Understanding Object Relations Theory

This assignment focuses on the exploration of Object Relations Theory within the field of psychology. It encourages students to delve into the theoretical foundations of this influential approach, examining its key concepts and applications in various contexts. The emphasis is on understanding how object relations theory sheds light on personality development, interpersonal relationships, and clinical practice.

Running head: PERSONALITY (PSYCHOLOGY)
PERSONALITY (PSYCHOLOGY)
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1PERSONALITY (PSYCHOLOGY)
Question 1
Personality can be defined as the mixture of characteristic traits or qualities that
constitute an individual's unique character (Millon et al, 2012). The four major perspectives of
personality include:
 Psychoanalytic theory – It is the theory of personality organization and the dynamics
of personality development that guides psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating
psychopathology (Elliott, 2015).
 Trait theory - In this theory, primary interest is focused on the measurement of traits,
which can be defined as habitual patterns of behavior, thought, and emotion (Colbert
et al, 2012).
 Humanistic theory – This theory emphasizes the study of the whole person. Here
human behavior is studied not only from the viewpoint of the observer, but from that
of the person doing the behaving, as well (Schneider, Pierson & Bugental, 2014).
 Social-Cognitive theory – This preaches that parts of an individual's knowledge
acquisition can be directly related to observing others within the context of social
interactions, experiences, and outside media influences (Cervone & Pervin, 2015).
I agree with the humanistic theory of psychology. Out of all these 4 perspectives, this
theory takes into account the entire human side when analyzing the psychological front of the
human brain. Qualities that make humans unique amongst all animals such as aspiring for self-
determination and self-realization are dealt with in this theory (Ewen, 2014). Psychologists
believing in this train of thought, believe that an individual’s subjective experiences are more
important than the objective reality for judging their personality. This leads to an optimistic
perspective on human nature. In this view, people themselves are held responsible for their

2PERSONALITY (PSYCHOLOGY)
actions and lives; and that they are entitled to their own freedom and will to modify their
behaviour and attitude in life.
Maslow’s theory of ‘hierarchy of needs’, provides a detailed study of how exactly the
needs of a man affect his personality (Schultz & Schultz, 2016; Ryckman, 2012). There are four
major levels in this hierarchy. The bottom one refers to physiological needs such as food,
clothing and shelter. The satisfaction of these needs lead a person to fulfil the next need of
‘safety’. They include the needs for a person to be safe, not only biologically or physically but
socially as well. The third level encircles attachment or the need of ‘belonging’. This need of a
man is due to his social nature or rational being.
Once the above needs are fulfilled, the need for self-esteem or self-actualization arises,
which questions his need of existence and makes him strive to achieve something significant in
his life. This final stage provides him the uniqueness which is necessary as an individual or
human being. Carl Rogers borders on a similar point of view with his ‘actualizing tendency’
theory where he believes that each person has an inherent special tendency or instinct within him
that motivates him to grow and develop. He holds a similar view regarding self-esteem and states
that it helps people to build character and lead towards a better lifestyle.
Personally I agree with this theory as it leads to awareness and acceptance of individuals
themselves, helps them develop close friendships, instils in them openness, spontaneity, and a
tendency to have experiences that are emotionally and spiritually gratifying.
I disagree with the psychoanalytic theory of personality. On the other hand, this school of
thought emphasize on unconscious desires, as well as significance of childhood memories to be
the key factor in shaping personality. Sigmund Freud the pioneer in this area holds the view that
the very early stages of human life, start shaping personality of an individual. His theory is based

