Symbiosis (psychology)

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Symbiosis ( Greek syn / sym , together; bios , life) in psychology describes certain forms of dependence in humans. The term symbiosis originally comes from biology and describes evolutionary forms of functional coexistence of alien individuals for mutual benefit.

When applied to human relationships, the term usually has a negative meaning, provided that a successful life is measured against the degree of developed independence and personal individuation . Symbiotic relationships are seen as an inferior, development-inhibiting or downright damaging way of life, in which adult independence and maturity are missed in favor of the satisfaction of infantile needs.

Concept history

Erich Fromm

Erich Fromm introduced the term for psychoanalysis to describe a damaging human relationship pattern. He defines psychological symbiosis as "the union of an individual self with another self (or with some other power outside of oneself) in such a way that each loses the integrity of his self and both become completely dependent on one another." (The Escape from Freedom, 1941). Such relationship patterns are discussed against the general sociological and socio-psychological background of the authoritarian character as a form of decay of human development opportunities, in which the isolation and impotence experiences of the self are to be compensated by sadistic domination and masochistic submission tendencies. The symbiosis is the common intention of the seemingly contradicting attitudes and can thus be distinguished from the purely destructive attitude aimed at the annihilation of the other.

The “symbiotic union” ( Die Kunst des Liebens, 1956 ) is a regressive form of unity that is modeled on the relationship between the pregnant mother and her fetus. This original relationship seeks to restore the symbiotic form of love by allowing the passive-masochistic partner to be incorporated by an active-sadistic other who “directs, guides and protects him.” A mutual dependency arises that leads to polarized relationship roles. Both sides strive for a “union without integrity”: “The only difference is that the sadist commands, exploits, hurts and humiliates the other, while the masochist lets himself be commanded, exploited, injured and humiliated.”

In “The Soul of Man” (EA 1964) he differentiates the “incestuous symbiosis” from benign forms of maternal attachment, the nature of which was misunderstood by Freud in the service of his libido theory . This bond is "preoedipal" and not an expression of a sexual fixation, as the psychoanalytic doctrine claims. The sexualization of this bond, which appears as a classic expression of the Oedipus complex , actually serves to ward off a deeper regression on the original longing for attachment and the devastating fear of loss of attachment. In an extreme form, the incestuous symbiosis, along with necrophilia and narcissism, is a typical component of the hostile "decline syndrome", for which he finds the striking example in the personality of Adolf Hitler.

Rene Spitz and Margaret Mahler

In 1945 the Austrian-American psychoanalyst and infant researcher René A. Spitz described the mother-child relationship as a "symbiosis". The symbiotic relationship in early childhood replaces the prenatal, " parasitic " relationship during pregnancy.

The psychoanalyst and developmental psychologist Margaret Mahler introduced the term "symbiotic psychosis" in 1952 to describe a pathological behavior pattern in preschool children (2.5 to 5 year olds). They react with panic to the perception of being separated from the mother and tried delusively to restore the mother-child unity.

Mahler then established a widespread developmental model of early childhood that assumed a "symbiotic phase" as part of normal development (The psychic birth of humans. Symbiosis and Individuation, 1975). It defined the beginning of the symbiotic phase around the second month of life, within the oral phase . During this time the child is physically and mentally dependent on the mother. It cannot yet distinguish between inside and outside, between itself and objects, between itself and the mother. The mother still experiences it as part of himself, as an inseparable, symbiotic unit with her. The mother has to empathize with the child's needs in order to ensure that they are satisfied, since the child is not yet aware of them. If the mother is adequately available to the child in the symbiotic phase, it can develop a basic feeling of security and basic trust . This relationship between mother and child forms the basis for later relationships. The symbiotic phase dissolves in the 5th to 6th month with successful development. The child enters the subsequent phase of detachment and individuation / self-development in order to become a separate individual from the mother.

