicely to the idea of starting where the client is, using their narrative.
As a result of their focus on issues of attachment, differentiation, and separation, these theorists have influenced child-rearing practices. In general, child developmentalists agree that bonding, attachment, and separation in infancy are important processes.
Object relations has contributed a number of important concepts for understanding psychological development:
1. The absolute need of human beings for attachment.
2. The child's inner world is shaped by internal representations of others.
3. Human beings need to be both along, and with other.
4. The theory addresses why we need others, how we take them in, and how we relate to them internally.
5. Gives us a new way to look at the therapeutic encounter by looking at the relationship that develops between client and therapist within the context of object relations.