3PERSONALITY (PSYCHOLOGY)
on the conjecture that the drive for human behavior is sex (Wright, 2013; Fromm, 2013).
Negative alterations in any area starting from the act of sucking milk to toilet training to further
periods of growth encircling genital and phallic stages, will result in negative alterations of a
person’s character as per Sigmund Freud. Addiction to narcotics for example smoking or a
natural satisfaction experienced while sucking objects can be associated with a deficiency in
some way in the person’s oral stage. Stubbornness can be associated with a deficiency in the
‘anal’ stage of development in a similar way.
Adler’s theory is based on the belief that human behaviour is affected by the need to
overcome inferiority complex (Adler, 2013). He too, like Freud, believes that the circumstances
of a person’s childhood shape up the personality exhibits (Eckstein & Kaufman, 2012).
Personally I disagree with the psychoanalytic theory as it is based on Freudian theory, which
itself is declared flawed by some psychologists. Moreover, individual differences and
characteristics that contribute to human uniqueness are overlooked here. In addition, critics
accuse some such therapists of not recovering repressed memories of patients but placing ‘false
memories’ into their minds instead.
Question 2
Erik Erikson, the German-born American psychoanalyst and developmental psychologist
who was known for his theory of the psychosocial development of human beings. The
psychoanalyst may be considered most famous for coining the phrase “identity crisis” (Kroger,
2014). The American psychoanalyst may also be considered one of the initiators of ego
psychology. Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development are an all-inclusive theory of
psychoanalysis that recognizes eight serial stages which a healthy individual has to go through
during his life journey starting from infancy to the end of his lifetime (Newman & Newman,

4PERSONALITY (PSYCHOLOGY)
2017). According to Erikson, each of these stages is built on the successfully completed previous
stages.
The eight stages mentioned by the American psychoanalyst in terms of their crises are as
follows:
 Hope – This stage is incurred during the age group of the first eighteen months of
life (McLeod, 2013). During this stage of life, the infant has its basic needs
fulfilled by his parents. This leads to the formation of trust or mistrust in the child.
According to Erik Erikson, the major developmental activity of the stage of
infancy is gathering knowledge of the fact that whether or not the care givers are
being able to satisfy the basic needs of the infant. The existential question that the
child faces in this stage is whether or not can the world be trusted.
 Will – This stage last from the age of two years to the age of four years. The
major psychological crisis that an individual incurs in this stage is the dilemma
between the newly acquired autonomy in this stage of life and the sense of shame
and doubt on oneself due to the strictness imposed on their autonomous activities
by their parents (Capps, 2012). During this stage of life too, the parents extend
towards their children a study security base so that the child can learn more about
the world around them through their autonomous explorations.
 Purpose – In this stage that lasts from the age of 4 to that of 5, the child is on its
way to gain knowledge on the basic principles and skills of physics (Lerwick,
2013). The child also gathers information as to how to master the world around
him. The existential question that the child faces in this stage is whether it is

5PERSONALITY (PSYCHOLOGY)
correct for him to move around, do activities and act according to the situations
that he has to undergo.
 Competence – This stage of an individual lies between the ages 5 and 12. The
child during this phase of life faces the self-doubt whether he is eligible for the
industry (Shokouhi, Limberg & Armstrong, 2014). During this stage a child is
required to gather knowledge and face the new challenges of the skills that he
acquires. In this process, he might have to endure risking his sense of failure,
incompetence and inferiority as compared to his peers.
 Fidelity – A person faces this stage in life during the adolescent period of his life
(Jones et al, 2014). The crisis that the individual faces during this stage of life is
the dilemma of his own identity and the role that he is supposed to play in the
society. This is a transient stage that lies between childhood and adulthood. There
is a significant need for a person to create his own identity during this stage of
life. The adolescents try to think of the roles that they will be playing in the adult
world and may experiment with a large number of activities both good and bad.
 Love - This stage lasts from the age of 20 to 39. The existential question that
crosses the mind of any individual is the question as to whether or not he would
be able to deliver love. During this stage the individual tries to fit in the world. He
faces the crisis of isolation as opposed to the idea of intimacy (Closson, 2015).
 Care – This stage of human life lasts from the age of 40 till that of 64 years. The
human soul faces the crisis of stagnation as opposed to generativity during this
stage (Schoklitsch & Baumann, 2012). During this stage, the existential dilemma
in the minds of human beings is whether or not can he make his life countable. A

