"Self and object in the postmodern world": Response to Gene Bocknek’s letter.

Responds to Gene Bocknek's comments (see record 2009-17405-001) on the author's original article "Self and object in the postmodern world" (see record 1997-04589-001). While acknowledging Bocknek's comments in regard to his original article, the author maintains the position that he cannot find any disagreement between their viewpoints on the features of ego and the self. However, he does acknowledge that there is real disagreement between them on the subject of the intrapsychic versus interpersonal school or the ongoing discussion as to whether psychotherapy concerns a one-person or a two-person psychology. After restating his position on this matter, the author concludes by extending his appreciation to Bocknek for his comments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"The place of facts in a world of values: Subject and object in a postmodern world": Errata.

Reports an error in the original article by R. J. Smith (Journal of Philosophical and Theoretical Psychology, 2001[Fall], 21[2], 153-172). On pages 160, 161, 166, and 167 the subject to object relationship was reported at "S/O". The corrected representation is "S?O". (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 2002-10964-004.) The value-fact or subject-object split (S-O) recently defended by H. H. Kendler (1999) as necessary for a scientific psychology to establish facts, was rejected by Gestalt psychology as reducing the person to object status. The Gestalt solution correlating principles of perceptual organization with corresponding features of the object world (S/O) has however answered poorly to the vast cultural differences found in values. Communal/dialectical psychology in agreement with a postmodern worldview, treats facts as intrinsically value-laden social constructions mediated by a society's particular social relations (S?O) Examples of fact ambiguity are illustrated, and S?O is recommended as ontologically preferable for psychology as social science and for turn-of-the-millenium psycho-ecology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reading psychoanalytic developments contextually: A reply to Bocknek on Kohut.

Replies to comments by Gene Bocknek (see record 2009-05605-008) on the author's original article (1986) on self psychology and Heinz Kohut. Masek believes that three problems separate his reading of Kohut's contributions from Bocknek's reading of Kohut and Masek's paper. All three problems converge on the issue of how Bocknek's response understands the issues raised in Masek's paper. These problems are as follows: (1) Precedents are not paradigms; (2) trends ≠ sameness of contributions; and (3) the relations between ego, the self, and Ego Psychology and Self Psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Kohut, psychoanalysis, and psychology—A response to Masek.

As a psychologist grounded in and respectful of general psychology, and as a clinician who uses and teaches ego psychological theory, it seems to the author that Masek (1986) overstates the meaning and contribution of Kohut's work. As he points out, the current status of psychoanalysis—as theory and as praxis—is unparalleled for its "creative ferment". Indeed, the metaphor of identity crisis might well apply to the timing and severity of the upheavals confronting the psychoanalytic movement today. But that internal chaos is not wholly attributable to Kohut. Both ego psychology and object relations theory raise questions which jeopardize such fundamental tenets of Freudian theory as the dualistic theory of libidinal and aggressive drives; the primacy of Oedipal conflict in the etiology of psychopathology; the neutrality and impersonal detachment of the analyst. In addition, the limitations of psychoanalysis as a treatment when costed against alternative therapies has radically reduced the client pool, thus raising other questions about theory and practice. From this context, the author reviews Masek's view of the impact of Kohut on the theory and practice of "mainstream" psychoanalytic thought. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self and object in the postmodern world.

Traces some trends in the theory of psychoanalytic technique over the course of the 20th century. Recently, 2 paradigm shifts have been identified: from the drive reduction model to the relational one, and from positivism to constructivism. The 2 are probably not independent, but interconnected. Aspects of the metaphor of the self are examined to understand its implications for theory and practice. Changes in basic analytic tools like free association, evenly hovering attention, and dealing with transference and resistance are outlined in light of changing paradigms and the theory of the self. A postmodern approach suggests that the therapist's skill is in the spirit of intellectual openness, a penetrating personal understanding, and the ability to observe one's own subjectivity along with the ability to recognize which theories and techniques are applicable to specific situations and then to use them effectively. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Narratives and Culture: "Thickening" the Self for Cultural Psychotherapy.

