Transitional object

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Transitional object teddy bear

A transition object is according to the analytic object relations theory of Donald Winnicott a self-selected from infant object that the ( intermediate can occupy) space between infant and mother. It is mostly a material object ( cuddly toy , blanket , comforter , etc.) that, according to Winnicott, allows the child to make the transition from the first relationship with the mother in early childhood to more mature relationships. This phenomenon often occurs between the ages of 4–12 months.

According to Daniel Stern , a transitional object can also be a certain word, since it neither really belongs to the self nor to the significant other, but occupies a middle position between the two. In particular, the sounds and noises generated by the child themselves can fulfill this function.

Importance to the child

The idea (1) of the mother in the intermediate space between mother (a) and child (b) is replaced by the transitional object (2)

The transitional object belongs to the outer world as the infant's first “non-ego possession” and represents the early mother-child relationship. It represents a connection between the inner and outer world of the child and is filled with subjective content. This means that it is created according to the needs of the infant's internal structure and represents its social expectations. Does a child have B. a cuddly toy as a transitional object, it gives him the characteristics of the mother that it needs, as if the cuddly toy were alive. Apart from the content that is assigned to the cuddly toy, it also remains a real object and is therefore an internal and external object at the same time. It is created as a temporary replacement for the absent mother in order to represent her: In states of being alone, the infant withdraws to the " virtual other" with the help of the transitional object.

Developmental perspective

From around the 6th month of life (according to Winnicott beginning at the earliest from the 4th to at the latest from the 12th month), the transitional object is meaningful, whereby later the occupations are gradually withdrawn and thus it loses importance over time.

Playing and later creative and creative action develops from preoccupation with the transitional object during the process of maturation on the way to the self.

See also

Proof of citation

  1. ^ Daniel Stern: The life experience of the infant , Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta 2007 (9th, extended edition), ISBN 978-3-608-94485-3

literature

  • Donald W. Winnicott : From play to creativity , Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta 2006 (11th edition), ISBN 978-3-608-95376-3
  • Donald W. Winnicott: Transitional Objects and Transitional Phenomena. A study of the first property not belonging to the self , first as a lecture in 1951, then in English. 1953; German in: Psyche No. 23, 1969
  • Daniel Stern : The infant's life experience , Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta 2007 (9th, extended edition), ISBN 978-3-608-94485-3
  • Jean Laplanche , Jean-Bertrand Pontalis : The Vocabulary of Psychoanylsis , Frankfurt a. M .: Suhrkamp 1973, p. 548 f.
  • Michael Anne: Winnicott's transitional object as a developmental psychological marker of a “second individuation process” , Leipzig, Univ.-Diss. 1999
  • D. Niedecken: Inserts, material and relationship figure in musical production , Hamburg: VSA 1988, ISBN 978-3-87975-432-8

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