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Chapter 5    Klein: Object Relations Theory155
areunconscious, theycanbecontradictory. Forexample, alittleboycanphantasize 
bothbeating hismother andhaving babies withher.Such phantasies spring partly 
from theboy’s experiences withhismother andpartly from universal predispositions 
todestroy thebadbreast andtoincorporate thegood one.
Objects
Klein agreed withFreud thathumans haveinnate drives orinstincts, including 
adeath instinct. Drives, ofcourse, must havesome object. Thus, thehunger drive 
hasthegood breast asitsobject, thesexdrive hasasexual organ asitsobject, and
soon.Klein (1948) believed thatfrom early infancy children relate tothese exter -
nalobjects, bothinfantasy andinreality. Theearliest object relations arewiththe
mother’s breast, but“very soon interest develops inthefaceandinthehands which 
attend tohisneeds andgratify them” (Klein, 1991, p.757). Intheiractive fantasy, 
infants introject, ortakeintotheirpsychic structure, these external objects, including 
theirfather’s penis, theirmother’s hands andface,andother body parts. Introjected 
objects aremore thaninternal thoughts about external objects; theyarefantasies of
internalizing theobject inconcrete andphysical terms. Forexample, children who
haveintrojected theirmother believe thatsheisconstantly inside theirownbody. 
Klein’s notion ofinternal objects suggests thatthese objects haveapower oftheir
own, comparable toFreud’s concept ofasuperego, which assumes thatthefather’s or
mother’s conscience iscarried within thechild.
Positions
Klein (1946) sawhuman infants asconstantly engaging inabasic conflict between 
thelifeinstinct andthedeath instinct, thatis,between good andbad,loveandhate, 
creativity anddestruction. Astheegomoves toward integration andaway from disin -
tegration, infants naturally prefer gratifying sensations overfrustrating ones.
Intheirattempt todealwiththisdichotomy ofgood andbadfeelings, infants 
organize theirexperiences intopositions, orways ofdealing withbothinternal and
external objects. Klein chose theterm“position” rather than“stage ofdevelopment” 
toindicate thatpositions alternate backandforth; theyarenotperiods oftimeor
phases ofdevelopment through which aperson passes. Although sheusedpsychiat -
ricorpathological labels, Klein intended these positions torepresent normal social 
growth anddevelopment. Thetwobasic positions aretheparanoid-schizoid position 
andthedepressive position.
Paranoid-Schizoid Position
During theearliest months oflife,aninfant comes intocontact withboththegood 
breast andthebadbreast. These alternating experiences ofgratification andfrustra -
tionthreaten theveryexistence oftheinfant’s vulnerable ego.Theinfant desires to
control thebreast bydevouring andharboring it.Atthesame time, theinfant’s innate 
destructive urges create fantasies ofdamaging thebreast bybiting, tearing, orannihi -
lating it.Inorder totolerate boththese feelings toward thesame object atthesame 
time, theegosplits itself, retaining parts ofitslifeanddeath instincts while deflecting Final PDF to printer