Talk:Object relations theory

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I have deleted the sentence that follows the part of this article that is about theory of mind: "On the other hand not all children are molded by their parents. Some children turn out completely different than how their parents raised them." I would argue that the importance of some kind of social object relations in development of theory of mind as a cognitive ability is here being conflated with the idea that parents influence personality and emotional profile in children. Huwtube 18:30, 21 April 2007 (UTC)

I think someone might want to talk about how an infant internalizes a caregiver (mother actually) as an object. The whole process of disillusionment, attempts to destroy the object, realizing it is seperate from the infant, etc. JoeSmack (talk) 18:10, August 10, 2005 (UTC)

Is the section on Stockholm Syndrome neutral? The idea that it is simply 'genetically programmed' seems difficult, could this be substantiated? Perhaps a psychological rather than biological perspective would be useful here?

I have removed the book by Winnicott that I originally put in the References section, because, having had a chance to look at it, I see this was clearly for the lay person. I tend to prefer to cite academic books. ACEOREVIVED 20:58, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

i propose cutting the two paragraphs in italics in the history section, and pasting them here in the talk page where i believe they belong. they feel like an inappropriate introjection where they are. Geb80 (talk) 19:35, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

...which i've now done, and here it is.

[edit] Interpolated item

This paragraph has been inserted by someone who is not the original author. It is my hope that someone else will provide a better explanation of Object Relations then what has so far been described. Indeed, Object Relations deals with objects. A mother's breast is an object that an infant "deals" with. What is lacking in the first paragraph is how an infant puts together a whole object from what seems to an adult as a part object. The mother's breast might be, at one instance "good", and then at another time "bad". This good/bad relationship is referred to as the Splitting Defense Mechanism. Things (part objects) are simply good or bad. If things go well enough, an infant /child will learn that "things" have a range of qualities from good to bad as they grow. And part object will come together to form whole objects, with a range of qualities. As the need to the Splitting Defense Mechanism wanes, another process is taking place, and that is the Separation/Individualization phase. This phase describes the change from a symbiotic existence, to the recognition of separate part objects, to separate whole objects, to the individual self.

To truly understand Object Relations Theory, one must know the history of Sigmund Freud, Anna Freud, and Melanie Klein, and the differences between Freud (both Sigmund and Anna) and Klein. Klein's theory starts what is called "the British School", and many have followed this school of thought and added their own perspectives to it. The division between the British school and the American/Freudian school is wide and deep, or has been, as noted later in this article. The issue I have with this article is the somewhat simplistic presentation of what Object Relations Theory is. To gain a good understanding of it, I would suggest searching for Melanie Klein, and others listed in this article, on your favorite search engine.

This article may be too technical for a general audience.
Please help improve this article by providing more context and better explanations of technical details to make it more accessible, without removing technical details.

69.140.152.55 (talk) 02:42, 30 April 2008 (UTC)