The dominant framework for understanding selfhood in contemporary psychology has been one that privileges a highly individualistic conception of self. This is reflected in both the language and approaches of psychotherapy where the influence of contextual factors (factors outside of the individual) are given marginal consideration in order to maintain some type of 'objectivity' or 'neutrality' in counseling. We argue that an understanding of selfhood which does not take into account the 'relational' nature of selfhood as well as the cultural or historical context of the client, will likely alienate clients who do not view their self through the individualized lenses of (North American) psychology. In order to deal with this problem, we adopt an approach to cultural (and cross-cultural) psychology that views the self as a relational narrative. Such a narrative does not imply an unrestricted freedom to construct our self, but understands the limits to selfhood implied in the web of meanings constitutive of our culture and the web of relations from which our self emerges. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A response to Richard Lettieri's "The ego revisited."

R. Lettieri (see record 2005-08806-004) maintained that a modern conflict theory needs a concept of an ego. This commentary is in response to that suggestion. Because the construct of the ego has been seriously criticized in the psychoanalytic literature, such a suggestion must first address the tenability of the criticisms before such a recommendation can be actualized. In this response to Lettieri's paper, I try to do just that. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Progress in Self Psychology, Volume 2.

Similar to the 1st volume of Progress in Self Psychology, this 2nd volume is a collection of invited papers and papers from national conferences devoted to this area of psychoanalysis. According to Goldberg, these volumes are intended, perhaps temporarily, to serve as a substitute for a journal in self-psychology. Loosely divided into sections on theory, clinical problems, development, and applied psychoanalysis, the collection serves as a sampler of contemporary issues, but does not provide a unified structure for theory and practice that some readers may expect of want from a cutting-edge book. The one issue that rings clearly throughout the book is how self psychology compares and contrasts to classical psychoanalysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self psychology and the analysis of the superego.

The thesis of this article is that self psychology can be construed as a superego psychology in that both involve an intensive study of the self-regulatory and self-evaluative functions of the mind and their precursors in early object relations. Kohut's clinical contribution can be redefined in terms of the structural model as the delineation of the regressive, pathological, and healthy methods through which the ego attempts to restore the approval of the superego. Kohut's grandiose self can be seen as a precursor of the ego ideal and his idealized parent imago as a precursor of conscience. Conflict between the ego ideal and the conscience constitutes a vital aspect of intrapsychic functioning which self psychology has neglected in its focus upon developmental arrest. Sexual and aggressive aims play an important role in regaining the approval of the superego through their unique capacity to evoke a sense of the omnipotence of the corporeal self. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Observing the social world": Response.

Replies to the student reviewers (see record 1993-35323-001) of the author's original study (see record 1993-35289-001) concerned with developing research ideas from observations of real-life events. (0 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Accuracy of interpersonal prediction as a function of judge and object characteristics.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the accuracy obtained in an interpersonal prediction task is affected by selecting systematically the objects of prediction. 9 social objects were selected, varying on the dimensions of ego control and self-favorableness. 69 Ss viewed sound movies of the behavior of each object in a stress interview and tried to predict his self Q sort of 54 adjectives. The Ss were classified also on the dimension of ego control. Significant variance was found to be associated with ego control of the Ss, and with both ego control and self-favorableness of the social objects. 17 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinging object ties: Without desire or play.

From its inception, psychoanalysis has been baffled with patients who seem to cling to a single individual from whom they seem unable to detach themselves despite lack of interest from the object of their affection. This article first discusses the adhesive object tie as an effort to achieve a sense of self. The discussion then turns to how this conceptualization informs therapeutic strategy, transforming anxiety-driven desperation into play and desire. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Which way in psychoanalysis? The problem of suggestion in the postmodern world.

The postmodern critique of psychoanalysis resurrects the problem of suggestion in full force. Contemporary psychoanalysts rely on 1 or more of 6 related strategies to avoid this unfortunate consequence. However, as Freud recognized early on, such strategies alone cannot remediate this problem. Without a viable solution, practitioners must confront the possibility that their interpretations enjoy no hegemony over nonpsychoanalytic ones and that their therapeutic results may be indistinguishable from the effects of suggestion and influence that they ambivalently embrace. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Self is Alive and Well and Living in Relational Psychoanalysis.

