The role of social objects in the constitution of the mind

• Autor(a) principal: Hauck, Simone
• Data de Publicação: 2018
• Outros Autores: Freitas, Lucia Helena Machado
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UFRGS
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10183/230776
• topic: Psicanálise; Psicoterapia psicodinâmica; Apego ao objeto; Meio social; Desenvolvimento humano; Psychodynamic psychotherapy; Psychoanalysis; Object relations; Society; Development; Social object; Psicoanálisis; Relaciones de objeto; Sociedad; Desarrollo; Objeto social

The theory of object relations is fundamental to the psychoanalytic understanding of the development of the mind. The initial relations with caregivers are introjected as patterns of relations containing the self, the object (the other) and the related affects, and are repeated throughout life. The way of dealing with relations (defense mechanisms), the ability to accept the good and bad aspects of the self and the other, and the level of independence are also entailed in the initial experiences. In this article, we propose there is another order of objects that is internalized during development, following a pattern that is similar to that characteristic of the relation with the caregivers. The individual also introjects “society” as an object: self + social object + affects and defenses related to the pattern of the relationship. The relation with this object that represents society is experienced as if it was a human object, being part of all sorts of events in the internal world. The definitions and specifics of the concept are presented, along with its clinical relevance and possible applications.