6PERSONALITY (PSYCHOLOGY)
person can maintain his sense of generativity by helping the society in progressing
and may incur a feeling of stagnation due to his feeling of lacking productivity.
 Wisdom – This is the final stage of the human life that lasts from the age of 65
and ends with the death of the person. During this stage the person accomplishes
the task of retrospection on his life so as to obtain answers that whether or not was
he successful in his life. The main crisis faced in this stage is the despair as
opposed to the ego integrity of the person (Hearn et al, 2012). This stage may be
incurred when a person achieves the feeling that their end is imminent.
Question 3
Erich Fromm, a psychoanalyst, humanistic philosopher, social psychologist, democratic
socialist and sociologist from Germany, was one of the founders of the William Allison White
Institute of Psychiatry, Psychoanalysis and Psychology situated in the New York City (Bronner,
2013). One of his famous works is the book titled “Escape from Freedom” (Wilde, 2016). In this
book the psychoanalyst has referred to the shifting relationship that humanity shares with the
concept of freedom with special emphasis on the personal consequences of the absence of
freedom. The psychoanalyst in this piece of work lays special stress on the psychosocial
requirements that favored the rise of Nazism. Necrophilia refers to the sexual attraction or any
sexual act that involves dead bodies. This is also referred to as thanatophilia.
Fromm distinguishes the negative freedom or ‘freedom from’ from the positive one or
‘freedom to’. The psychoanalyst refers to liberation from social restrictions that are imposed on
people by certain institutions and other fellow members of the society as the negative freedom.
This kind of freedom is found in the existentialism as propagated by the French philosopher Jean
Paul Sartre. According to Fromm, this negative form of freedom may lead to a force that is

7PERSONALITY (PSYCHOLOGY)
destructive by nature unless it is accompanied by a constructive force like the positive freedom
forces. The positive freedom forces refer to the usage of freedom to spontaneously employ the
total personality of a person in performing actions that involve creativity (Friedman, 2013).
According to the psychoanalyst, a true feeling of connectedness with the others is necessarily
implied through this. This connected feeling ranges beyond the superficial bonds that are found
in the conventional methods of social intercourse.
Authoritarianism refers to a certain form of government that is characterized by the
presence of a strong authoritative power that is centrally operative and has limited political
freedoms that can be exercised (Engler, 2013). In an authoritarian state, the freedom of
individuals is considered subordinate to the power of the state. There does not exist any
constitutional accountability to the state that practices authoritarianism. The concepts of
authoritarianism and the concepts of escape from freedom, according to the German
psychoanalyst have led to the increasingly renewed interest in the theories that are related to
terror management (Funk, 2013). The best known work of Fromm, “Escape from Freedom”
deals with the urge of human beings to pursue any source of control and authority after reaching
the freedom that was considered to be the true desire of an individual.
Fromm identifies three forms of mechanisms of escape from the concept of freedom.
They are authoritarianism, automation conformity and destructiveness. The proposed
mechanisms are not capable of resolving the underlying issue of loneliness. These mechanisms
just conceal the issues. The most prominent way to seek escape from the freedom is through the
concept of automaton conformity. In this concept, the individual adapts to the surroundings and
change according to the change in the surroundings.

8PERSONALITY (PSYCHOLOGY)
According to the psychoanalyst, in the process of gaining freedom from the ruling
authority, the members of the society are often left with the feeling of hopelessness that can be
abated only by one process, the process of implying the positive freedom that the members have
control over followed by the development of some form of replacement of the existing order.
However, submission to a system that follows authoritarianism may be considered a substitute
for the use of the positive freedom of an individual. The authoritarian system that the individual
submits to must be capable of replacing the previous system with another system of a different
appearance on the exterior but must function identically for the individual. It should advise the
individual on the process of thinking and the action procedures thereby eliminating the amount
of uncertainty that has been existing in the minds of the individuals. The belief that the life of an
individual is decided upon by the forces that are foreign to the self, interests and wishes of the
person concerned is a common feature of the theory of authoritarianism. The authoritarian
school of thought believes that the only way to be happy is submission to these forces.
Fromm argues that freedom had become a major issue during the twentieth century. It
came to be seen as something that should be acquired through fighting for it. The 9/11 attack on
the USA was destructive in nature. Destructiveness often offers to solve the problem of freedom
by eliminating the other members of the society or the outside world. This mechanism of escape
is rationalized or disguised as love, patriotism, duty or conscience. According to the German
psychoanalyst the signs of destructiveness are prevalent throughout the world (Durkin, 2014).
The 9/11 attacks were masked under the sense of duty towards the religion and were aimed at
establishing the rule of one religious community over the world.

