PSYB30H3 Lecture Notes - Heinz Kohut, Melanie Klein, Object Relations Theory
Document Summary
Object relations emphasize the intrapsychic experience of relationships. Relational cultural theory emphasizes the interpsychic experience connections/disconnections: example-stone center women. Freud had a drive based model of the human psyche: seek objects to satisfy our drives. Object relations is a relational model, in which the drive to form relationships is the basic need: the object is the aim of relational needs, example-teddy bears. Freud studied biological instics, she studied relations. She adhered to the drive theory, but saw people as the objects. Splitting an object image allows them to internalize it as clearly good or clearly bad, while loving the actual external person who is a combination of both (although integration happens later) Splitting of the good (arises from nurture) and bad (arises from frustration) allows the child to from a good-me and bad-me: the bad-me is important in that it allows child to move towards individuations and separation.
