fei75766_ch05_149-178.indd 165  02/06/20 11:22 AM
Chapter 5    Klein: Object Relations Theory165
yearlater, hemoved totheUnited States, where hespent most ofhisprofessional 
life.Hewasaprofessional lecturer intheDepartment ofPsychiatry attheUniversity 
ofChicago, amember ofthefaculty attheChicago Institute forPsychoanalysis, and
visiting professor ofpsychoanalysis attheUniversity ofCincinnati. Aneurologist and
apsychoanalyst, Kohut upset many psychoanalysts in1971 withhispublication of
The Analysis of the Self, which replaced theegowiththeconcept ofself.Inaddition 
tothisbook, aspects ofhisselfpsychology arefound inThe Restoration of the Self 
(1977) andThe Kohut  Seminars (1987), edited byMiriam Elson andpublished after
Kohut’s death.
More thantheother object relations theorists, Kohut emphasized theprocess 
bywhich the self evolves from avague andundifferentiated image toaclear andpre-
cisesense ofindividual identity. Asdidother object relations theorists, hefocused on
theearly mother–child relationship asthekeytounderstanding laterdevelopment. 
Kohut believed thathuman relatedness, notinnate instinctual drives, areatthecore
ofhuman personality.
According toKohut, infants require adult caregivers notonlytogratify physi -
calneeds butalsotosatisfy basic psychological needs. Incaring forbothphysical 
andpsychological needs, adults, orselfobjects, treatinfants asiftheyhadasense of
self.Forexample, parents willactwithwarmth, coldness, orindifference depending 
inpartontheirinfant’s behavior. Through theprocess ofempathic interaction, the
infant takes intheselfobject’s responses aspride, guilt, shame, orenvy—all attitudes 
thateventually form thebuilding blocks oftheself.Kohut (1977) defined theselfas
“thecenter oftheindividual’s psychological universe” (p.311). Theselfgives unity 
andconsistency toone’s experiences, remains relatively stable overtime, andis“the
center ofinitiative andarecipient ofimpressions” (p.99).Theselfisalsothechild’s 
focus ofinterpersonal relations, shaping howheorshewillrelate toparents andother 
selfobjects.
Kohut (1971, 1977) believed thatinfants arenaturally narcissistic. They are
self-centered, looking outexclusively fortheirownwelfare andwishing tobeadmired 
forwhotheyareandwhat theydo.Theearly selfbecomes crystallized around two
basic narcissistic needs: (1)theneed toexhibit thegrandiose selfand(2)theneed to
acquire anidealized image ofoneorbothparents. Thegrandiose-  exhibitionistic self is
established when theinfant relates toa“mirroring” selfobject whoreflects approval 
ofitsbehavior. Theinfant thusforms arudimentary self-image from messages suchas
“Ifothers seemeasperfect, thenIamperfect.” Theidealized parent image isopposed 
tothegrandiose selfbecause itimplies thatsomeone elseisperfect. Nevertheless, it
toosatisfies anarcissistic need because theinfant adopts theattitude “You areper-
fect,butIampartofyou.”
Both narcissistic self-images arenecessary forhealthy personality development. 
Both, however, must change asthechild grows older. Iftheyremain unaltered, they
result inapathologically narcissistic adult personality. Grandiosity must change into
arealistic viewofself,andtheidealized parent image must grow intoarealistic pic-
tureoftheparents. Thetwoself-images should notentirely disappear; thehealthy 
adult continues tohavepositive attitudes toward selfandcontinues toseegood quali -
tiesinparents orparent substitutes. However, anarcissistic adult doesnottranscend 
these infantile needs andcontinues tobeself-centered andtoseetherestoftheworld 
asanadmiring audience. Freud believed thatsuchanarcissistic person wasapoorFinal PDF to printer