9PERSONALITY (PSYCHOLOGY)
Question 4
Melanie Klein was a psychoanalyst of the Austrian-British origin. She formulated novel
and unique therapeutic techniques for the children. These techniques had an influence over
contemporary psychoanalysis and child psychology. Klein was considered to be one of the
leading innovators of the object relations theory (Holmes, 2015). A branch of the psychoanalytic
theory, the theory of object relations lays more stress on the interpersonal relationships, mainly
in the family particularly in the relationship shared by a mother and her child.
The theory of object relations is a branch of the instinct theory that was propounded by
Sigmund Freud, but it differs from the instinct theory in three generalized ways. Firstly, the
object relations theory lays less stress on the drives based on biology and puts more emphasis on
the steady patterns of the interpersonal relations. Secondly, the object relations theory tends to be
on the maternal side. It emphasizes the intimacy and caregiving of the mother unlike the theory
of Freud which lays more importance on the control and power of the father. Thirdly, unlike the
Freudian theory that considers sexual pleasure to be the main motive behind human behavior,
object relations theory views the relatedness and human contact to be the primary motive behind
human behavior. According to Freud, the urge behind the drives have an impetus, an origin, aim
and object. According to the Freudian school of thought, aim and object of a drive have a
psychological significance that is greater than the impulse and the origin of the drive. There may
exist different aims for separate drives, but the underlying motive of achieving pleasure through
the reduction of tension remains constant. According to the Freudian school of thought, object of
the drive is referred to any person, thing or part of person which serves as a means of satisfying
the aim of the drive. Klein and other theorists of the object relations start their journey following
the footsteps of Freud and then advance on to speculate of the process by which the fantasized or

10PERSONALITY (PSYCHOLOGY)
real relation of the child with its mother in its early days of life poses to be a model for all the
later interpersonal relationships that the individual may incur in its lifetime.
Klein, unlike Freud, lays more importance on the initial four to six months of the life of
an individual. According to her, an individual is born with the capability of reducing the anxiety
that they experience. The anxiety experienced by the child is the product of the conflict between
the forces of the life instinct and the power of the instinct of death. The innate readiness of the
child to react leads to the presupposition of the presence of phylogenetic endowment. Klein had
claimed that the infant possesses an active fantasy life at the time of its birth. These fantasies are
described as the psychic representations of the instincts of the unconscious id and should not be
confused with the fantasies of the conscious id experienced by older children and adults.
 Unconscious phantasy – This term was used by Klein to describe the
psychological aspect of instinct (Segal, 2012). This is a part of the psychic life
that moves towards the world from the child in an outward direction. The image-
potentials are given an importance alongside other drives. These phantasies
eventually help in the development of the more complex stages of the mental lives
of the infants. The unconscious phantasy is modified and molded by the
environmental factors that the child has faced in reality (Bohleber et al, 2015).
The primary role of this unconscious phantasy is to aid in the development of the
thinking capacity of the individual. According to the terms of Bion, the phantasy
image may be said to be a term that gains the status of a thought on combination
of the preconception with a realization (Anderson, 2014). The mental capacity of
a child is built upon the previous experiences during the interaction of an infant
and the environment around him.

11PERSONALITY (PSYCHOLOGY)
 Projective identification – This function is imagined by the Austrian-British
psychoanalyst as a defensive technique that has its own contributions to the
growth of an infant (Spillius & O'Shaughnessy, 2013). These contributions are
inclusive of the development of the ego of an individual and the object relations.
A newborn identifies the mother’s breast as allocation that can be used to hide
itself from mistreatment of any kind. This is an early step towards the
development of the capacity to self soothe. The projective identification also
serves as a way of communicating one’s feelings (Mendelsohn, 2012). It is a
means to relate to those who are not perceived to be an entirely separate identity
for the individual.
Question 5
Carl Jung known as the pioneer of analytical psychology believed that religious
expression was manifested from the psyche’s desire to achieve a simultaneous balanced state of
consciousness and unconsciousness (Jung, 2014). He proposed that every individual strives to
achieve completion by achieving a synchronizing harmony within consciousness and
unconsciousness and that this was achievable via dream study. Initially he had worked with his
companion Sigmund Freud, but his beliefs led him to part ways with his friend. The fundamental
concepts comprising Jungian psychotherapy are discussed below.
• Active Imagination – In order to connect the gap between consciousness and
unconsciousness, Jung created this concept of active imagination (Dunne, 2015).
A person can bring his unconsciousness into the present via narrative or action by
utilizing his/her dreams and imaginations or via meditation. It relies on the

