1. Class #
Date
Agenda
Assignment
Remarks 1
26/4/17
Overview of Theories 2
3/5/17
Psychoanalysis (Freud) 3
10/5/17
NeoFreudian (Jung)
Assignment 1 due
(Jung Typology Test)
Make-up; same day/time 4
17/5/17
NeoFreudian (Object Relations)
Individual (Adler) 5
24/5/17
Life-Span (Erikson)
Quiz 1 6
31/5/17
Trait
Assignment 2 due
(Adler Birth Order) 7
7/6/17
Behavioral 8
14/6/17
Humanistic
Assignment 3 due 9
21/6/17
Biological
Quiz 2 10
28/6/17
Personality Disorders
Assignment 4 due 11
5/7/17
Class cancelled
Make-up; 8/7/17 12
12/7/17
Group Presentations + Review 13
19/7/17
Final Exam
Paper due

2. Object Relations Approach
ICSP254 Theories of Personality

3. Agenda Psychoanalytic NeoFreudian Object Relations Individual Trait
Social
Humanistic
Biological

4. Object Relations Theory
Building on psychoanalytic theory
John Bowlby, Heinz Kohut, and Melanie Klein are prominent figures
What is the “object”?

5. Object Relations Theory
This theory focuses on relationships with the “objects” (a person or an activity that can satisfy an instinct)
Thus, we invest our psychic energy in people such as our moms who are able to satisfy our basic needs.
Usually, the first object for the infant is its caregiver (usually mom)
Suggests that core of personality is formed in infancy, which is at a younger age than Freud proposed.
The crucial point is that the child is able to become independent from its primary object as they grow

6. Heinz Kohut
Emphasizes the formation of the “self” which is the foundation of becoming an independent person
“self” develops from relationship between infant and “selfobject”
Selfobject’s role is to gratify child’s physical and emotional needs
Self object is warm and attentive = feel pride, important
Self object is rejecting = feel unimportant, may feel shame or guilt

7. Melanie Klein
She was an unwated child who felt rejected by her parents
First 5-6 months of child’s life, personality is formed
Infants assign different objects to each emotional experience, even from the same caregiver
Good object = Happy when mom comes to feed it
Bad object = Angry/hostile when mom did not come
Goal is to see the whole person, rather than parts of the objects
Subsequent relationships then are defined as whether part objects or whole object

8. John Bowlby’s Attachment Theory
Attachment is crucial to healthy development
Evolutionary needs: it ensures that adult project their helpless young
Newborns are biologically equipped with verbal and non- verbal behaviors (e.g., crying, smiling) that function to elicit instinctive responses from caretaker
Why babies are cute!

9. John Bowlby’s Attachment Theory
Protest
Despair
Detachment
Protest – when separated initially, the child protests by crying, calling out, and searching for the lost person Despair – as the period of separation continues, the child show signs of feeling hopeless that the mother will ever return Detachment – final step, child emotionally separates self from the mother. Child responses in an indifferent manner when mom returns.

10. Mary Ainsworth and Attachment
The Strange Situation
Looks at how infant organize their behavior around the attachment figure when they are mildly stressed in a strange room by encountering unfamiliar adult and then being left briefly by attachment figure

11. Mary Ainsworth and Attachment
Secure Attachment
65% of babies
Warm and responsive.
When exposed to stranger, seek contact with mom.
Moderate distress when mom leaves and greet mom enthusiastically when she returns.
Caregivers of secure babies are sensitive and responsive

12. Mary Ainsworth and Attachment
Avoidant Attachment
20% of babies
Do not seek closeness and contact with mom.
Treat mom like a stranger, rarely cry when she leaves the room and ignore her on her return
May even prefer stranger over mother.
Caregivers of avoidant babies are aloof and distant, or intrusiveness and overstimulation.

13. Mary Ainsworth and Attachment
Ambivalent (resistant) Attachment
10% of babies
Clingy and become upset when mom leaves the room. When mom returns, baby is happy and reestablish contact.
However, they show their ambivalence by resisting mom’s comfort behaviors. May cry, kick, or squirm to get away.
Little exploring. Appear angry toward both mom and stranger.
Caregivers of ambivalent babies are inconsistent and insensitive

14. Life Script Explanation
Once your solidify the relationship with your early “object”, you develop a life script that is basically, the story of your life
The script gets played over and over again in your life, you’re repeating the old patterns of relating to other people