168 Part II Psychodynamic Theories
Because they emphasize the mother-child relationship and view these
experiences as crucial to later development, object relations theorists rate
high on determinism and low on free choice.
For the same reason, these theorists can be either pessimistic or opti-
mistic, depending on the quality of the early mother-infant relationship. If
that relationship is healthy, then a child will grow into a psychologically
healthy adult; if it is not, the child will acquire a pathological, self-absorbed
personality.
On the dimension of causality versus teleology, object relations theory
tends to be more causal. Early experiences are the primary shapers of per-
sonality. Expectations of the future play a very minor role in object relations
theory.
We rate object relations theory high on unconscious determinants of
behavior because most of the theorists trace the prime determinants of
behavior to very early infancy, a time before verbal language. Thus, people
acquire many personal traits and attitudes on a preverbal level and remain
unaware of the complete nature of these traits and attitudes. In addition,
Klein’s acceptance of an innately acquired phylogenetic endowment places
her theory even further in the direction of unconscious determinants.
The emphasis that Klein placed on the death instinct and phylogenetic
endowment would seem to suggest that she saw biology as more important
than environment in shaping personality. However, Klein shifted the empha-
sis from Freud’s biologically based infantile stages to an interpersonal one.
Because the intimacy and nurturing that infants receive from their mother
are environmental experiences, Klein and other object relations theorists
lean more toward social determinants of personality.
On the dimension of uniqueness versus similarities, object relations
theorists tend more toward similarities. As clinicians dealing mostly with dis-
turbed patients, Klein, Mahler, Kohut, and Bowlby limited their discussions to
the distinction between healthy personalities and pathological ones and were
little concerned with differences among psychologically healthy personalities.Key Terms and Concepts
∙ Object relations theories assume that the mother-child relationship
during the first 4 or 5 months is the most critical time for personality
development.
∙ Klein believed that an important part of any relationship is the internal
psychic representations of early significant objects, such as the mother’s
breast or the father’s penis.
∙ Infants introject these psychic representations into their own psychic
structure and then project them onto an external object, that is, another
person. These internal pictures are not accurate representations of the
other person but are remnants of earlier interpersonal experiences.