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Object relations theory is a school of thought in psychoanalytic theory and psychoanalysis centered around theories of stages of ego development. Its concerns include the relation of the psyche to others in childhood and the exploration of relationships between external people, as well as internal images and the relations found in them.[1] Adherents to this school of thought maintain that the infant's relationship with the mother primarily determines the formation of their personality in adult life. Attachment is the bedrock of the development of the self, i.e. the psychic organization that creates one's sense of identity.[2]
- ^ Greenberg, Jay; Mitchell, Stephen (1983). Object Relations in Psychoanalytic Theory. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. pp. 12. ISBN 0674629752.
- ^ Goldenberg, Herbert; Goldenberg, Irene (2008). Family Therapy: An Overview. Belmont, CA: Thomson Higher Education. p. 160. ISBN 9780495097594.