Related Experiment Videos
Structural conflict and object relations conflict
Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association
|January 1, 1976
Summary
A hierarchical mind model integrates psychic conflict understanding. This model incorporates the tripartite model and object-relations model, classifying conflicts into structural and object relations types.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Psychoanalytic Theory
Background:
- A hierarchical model of the mind is proposed for a more integrated understanding of psychic conflict.
- This model operates on two levels: a higher level incorporating the tripartite model and a lower level including an object-relations model.
Observation:
- Psychic conflicts can be categorized into object relations conflicts and structural conflicts.
- Object relations conflicts pertain to the developmental phase before id-ego-superego differentiation.
Findings:
- Earlier psychoanalytic theories predominantly attributed symptoms and disorders to structural conflicts.
- Logical and empirical evidence challenges the universal applicability of structural conflicts across all disorders, including psychoneurotic symptoms.
Implications:
- This hierarchical framework offers a nuanced approach to understanding psychic conflict.
- It suggests a need to reconsider the overemphasis on structural conflicts in psychoanalytic interpretations.
- The model provides a basis for differentiating and addressing various forms of psychological distress.