12PERSONALITY (PSYCHOLOGY)
client’s unguided observations, and hence it is not a portrayal of their intended
desires.
• Individuation – This is a method of analytical psychology where a person
integrates all of his past positive as well as negative experiences in order to live a
productive and purposeful life (Jacoby, 2016). Individuation prevents the
fragmentation of a person’s mind into multiple personalities arising due to inner
conflict and such issues. This process of individuation can be implemented via
various methods like dream analysis and active imagination as mentioned above.
In the long term individuation helps the person in leading an emotionally stable
and satisfied life.
• Collective Unconscious: Jung coined the term ‘collective unconscious’ in order to
express the unconsciousness demonstrated by every conscious living entity (Jung,
2014). The collective unconscious arranges all experiences in a species instead of
only containing memories from one individual’s personal history. Jung also
proposed the idea that the collective unconscious was an inheritable entity instead
of being an outcome of a chain of specific events.
• Logos: As proposed by Jung ‘logos’ referred to facts or reason. He also compared
the contrast of consciousness and unconsciousness to logos and mythos (Jung,
2014). It was also one of his beliefs that ‘logos’ was the male representation for
rationality while ‘eros’ the female version, represented emotion.
• Neykia: This is a fundamental part of Jung’s analysis. It refers to the process of
venturing into the unconscious, which Jung calls a voluntary decision. It was one

13PERSONALITY (PSYCHOLOGY)
of his beliefs that this dark journey to a treacherous destination was mandatory to
attain individuation.
Derived from Jungian philosophy is ‘Depth Psychology’ which involves revealing the
source of discomfort of the client instead of analyzing the symptoms associated with it. One of
the concepts within ‘Depth Psychology’ is the ‘wounded healer’ where the therapist transfers
his/her own emotional wounds over to the client in case they both have similar emotional
wounds (Chodorow, 2013). The results might be disadvantageous for both of them thus harming
the therapy.
Sigmund Freud was a companion of Carl Jung in his methods and researches but later
they separated owing to fundamental differences in a few concepts. Primarily Freud had confined
his beliefs to the fact that sex and its various forms were responsible for shaping a person’s
character. Libido was the fundamental substrate for all motivation, in terms of Freud; whereas,
for Jung, sex was considered only as a form of symbolism for questionable features which
couldn’t be analysed properly. He refers to libido as a form of hunger or a psychic energy
manifested as willingness for any activity. Conflicting on a few other concepts, Jung’s theories
were significantly different from Freud’s, as will be explored in the following section.
Freud described personality by three entities in opposition to one another namely id, ego
and super-ego. Jung on the other hand believed personality to be a complex inter-winding
network of inter-communicating systems, namely: Ego, Collective Unconscious and Personal
Unconscious. Ego, as Freud delivers is the driver behind one’s personality which may be
conscious or unconscious, whereas Jung makes Ego responsible for feelings of identity,
continuity and even confirming a sense of stability in the direction of self-perception. Freud
observed unconscious as a repressed entity, whereas Jung interpreted it as a source of the

14PERSONALITY (PSYCHOLOGY)
conscious. In the concepts proposed by Jung he talks about the collective unconscious being the
repository all memories of the species as a whole, whereas Freud restricts the boundary for
unconscious as personal. Lastly, Jung believed that personality is developed across the entire
lifespan and every individual holds potential to grow and live up-to his maximum efficiency,
while Freud held that personality is based on past conditions, and gets developed in the primary
stages of human life, namely oral, anal, phallic and genital.
Question 6
Interpersonal relationships refer to the deep, close or strong acquaintance or association
between two or more members of the society. The alliance must be based on love, inference,
regular interactions related to business transactions, solidarity any many more other types of
commitments towards the society where the concerned person resides. Transference refers to the
phenomenon that is characterized by the redirection of feelings from one person to another in an
unconscious state of mind (Racker, 2012). This may also be referred to as the reproduction of
emotions pertaining to the repressed experiences from childhood. It is categorized by the
substitution of a person in place of the original object for the impulses that are repressed. The
concept of transference was first described by the well-known psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud.
Freud had acknowledged the importance of psychoanalysis in the process of the better
understanding of the feelings of the patients in case of psychotherapy. The renowned
psychoanalyst, positive and negative transference and negative transference. Positive
transference can be characterized by the presence of friendly and affectionate feelings of the
individual undergoing psychotherapy towards his psychotherapist. The negative theory, on the
contrary, can be identified with the presence of anger and hostility of the person towards the
physician who is conducting the psychotherapy.