Within relational theory the concept of the self continues to occupy a central role. It has survived the premature reports of its demise through a supposed postmodern dissolution and has changed in significant ways to now include areas of subjective experiencing that were previously excluded from consideration. This article illustrates some of those changes, and the tensions within psychoanalysis that have accompanied them. Suggestion is made for a fresh return to thinking about the self that will continue to expand its boundaries and will embrace an inclusive abundance of experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Handbook of contemporary group psychotherapy: Contributions from object relations, self psychology, and social systems theories.

Reviews the book, Handbook of contemporary group psychotherapy: Contributions from object relations, self psychology, and social systems theories edited by Robert H. Klein, Harold S. Bernard, and David L. Singer (see record 1992-98341-000). Divided into three large sections, the book addresses recent theoretical developments, the clinical applications to patient care and the role of the therapist, each from the standpoint of object relations theory, self psychological theory and social systems theory. The chapters in this book are intended to clarify and integrate different theoretical perspectives with the business of daily practice and application to the group milieu. The reviewer points out several problems with the text including lack of consistency, minor inaccuracies, redundancy among chapters, occasional outdated references and, perhaps most cogent of these carps, the rather wide variation in quality among the different chapters. Nevertheless, the reviewer highly recommends this book for all practitioners and students of group therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Object"? I object.

It is time for psychoanalytic discourse to retire the term “object.” The term has become ambiguous, has become anachronistic, and has misleading and even deleterious connotations. It misconstrues the process of internalization as interpreted by contemporary theories and approaches. It also contributes to the impression that psychoanalysis is unconcerned with the kinds of relational and interpersonal factors that have assumed center stage in much analytic thinking. This article addresses different ways that internalizations have been construed and described, and modern concepts of drives that do not require this syntax in order to describe processes of mental representation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empathy's romantic dialectic: Self psychology, intersubjectivity, and imagination.

The author views Kohut's conceptualization of psychoanalytic empathy and its subsequent development by intersubjectivity theorists as an extension of a larger Romantic epistemological tradition in which the role of imagination in mental life is both central and precise. To illuminate this argument, the author reconsiders Kohut's distinction between the "presence of empathy" and "empathy as a mode of observation." Next is described the way in which the ambivalence represented by this distinction is resolved through intersubjectivity theory. Finally, the author explores several key aspects of the Romantic imagination as a response to Cartesianism in order to evolve an understanding of empathy as a bilateral procedure mediating self-experience and experience of the other. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The place of facts in a world of values: Subject and object in a postmodern world.

The value-fact or subject-object split (S-0) recently defended by H. H. Kendler (1999) as necessary for a scientific psychology to establish facts, was rejected by Gestalt psychology as reducing the person to object status. The Gestalt solution correlating principles of perceptual organization with corresponding features of the object world (S/0) has however answered poorly to the vast cultural differences found in values. Communal/dialectical psychology in agreement with a postmodern worldview, treats facts as intrinsically value-laden social constructions mediated by a society's particular social relations (S?0). Examples of fact ambiguity are illustrated, and S?0 is recommended as ontologically preferable for psychology as social science and for turn-of-the-millenium psycho-ecology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Concept and percept formation in object relations theory.

A theoretical model is presented which differentiates between concept and percept formation in object relations theory. The model is composed of ten "units of experience" that are derived from the psychological variables of identity, space, and time. Its construct validity in relation to current psychoanalytic theory is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Revisiting Ernst Kris's concept of Regression in the service of the ego in art.

This article attempts a critical reexamination of the usefulness of Ernst Kris's concept regression in the service of the ego. Although the term was initially welcomed and applied to many psychological and creative phenomena, it was later criticized and, eventually, disappeared in the literature. Regression in creativity is allotted a central place, and it is argued that one must depathologize the concept of regression as well as expand its terminology to reflect advances in object relations theory. Regression that takes place in artmaking, and in the aesthetic response to it, is compared with regression that takes place in psychoanalytic treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)