title: Masters of the universe: children's toys as reflections on contemporary psychoanalytic theory.
abstract: The emergence of contemporary object relations theory and self psychology as potent theoretical forces has led to rich discussion with far-reaching implications for clinical, developmental, and metapsychological theory. This article examines these developments using as a medium the Masters of the Universe figures and stories, which have captured the imaginations of a broad spectrum of phallic-oedipal and oedipal-aged children. A series of interrelated theoretical questions will be discussed: (1) the nature and character of aggressive drives and whether these are innate and instinctual or disintegration products secondary to emphatic failure; (2) the extent of internalization of mental representations at this point in development; and (3) the status of Kohut's "grandiose self" and "idealized object" vis-à-vis traditional perspectives on phallic-oedipal and oedipal development.
authors.affiliation: Doctoral Counseling Psychology Training Program, University of Texas, Austin.
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Ainslie
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004532:Ego; D006801:Humans; D007323:Instinct; D008297:Male; D009289:Narcissism; D009769:Object Attachment; D009813:Oedipus Complex; D010988:Play and Playthings; D011574:Psychoanalytic Theory; D011606:Psychosexual Development