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The dialectic between self-determination and intersubjectivity in creating the experience of self
The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child
|March 21, 2007
Summary
This study introduces two modes of delineation: mutual intersubjective delineation and self-determined delineation, crucial for personality development and an integrated self in adolescents.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Psychoanalysis
Background:
- The concept of delineation is explored within relational and intersubjective literature.
- Projective identification processes underpin delineation, but it is considered a broader concept.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose two distinct modes of delineation based on a modern dialectic model.
- To examine the interplay between these modes in adolescent personality development.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual analysis of delineation within dialectical and intersubjective frameworks.
- Proposal of two modes: mutual intersubjective delineation and self-determined delineation.
Main Results:
- Mutual intersubjective delineation involves reciprocal construction and reconstruction of self-definition between family and child.
- Self-determined delineation refers to the individual experience of selfhood as separate from external interactions.
Conclusions:
- These two modes are inherent, mutually defining processes in personality development.
- Adolescent negotiation of the dialectic tension between these modes is essential for developing an integrated self.
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