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Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 1982, 30:893-917

Self, Eo, Affects an! "ri#es

$tto %& 'ern(er )*+./+./)

n: htt4:55666&4e4-6e(&or5!ocument&4h4i!APA&030&0893A

A sur#ey of the 4sychoanalytic literature on theories of the eo an! conce4ts of the self

re#eals the eistence of consi!era(le terminoloical confusion& hat the terms eo an! self

are sometimes use! interchanea(ly, sometimes carefully !istinuishe! from each other, an!

at other times treate! am(iuously 4ro(a(ly is !ue to the 6ay %reu! use! these 6or!s&

%reu! 4reser#e! throuhout his 6ritins the ;erman checti#e =self&= Bthere are innumera(le eam4les of

such uses of the 6or! ch (efore 1923, to !esinate su(>ecti#e e4erience an! self-esteemC&

A secon! source of !ifficulty is the use of =self= to !escri(e the 4erson or in!i#i!ual

interactin 6ith other 4ersons or =o(>ects,= as in Dartmann@s 19F0G !istinction (et6een theself as the 4ersonan! the intra4sychic re4resentation of the 4erson or self-re4resentation, a

thir! term reuirin clarification&

Jaco(son 19HIG, a!!ressin these 4ro(lems of terminoloical confusion, sai!, =hey

refer to the am(iuous use of the term eo i&e&, to the lac? of !istinction (et6een the eo,

6hich re4resents a structural mental system, the self, &&, an! the self re4resentations =&

Dartmann 19F0G attem4te! to free the term =eo= from %reu!@s am(iuity& De ueste! the

use of the latter term for the unconscious , 4reconscious , an! conscious en!o4sychic

re4resentations of the (o!ily an! mental self in the system eo& 44& 18-19G& Jaco(son, in

areement 6ith Dartmann, !efines the self "as referring to the whole person of an

ini!ial# in$ling his %o& an %o& parts as well as his ps&$hi$ oraniKation an! its

4artsL the 'self' is an a(iliar& es$ripti!e ter)# whi$h points to the person as a s%*e$t

in istin$tion fro) the srroning worl of o%*e$ts= 4& HnG&

he !efinition of =self= in the ;lossary of Psychoanalytic erms an! Monce4tsNoore

an! %ine, 19H8G states: =he total 4erson of an in!i#i!ual in reality , inclu!in his (o!y an!

4sychic oraniKation one@s @o6n 4erson@ as contraste! 6ith @other 4ersons@ an! o(>ects outsi!e

one@s self& he @self@ is a common-sense conce4t= 4& 88G&

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n my #ie6, Dartmann@s fateful se4aration of the conce4t of eo from self an! of self

from self-re4resentation create! an artificial se4aration of structural, e4eriential, an!

!escri4ti#e as4ects of eo functions& his se4aration com4licate! conce4tualiKin the

relations (et6een =im4ersonal= eo functions, su(>ecti#ity, an! character structure& +

propose# instea# to reser!e the ter) "self" for the s) total of self,representations in

inti)ate $onne$tion with the s) total of o%*e$t representations- +n other wors# +

propose efining the self as an intraps&$hi$ str$tre that originates fro) the ego an is

$learl& e)%ee in the ego-o conce4tualiKe the self in this 6ay is to remain close to

%reu!@s im4licit insistence that self an! eo are in!issolu(ly lin?e!&

Pro(a(ly all 4sychoanalysts 6ho ha#e !ealt 6ith this uestion 6oul! aree that ratifyin,

(lissful states constitute the core of the eo@s self-feelin or self-e4erience& Accor!in to this

#ie6, frustratin e4eriences an! the aression triere! (y them 6oul! not (e 4art of the

oriinal self, (ut 4art of the =not-me= e4erience, an eternal threat to the self, not

intrinsically lin?e! 6ith it& this thin?in 4ermits omittin aression from the structural

analysis of eo an! self-!e#elo4ment& he alternati#e conce4t is that self-!e#elo4ment also

occurs at times of heihtene! frustration an! 4ainful or traumatic e4eriences& this latter

conce4t !escri(es self-!e#elo4ment un!er (oth li(i!inal an! aressi#e con!itions& the

conce4t of the oriin of self-re4resentations an! self-e4erience un!er the im4act of (oth

aressi#ely an! li(i!inally in#este! states of merer lea!s to conce4tualiKin the self as the4ro!uct of the e#entual interation of such contra!ictory self-re4resentations an!, in the

4rocess, of the corres4on!in interation of the !eri#ati#es of li(i!inal an! aressi#e !ri#e

in#estments as 6ell& his mo!el concei#es of the self as in#este! 6ith (oth li(i!inal an!

aressi#e !ri#e !eri#ati#es fuse! or interate! in the contet of the interation of their

com4onent self-re4resentations& his mo!el also suests an e4lanation for the conce4t of neutraliKation of !ri#es

Dartmann, 19FFG&

he self, then, is an eo structure that oriinates from self-re4resentations first (uilt u4 in the

un!ifferentiate! sym(iotic 4hase L un!er the influence of (oth ratifyin an! frustratin

e4eriences&&& he self as a 4sychic structure oriinates from (oth li(i!inally an! aressi#ely

in#este! self-re4resentations& t is, in short, an eo function an! structure that e#ol#es ra!ually from the interation

of its com4onent self-re4resentations into a su4raor!inate structure that incor4orates other eo functions