15PERSONALITY (PSYCHOLOGY)
The most common occurrence of transference is found in the cases when a person
transfers his feelings from his parents to his spouse or his children. It is often seen that a person
is evidently adaptable to an individual who resembles a childhood friend of the concerned
person. It is often observed that a person may mistrust a person who bears resemblance to
someone whom the concerned individual mistrusts. The entire act of transference takes place on
an unconscious level. Thus the therapists depend largely on the transference to help the
individuals to overcome their difficulties by helping them solve the problems that they might
face with regards to the figures that they might have come across during their childhood phases.
Counter transference refers to redirecting the feelings of the therapist towards the patient. This
may refer to the emotional entanglement of the therapist towards his patient. This helps the
therapists to regulate the emotions in the therapeutic relationship as well as provides the therapist
with the insight into the feelings that the patients are trying to evoke in them. The therapist may
ask for the feelings of the patient towards him after successful identification of the aspect of
countertransference. This may help him search for the relationship between those feelings of the
patient and the unconscious fears, desires or motivations of the patient. The Classical Adlerian
psychotherapy offers a contrastive perspective on the theories of transference and
countertransference. According to this point of view, instead of the strategical use of the
transference of the patient for the therapeutic purposes, the positive or the negative transference
is pointed out to the patient in a diplomatic manner. These transferences are then described as
obstacles in the path towards improvement of the patient and the cooperation that should be
present between the therapist and the patient.
The field of study wherein transference is most widely used is the field of
psychotherapy. Psychotherapy deals with the use of psychological methods in order to help a

16PERSONALITY (PSYCHOLOGY)
person to change and to overpower the problems that the individual has been facing. It is also
known as “talk therapy”. This is a process based on an interpersonal relationship that should be
conducted in a regular pattern so as to bring about the desired results in the person suffering from
anxiety. This therapy is generally used in the treatment of bipolar disorders or depressions.
However, transference finds its use not only in case of psychotherapy.
Individuals are observed to be practicing transference in some occasions with their
teachers at the different educational institutions. Students may need to be helped on certain
psychological issues on several occasions. A child may feel uncomfortable sharing certain issues
with their parents. During these occasions they seek help from their peers or teachers. It the
becomes the duty of the teacher to perform an act of psychoanalysis on the concerned student.
Another such instance of the occurrence of transparency may be found in an instance when a
person has to seek help from a lawyer on legal matters. A lawyer has to counsel his clients on all
levels throughout the proceedings of the legal affairs
Question 7
Defense mechanisms may be referred to as the psychological mechanism originated in
the unconscious mind that helps to reduce anxiety that may arise from potentially harmful or
unacceptable stimuli (Hentschel et al, 2012). One of the first proponents of this construct was the
Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud who is also known as the founder of the theory of
psychoanalysis, the clinical theory of treating psychopathology. The consequences of the defense
mechanism may be termed as unhealthy or healthy on the basis of the circumstances or the usage
frequency of the mechanism. According to the theory of psychoanalysis, defense mechanisms are
defined as the psychological strategies that are applied by the unconscious mind in order to deny,
distort or manipulate the reality so as to defend against the feelings of anxiety and other impulses

17PERSONALITY (PSYCHOLOGY)
that are unacceptable. The processes that are responsible for the distortion, denial and
manipulation of the reality are as follows
 Repression – This refers to the concealing of a painful thought or feeling from the
awareness of the individual. This thought of feeling may resurface later at some
point of time in a symbolical form.
 Identification – This refers to the incorporation of a thought or an object into
oneself.
 Rationalization – This refers to the explanation of the motivations and behaviors
of an individual by replacing the actual motivations with acceptable reasons.
There are several types of defense mechanisms that can be dealt with throughout the life
of an individual. They are as follows
 Repression – This mechanism blocks a desire or wish from the conscious mind of
an individual. An involuntary act it prevents the individual from realizing a
number of conflicts of his own that prevent the production of anxiety. It also
prevents the recalling of some emotional events from the past that may have been
the cause of trauma. The incident had occurred during the last summer when my
friend had deliberately tried to cause harm to her elder sister by interfering with
her car brakes in order to cause harm to her. She had done so from a deep-seated
sibling jealousy towards her elder sister which she did not know to be having.
 Denial – This mechanism entails a refusal to the acknowledgement of some fact
of life or a real situation that is unpleasant. This is a very commonly come across
defense mechanism. This is commonly found among people indulge in substance
abuse. A friend of mine was heavily into alcohol abuse. He knew it very well that

