Object Relations

Can someone explain what object relation theory is about. I've read countless articles/websites but I feel like I don't get the concept.

Could anyone explain it in simpler terms?

Our past, shapes our present. Ever heard the tongue in cheek expression, didn't one get breastfed enough, as a child, about someone who's in need of anger management?

Forgive me, but I have no idea what you are trying to tell me...

"The object relations theory suggests that during the formation of early relationships, the infant psyche identifies part objects by the function they serve. For example, a breast that produces milk is seen as a good breast. A hand that touches and caresses is seen as a good hand. But a mouth that yells and hurts is seen as a bad mouth. These object identities develop through years of receiving care and the events that occur during that time. Although these representations are skewed and do not accurately depict the tangible object, they eventually grow to represent them. This causes extreme ambivalence within a client who has seen good and bad parts of the same person." - Object Relations

Found this, it has an example... I like examples

I posted this source on Stopdog's thread: Object-Relations & Self-Psychology: A User-Friendly Primer - Barry Joseph Weber, David L. Downer, David I Downing - Google ƒuƒbƒNƒX

It's the best introductory explanation and how the theory is used therapeutically that I've found for what can be very dense and complicated material. There's also the confusion that there are British and American schools of object relations thought, and they use the same terminology, but with different meanings. It's maddening. But I found these theories resonated most strongly for me because it's a developmental view that uses infant/child developmental psychology as a framework for examining needs and deficits to explain current psychological difficulties.

It's how we relate to other people either externally or internally.

Isn't that transference?

It's like the difference between algebra and geometry, where object relations is geometry. It helps if you understand transference to get object relations.

If you can find my answer to motown johnny's question about "isnt it illogical" that's an example of object relations.

Transference is the external. We internalise relationships from our past and than through transference that gets translated.