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fro) $onte)porar& nerops&$hologi$al sties of affe$ts an resear$h on infant

e!elop)ent with a re!ise for)lation of the al instin$t theor&&

Analoous to the reaction to %reu!@s !isco#eries rear!in infantile seuality that im4ute! to 4sychoanalysis a

mor(i! concern 6ith an eaerate! #ie6 of seuality, %reu!@s !ual instinct theory has arouse! stron culturalreactions aainst the conce4t of aression as a (asic instinct& hus, there is an uncertainty rear!in the

moti#ational forces of earliest !e#elo4ment, an! the oriin an! !e#elo4ment of !ri#es as o#erall moti#ationalsystems&

'ohut@s 1971G, 1977G !e#elo4mental mo!el, em4hasiKin the central nature of the !e#elo4ment of the cohesi#eselfect relations from (irth on Kar!, 1978G

Kar! an! uechler, 1979G& A central (ioloical function of in(orn affecti#e 4atterns

Lis to sinal to the en#ironment the infant@s nee!s, an! to thus initiate

communication (et6een the infant an! mother that mar?s the (einnin of

intra4sychic life Em!e et al&, 1978G& &&Qeuro4sycholoical theoriKin no6 assumesthe storae of affecti#e memory in the lim(ic corte 6hich, as !irect (rain stimulation

e4eriments in!icate, 4ermits the reacti#ation not only of the coniti#e, (ut also of the

affecti#e as4ects of 4ast e4erience, 4articularly the su(>ecti#e affecti#e colorin of

that e4erience Arnol!, 1970G& Affects, o4eratin as the earliest moti#ational system,

are therefore intimately lin?e! 6ith the fiation (y memory of an internaliKe! 6orl!

of o(>ect relations'ern(er, 197HG&

assume that affecti#e memory structures reflectin 4leasura(le relations of infant

an! mother(uil! u4 se4arately from the un4leasura(le affecti#e memory structures&

suest that

affects are the 4rimary

moti#ational system, in the sense that they are at

the center of each of the infinite num(er of ratifyin an! frustratin concrete e#ents

the infant e4eriences 6ith his en#ironment& Affects lin? a series of un!ifferentiate!

self-o(>ect re4resentations so thatra!ually a com4le 6orl! of internaliKe! o(>ect

relations, some 4leasura(ly tine!, others un4leasura(ly tine!, is constructe!&ut

e#en 6hile affects are lin?in internaliKe! o(>ect relations in t6o 4arallel series of

ratifyin an! frustratin e4eriences, =oo!= an! =(a!= internaliKe! o(>ect relations

are themsel#es (ein transforme!& he 4re!ominant affect of lo#e or hate of the t6o

series of internaliKe! o(>ect relations (ecomes increasinly com4le& E#entually, the

internal relation of the infant to mother un!er the sin of =lo#e= is more than the sum

of a finite num(er of concrete lo#in affect states& he same is true for hate& 6o!e an

hate ths %e$o)e sta%le intraps&$hi$ str$tres7 an graall& $onsoliate intoli%io an aggression& 6i%io an aggression # in trn# %e$o)e hierar$hi$all&

spraorinate )oti!ational s&ste)s whi$h e(press the)sel!es in 7affe$t

ispositionsun!er !ifferent circumstances

& 2ffe$ts# in short# are the %iling

%lo$8s or $onstitents of ri!es9 affe$ts e!entall& a$:ire a signal fn$tion for

the a$ti!ation of ri!es-he !ri#es Ri(i!o an! aressionG manifest themsel#es &&

in a s4ectrum of concrete affect !is4ositions an! affect states& Also, the relation to an o(>ectchanes un!er the influence of the acti#ation of ne6 affect states 6hich emere throuhout !e#elo4ment an! causethe uality of the !ri#es to shift&%or eam4le, 4reoe!i4al li(i!inal stri#ins for mother chane un!er the im4act of

ne6ly emerin seually tine! affect states of the oe!i4al stae of !e#elo4ment& hese affects oraniKethemsel#es into ures o4eratin in continuity 6ith earlier li(i!inal stri#ins, (ut 6ith a chane! su(>ecti#e uality

an! !ifferent moti#ational im4lications& Similarly, aression, !irecte! to6ar! the same li(i!inal o(>ect, alsomanifest in #arious com4onent aressi#e affecti#e states, transcen!s each of these concrete aressi#e affects,

an!

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%reu! concei#e! of !ri#es rie(G as relati#ely continuous 4sychic moti#ational

systems at the (or!er (et6een the 4hysical an! the mental, in contrast to instincts,

6hich he #ie6e! as !iscontinuous, rii!, in(orn (eha#ioral !is4ositions& Dere %reu!@s

conce4t of4sycholoical !ri#es in contrast to (ioloical instincts fits contem4orary

(ioloical !e#elo4ments& hus, the term =instincti#e com4onents= for in(orn affects

seems a44ro4riate, in contrast to the use of the term =!ri#es= for the moti#ationalsystems, li(i!o an! aression& !ri#es are more 4recise than affect states&

"ri#es, rather than

affects, are the hierarchically su4raor!inate moti#ational system& !ri#es are reflecte!

in concrete 6ishes, an! they oriinate in affect-la!en e4eriences& his 4ro4ose!

reformulation of the !ual instinct theory

em4hasiKes the crucial function of

affects in

acti#atin the earliest infant-

mother interactions, an! e4lains the

relation of affects to

the internaliKation an! !e#elo4ment

of self- an! o(>ect re4resentations& his #ie6 4ro#i!es a(ri!e (et6een %reu!@s theory of the eo as e#ol#in from the system 4erce4tion-consciousness, on the one han!, an! from the

4reci4itate of o(>ect relations, on the other,&