18PERSONALITY (PSYCHOLOGY)
the alcohol abuse could prove fatal to him, but he never was quite ready to believe
in the fact that he could be the victim of alcohol abuse too. He always felt that he
would never be affected by the effects of alcohol.
 Projection – This mechanism of defense unconsciously attributes an attitude,
behavior or impulse upon some other person or thing in the surrounding
environment. The type of defense mechanism in discussion helps in reducing the
anxiety of an individual by placing the source of anxiety outside the individual in
the external world. The individual then finds the anxiety easier to deal with. This
is a commonly found mechanism. I had been in contact with an acquaintance who
had the habit of hitting the stray animals. He never had the courage enough to
accept his misdeeds. He always blamed someone or the other for hitting the
animals.
 Reaction Formation – This mechanism of defense is characterized by the
expression of an impulse that is opposite to the actual impulse of the individual.
The exhibited impulse is often found to be exaggerated and thereby leading to the
questioning of the genuineness of the impulse. Many a times in my life I had to
fake smiles in front of people whom I hated with all my heart. There had been one
person in my high school whom I could never bear up with. I had to maintain a
socially acceptable face of friendship and a cordial relationship with her.
 Regression – In this mechanism, the individual tries to return to the point in the
past when he had lesser responsibilities. This often finds its origin in some
traumatic experience. I had resumed my habit of bedwetting during my years at
high school after I had to face bullying by my seniors. I had stopped the habit of

19PERSONALITY (PSYCHOLOGY)
bedwetting during my preschool years but resumed it after being bullied by my
seniors in my high school.
 Rationalization – This requires handling of any impulse or emotion in both
analytical and intellectual ways so as to avoid feeling the emotion. This involves
faulty reasoning as the issue remains unsolved on the level of emotions.
 Identification – In this mechanism, an individual attempts reduction in anxiety by
modelling his behavior on another person. A person tends to believe that he too
possesses the qualities of the person whom he sets as his model.
 Displacement – It may happen that the object satisfactory to the impulse of the id
is unavailable. In these cases, the impulse is shifted to another object. This is
known as displacement.
 Sublimation – This mechanism helps reduce anxiety by rechanneling the
unacceptable impulse into an outlet that is socially more desirable.

20PERSONALITY (PSYCHOLOGY)
References
Adler, A. (2013). The practice and theory of individual psychology(Vol. 133). Routledge.
Anderson, R. (Ed.). (2014). Clinical lectures on Klein and Bion. Routledge.
Bohleber, W., Jiménez, J. P., Scarfone, D., Varvin, S., & Zysman, S. (2015).
Unconscious phantasy and its conceptualizations: An attempt at conceptual
integration. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 96(3), 705-730.
Bronner, S. E. (2013). Of critical theory and its theorists. Routledge.
Capps, D. (2012). Erikson’s schedule of human strengths and the childhood origins of the
resourceful self. Pastoral Psychology, 61(3), 269-283.
Cervone, D., & Pervin, L. A. (2015). Personality, binder ready version: theory and
research. John Wiley & Sons.
Chodorow, J. (2013). Dance therapy and depth psychology: The moving imagination.
Routledge.
Closson, E. F., Mimiaga, M. J., Sherman, S. G., Tangmunkongvorakul, A., Friedman, R.
K., Limbada, M., ... & Oldenburg, C. E. (2015). Intimacy versus Isolation: a qualitative
study of sexual practices among sexually active HIV-infected patients in HIV care in
Brazil, Thailand, and Zambia. PLoS One, 10(3), e0120957.
Colbert, A. E., Judge, T. A., Choi, D., & Wang, G. (2012). Assessing the trait theory of
leadership using self and observer ratings of personality: The mediating role of
contributions to group success. The Leadership Quarterly, 23(4), 670-685.
Dunne, C. (2015). Carl Jung: Wounded healer of the soul. Watkins Media Limited.
Durkin, K. (2014). The radical humanism of Erich Fromm. Springer.

