Object relations units and the ego.
The author selectively reviews the literature on object relations units and suggests that a fourth element, ego functioning, should be added to self, object, and affect-sensation for a more clinically comprehensive theory. He suggests that ego functioning may always shift with self, object, and affect-perception in an organically integrated fashion. Such a conceptualization can apply to both healthier and less well-integrated individuals. This expanded concept may or may not be sufficiently comprehensive to replace the traditional structural theory of id, ego, and superego.
Department of Psychiatry, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland 97201-3098, USA.
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Hamilton
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D004532:Ego; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009769:Object Attachment; D010553:Personality Development; D011574:Psychoanalytic Theory; D011575:Psychoanalytic Therapy