RELATIONSHIP THEORY

Relationship Theory



Relationship Theory

Introduction

Since the emergence of developmental psychology, theorists and researchers have stressed the family's role in shaping the child's emergent social style, personality, and cognitive competence. Psychologists in doing so adopted an "idiosyncratic definition of family" (Gottman, 1995, 52-202) where the focus is on the parents and mostly the mothers. It took time to realize that most families contain two parents and at least two children. Along with this realization it was seen that children develop in a context of different networks of social relationships within which each person may affect every other directly (through their interactions) and indirectly.

Discussion

Psychodynamic approach, which considers current behaviors have its origins traced back to childhood, is one of the explanations for the repeated patterns of interactions and relationships in adult life. This essay aims to discuss the propositions that relationships in adult life are molded by relationships established in early childhood, by using the classical Freudian and object relations theories The starting point will be going over the general view of psychodynamics on these propositions, and then examines aspects likes: what had developed in early relationship; became residue, and have its impact in adult relationships; and do individual consciously aware of these influence; f-actors that make us more susceptible to such influence: and so on. The differential view in transference between the classical Freudian and object relations theories would also be examined, and ending with a brief comparison with the social constructionist?s view on the impact of early relationship in adult life.

The classical Freudian and object relations theories are of psychodynamic tradition, despite their different views on the timetable of development, and how internal representation are resulted. Both of them are of determinism, an instinct theory with biological basis. They regarded gratification of biological need is the essential function of relating and relationships(Gottman, 1995, 52-202).

According the Freud, development of human mind corresponds to the physical maturation, and therefore, is sequential in various psychosexual stages: oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital - each with gratification center on particular erogenous zones. But reality requires the control of impulse, and therefore leads to the inner conflicts among id, ego and superego, that eventually cause anxiety and frustration particular erogenous zone would be resulted from these unresolved conflicts. For instance, talkative may be an oral personality whilst obsessive with cleanliness may be an anal personality. Likewise, the unresolved Oedipus und Electra Complex, that is, the control of erotic impulse towards the opposite sex parent will lead to a defense internalization of a judgmental superego figure in the phallic stage. Although these erotic impulses are repressed, they remain and would resurfaced again with a life-long impact on the adult sexual relationships when adolescence begins (Gottman, 1995, 52-202). For instance, transference of early relationships onto analyst within the psychoanalysis session, or individual?s choice of sexual partnerships or marriage are unconscious displace of early familial experiences with opposite sex parent.

Unlike the classical Freudian theory, object relations theory considers the seeking of pleasure of intimacy and intersubjectivity as the ...