21PERSONALITY (PSYCHOLOGY)
Eckstein, D., & Kaufman, J. A. (2012). The role of birth order in personality: An
enduring intellectual legacy of Alfred Adler. Journal of individual Psychology, 68(1), 60-
74.
Elliott, A. (2015). Psychoanalytic theory: An introduction. Palgrave Macmillan.
Engler, B. (2013). Personality Theories. Cengage Learning.
Ewen, R. (2014). An introduction to theories of personality. Psychology Press.
Friedman, L. (2013). The lives of Erich Fromm: Love's prophet. Columbia University
Press.
Fromm, E. (2013). Greatness and limitations of Freud's thought. Open Road Media.
Funk, R. (2013, March). Erich Fromm and the intersubjective tradition. In International
Forum of Psychoanalysis (Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 5-9). Taylor & Francis Group.
Hearn, S., Saulnier, G., Strayer, J., Glenham, M., Koopman, R., & Marcia, J. E. (2012).
Between integrity and despair: Toward construct validation of Erikson’s eighth
stage. Journal of Adult Development, 19(1), 1-20.
Hentschel, U., Smith, G. J., Ehlers, W., & Draguns, J. G. (Eds.). (2012). The concept of
defense mechanisms in contemporary psychology: Theoretical, research, and clinical
perspectives. Springer Science & Business Media.
Holmes, P. (2015). The inner world outside: Object relations theory and psychodrama.
Routledge.
Jacoby, M. (2016). Individuation and narcissism: The psychology of self in Jung and
Kohut. Taylor & Francis.

22PERSONALITY (PSYCHOLOGY)
Jones, R. M., Vaterlaus, J. M., Jackson, M. A., & Morrill, T. B. (2014). Friendship
characteristics, psychosocial development, and adolescent identity formation. Personal
Relationships, 21(1), 51-67.
Jung, C. G. (2014). Psychological types. Routledge.
Jung, C. G. (2014). The archetypes and the collective unconscious. Routledge.
Jung, C. G. (2014). The development of personality. Routledge.
Kroger, J. (2014). Discussions on ego identity. Psychology Press.
Lerwick, J. L. (2013, August). Psychosocial implications of pediatric surgical
hospitalization. In Seminars in pediatric surgery(Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 129-133). WB
Saunders.
McLeod, S. (2013). Erik Erikson. Retrieved August, 9, 2013.
Mendelsohn, R. (2012). Parallel process and projective identification in psychoanalytic
supervision. The Psychoanalytic Review, 99(3), 297-314.
Millon, T., Millon, C. M., Meagher, S. E., Grossman, S. D., & Ramnath, R.
(2012). Personality disorders in modern life. John Wiley & Sons.
Newman, B. M., & Newman, P. R. (2017). Development through life: A psychosocial
approach. Cengage Learning.
Racker, H. (2012). Transference and countertransference. Karnac Books.
Ryckman, R. M. (2012). Theories of personality. Cengage Learning.
Schneider, K. J., Pierson, J. F., & Bugental, J. F. (Eds.). (2014). The handbook of
humanistic psychology: Theory, research, and practice. Sage Publications.
Schoklitsch, A., & Baumann, U. (2012). Generativity and aging: A promising future
research topic?. Journal of Aging Studies, 26(3), 262-272.

23PERSONALITY (PSYCHOLOGY)
Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2016). Theories of personality. Cengage Learning.
Segal, H. (2012). Introduction to the work of Melanie Klein. Karnac Books.
Shokouhi, A. M., Limberg, D., & Armstrong, S. A. (2014). Counseling preadolescents:
Utilizing developmental cues to guide therapeutic approaches. International Journal of
Play Therapy, 23(4), 217.
Spillius, E., & O'Shaughnessy, E. (Eds.). (2013). Projective identification: The fate of a
concept. Routledge.
Wilde, L. (2016). Erich Fromm and the quest for solidarity. Springer.
Wright, E. (2013). Psychoanalytic criticism. Routledge.