Psychology Commons^™

Exploring The Relationship Between Selfobject Needs And Parental Bonding, Sherry-Lee Smith

Theses : Honours

Self psychology proposes that the individual's early experience is central to adult psychological functioning. The purpose of this paper is to outline the key concepts in self psychology, the empirical evidence supporting it and how it relates to early parenting experiences. The enduring psychological nature of early interactions with an individual's parents, are discussed in relation to adult functioning. Self psychology is based on clinical observations of clients undertaking psychoanalysis. Empirical support for the model is limited. The majority of studies consider the concept of narcissism, and other related self psychological concepts, such as selfobject needs, are inadequate Although this …