Mahler oriented himself on Freud's libido theory and the associated idea of primary narcissism . The symbiotic phase replaces the absolute starting point of an “objectless”, “autistic” and “monadic” narcissism, in that the early mother-child dyad is now libidinally occupied. The symbiosis is the beginning of the first object occupation (“pre-object stage” according to Rene Spitz), which represents an “inner milieu” expanded to include the person of the caring mother. This early social self functioned outside as protective barrier along the lines of "purifizierten pleasure ego" Freud obtained by projection of displeasure solid and introjection is characterized of good: "The essential feature of symbiosis is hallucinatory-illusory-somatopsychisch- omnipotent fusion with the Mother and especially the illusory idea of ​​a common boundary between the two, in reality, separate individuals. ”The symbiosis, stresses Mahler, is a counterfactual, narcissistic fantasy of two unity and fusing (“ fusion ”) with the mother, whose phylogenetic anchoring she is at the same time the core of the Human and "original reason" of all "later human relationships". It is a reconnection and postnatal continuation of the intrauterine condition, the character of which depends primarily on the infant's innate readiness to adapt and the mother's interactive competence. According to Mahler, these early experiences form the individual basis for the subsequent “psychological birth” caused by physical maturation processes, the “hatching process” in the process of detachment and individuation. The theoretical status of the assertion of such a phantasy or "state" is, however, precarious, provided that the infant's prelinguistic experience can only be reconstructed.

Daniel Stern and Martin Dornes

In the more recent literature, a symbiosis is viewed more as a deviation from the normal development of a mother-child relationship. The results of infant research , especially by Daniel N. Stern, show that infants can experience themselves as independent beings separate from their mother at a very early age. Stern rejects the idea of ​​a symbiotic amalgamation, hallmark of Mahler's symbiosis theory, in favor of the infant's observed ability to interact with boundaries, the "self with others".

The infant researcher Martin Dornes then subjected Mahler's symbiosis concept to extensive criticism. The concept of a “symbiotic phase”, which is shaped by metapsychological ideas, hardly stands up to the empirical findings. It is a theoretical speculation based on preconceived notions. Mahler's concept is based on three aspects of meaning: imagination, passivity and a lack of objectivity. It assumes the infant has the ability to fantasize and at the same time deprives him of the ability to actively interact and perceive reality. Such ideas, however, are not confirmed or even refuted by empirical infant research.

While Dornes fundamentally questions Mahler's developmental symbiosis concept, he confirms the clinical use of the term. The fear of a “symbiotic fusion” is a typical fantasy of severely disturbed adults undergoing analysis. However, this can be understood as an ambivalent “escape into symbiosis” without recourse to Mahler's development model based on the concept of “symbiotic psychosis”. The merging fantasy soothes the fear of the perception of separation and at the same time creates the fear of self-loss. It is not a “normal” developmental phenomenon, but an expression of a parental behavior pattern in which “(...) the addiction was experienced traumatically and unsatisfactorily in the earliest times. An essential reason for this - and thus for later, ambivalent symbiosis fantasies - is the parents' tendency to restrict impulses of independence that the child expresses in the earliest relationships, to interpret them as dangerous, to interrupt them or to fill them with fears. "

Sigrid Chamberlain

Sigrid Chamberlain sees the mother's refusal of attachment, recommended by National Socialist pedagogy , which makes it impossible to learn the ability to relate, as a historical basis for the development of symbiotic relationship patterns: Such a child “[...] grows up with a deep and always unsatisfied longing to be connected what it has never known. This always virulent longing for something unknown makes it susceptible to bondage relationships and symbiotic entanglements. ”At the same time and in contradiction to the psychoanalytically inspired concept of“ authoritarian character ”, the real basis of the fascist character and the longing for an overpowering leader figure in adulthood is revealed. Against the background of attachment-theoretical insights, such symbiosis tendencies turn out to be ideological artifacts of a misguided, unnatural mother-child relationship, as they were disseminated and handed down , for example, by Johanna Haarer's educational guide .

Symbiotic relationships in adults

A symbiosis in partner relationships between adults exists when one or both partners are pathologically dependent. Here the early childhood dependence on the mother has not been resolved in a healthy development process, but continues to exist or is transferred to the partner or other important caregivers. This transmission can take the form of borderline personality disorder , codependency, or bondage .

Franz Ruppert differentiates between “constructive” and “destructive symbiosis”. Constructive symbioses are seen as an everyday phenomenon in healthy adult relationships. A “symbiotic trauma” (Ruppert) occurs when a traumatized mother is not able to meet the child's symbiotic needs and instead, traumatized experiences are conveyed to the child.

literature

  • Martin Dornes: symbiosis . In: W. Mertens (Ed.): Handbook of basic psychoanalytical concepts. Stuttgart et al. (Kohlhammer, 4th, revised and expanded edition 2014), 916–923
  • Margaret S. Mahler, Fred Pine, Anni Bergman: The Psychological Birth of Man. Symbiosis and Individuation. Fischer, Frankfurt 1999, ISBN 978-3596267316 . Cited as Mahler, Pine, Bergman (1999)
  • Margaret S. Mahler, Hildegard Weller (translator): Symbiosis and Individuation: Psychoses in early childhood. 7th edition. Klett-Cotta / JG Cotta'sche Buchhandlung Nachhaben , Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3608919619
  • Johanna J. Danis : Symbiosis. Ed. Psychosymbolik, Munich 1995, ISBN 978-3-925350-65-8
  • Sigrid Chamberlain: Adolf Hitler, the German mother and her first child. About two Nazi education books (=  psychosocial edition ). 3. Edition. Psychosocial, Giessen 2000, ISBN 978-3-930096-58-9 .

Web links

Wiktionary: Symbiosis  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ On the history of concepts in psychoanalysis, cf. Martin Dornes (1993): The competent infant , p. 58
  2. ^ German: Die Furcht vor der Freiheit , in: Erich-Fromm-Gesamtausgabe, Ed. Rainer Funk, Volume I, p. 310; see. Lexicon entry on Erich Fromm Online
  3. ↑ Keyword “symbiosis” in: The fear of freedom . Erich Fromm Complete Edition, Ed. Rainer Funk, Volume I, available online on Google Books
  4. ↑ Erich Fromm (2000): The Art of Love , orig. 1956, p. 29 ff.
  5. ↑ Erich Fromm: The human soul. Dtv, 4th edition 1992, here chap. 5: Incestuous Bonds , pp. 104-127. Americ. First edition: The Heart of Men - Its Genius for Good and Evil , New York (Harper & Row), 1964. Fromm here follows CG Jung's criticism of Freud's libido theory. He does not refer here to the insights of John Bowlby and the attachment theory .
  6. ^ René A. Spitz, W. Godfrey Cobliner: From infant to toddler. Natural history of mother-child relationships in the first year of life. Edition: unchanged. N.-A., Klett-Cotta / JG Cotta'sche Buchhandlung Successor; Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 360891823X (English first edition: The First Year of Life , 1965). Original study published under Hospitalism: An Inquiry into the Genesis of Psychiatric Conditions in Early Childhood , in The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, Vol. 1 (1945), and Hospitalism: A Follow-Up Report , in The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, Vol . 2 (1946)
  7. ↑ Cf. on this and the following: Mahler, Pine, Bergman (1999), Chapter 3: The precursors of the process of detachment and individuation , p. 59 ff.
  8. ↑ Mahler, Pine, Bergman (1999), pp. 63 f.
  9. ↑ Mahler, Pine, Bergman (1999), pp. 26 ff.
  10. ↑ Martin Dornes: The competent infant. The preverbal development of man. Fischer, Frankfurt a. M. 1993, ISBN 978-3-5961-1263-0
  11. ↑ Martin Dornes (1993): The competent infant. The preverbal development of man. , Chap. Symbiosis, pp. 58-78
  12. ↑ Martin Dornes (1993): The competent infant. The preverbal development of man. , Chap. Symbiosis, p. 76 f.
  13. ^ Sigrid Chamberlain: On early socialization in Germany between 1934 and 1945 , PDF (325 kB), quotation on p. 13 of the document
  14. ↑ “A real National Socialist cannot be imagined without the need to exclude others and to treat other people cruelly. However, such behavior is inconceivable without a fundamental lack of ties and a high degree of insensitivity. And that is exactly what the advice in the advice book " The German mother and her first child " written by the doctor Johanna Haarer amounts to in 1934, on numbness and lack of ties . In a sense, it is a guide to cold-heartedness and poor relationships. ” Interview with Sigrid Chamberlain on psychosozial.de
  15. ^ Ambros Wehrli: Fatal dependencies in relationships. 1st edition. Books on Demand GmbH, Norderstedt 2008, ISBN 978-3-8334-8658-6
  16. ^ Franz Ruppert (2010): Symbiosis and Autonomy , Göttingen (Klett-Cotta), ISBN 978-3-608-89160-7