Edith Jacobson
Encyclopedia
Edith Jacobson was a German
psychoanalyst. Her major contributions to psychoanalytic thinking dealt with the development of the sense of identity
and self-esteem
and with an understanding of depression
and psychosis
. She was able to integrate the tripartite structural model of classic psychoanalysis with the theory of object relations
into a revised Drive Theory
. Thereby, she increased the treatment possibilities of the more disturbed pre-oedipal
patients.
and later she became also a psychoanalyst. In 1922 she received her medical degree, after she attended medical school at Jena
, Heidelberg
, and at Munich
. From 1922 until 1925 she did her pediatric internship at the University Hospital in Heidelberg. She develops interest in psychoanalysis
during that period. In her internship she observed instances of childhood sexuality
. Edith Jaconson began training at the Berlin Psychoanalytic Institute
in 1925 and her analyst was Otto Fenichel
. In 1930 she became a member of the Berlin Psychoanalytic Society and was soon presenting papers that dealt with her interest in the problems of the superego and its development. In 1934 she became a training analyst at the Berlin Institute.
In 1935 the Nazis imprisoned Jacobson because she refused to divulge information about a patient. In 1938, she became ill with Graves disease and diabetes; while hospitalised in Leipzig
, she escaped to Czechoslovakia
. Shortly after her escape, she emigrated to the U.S.
, where she soon became a member of the New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute. In America she became a training analyst and a teacher.
Jacobson’s theoretical and clinical work was about ego and superego functioning, the processes of identification underlying the development of ego and superego, and the role of the ego and superego in depression. In her writings, she tries to construct an overarching developmental perspective. This perspective would do justice to drives and to real objects
and their representations in building up the ego and superego. Jacobson was interested in the fate of self-representations in depressive and psychotic
patients. She introduced the concept of self-representation with Heinz Hartmann
. In 1964's The Self and the Object World, she presented a revised drive theory.
with structural and object relations theory
in a comprehensive, developmental synthesis, and her influence on subsequent work in this area has been profound. Jacobson built on the contributions of Anna Freud
, Heinz Hartmann
, Rene Spitz
, and Margaret Mahler
. In 1964 she wrote The Self and the Object World, in which she revised Sigmund Freud
's theory about the psychosexual phases in the development
, and his conceptualizations of id, ego, and superego.
emphasized the influence of the environment
. Jacobson found a way to bridge the gap between those points of view. According to Jacobson, biology
and experience mutually influence each other, and interact
throughout the development.
In accordance with Hartmann, Jacobson proposed that the instinct
ual drives are not innate ‘givens’, but biological predisposed
, innate potentials. These potentials get their distinctive features in the context of the early experiences of the child. From birth on, experiences will be registered as pleasurable (‘feeling good’) or unpleasurable (‘feeling bad’). A balance in subjective feeling states in the early experiences of the child will contribute to the harmonious development of the libido
and aggressive drive
. The libido will emerge from experiences of feeling good and normally there will be less aggression. However, if early experiences are particularly frustrating, the aggressive drive might disturb the normal development. The libido helps integrating images of good and bad objects and good and bad self. Aggression, on the other hand, facilitates separation and establishing different images of self and others. Libido and aggression cannot function without each other. Libido promotes pulling together, and aggression moving out. Libido and aggression are necessary to build a stable identity
by integrating experiences from the environment.
Jacobson articulated that experiences are subjective
, which means that there is no good mothering, but only mothering that feels good to a particular baby. It is all about ‘affective
matching’ between mother and child, in which factors like baby’s temperament
, fit or misfit between baby and mother and the mother’s capacity to respond adequately to the baby’s needs, play an important role.
Because a newborn cannot differentiate between self and others, the earliest images are fused and confused. Jacobson proposed – in agreement with Rene Spitz
– that experiences, whether they are good or bad, will accumulate
in a child’s psyche
. These earliest images form the groundwork for later subjective feelings of self and others and will serve as a filter through which one will interpret new experiences.
At the age of approximately 6 months a baby is capable of differentiating between self and others. Gradually, the aggressive
and libidinal
components also become more differentiated, which leads to new structural systems: the ego and the superego. In the second year, there is a gradual transition to individuation
and ego autonomy
, in which the representations of the child become more realistic. The child discovers its own identity and learns to differentiate wishful from realistic self and object images. The Superego develops over a long time and becomes consolidated during adolescence
.
In normal development, there is a balance between libido and aggression, which lead to a mature differentiation between self and other. However, a lack of balance between libido and aggression could lead to weak boundaries between self and other, which can be observed in psychotic patients. Also with regard to the development of the Ego and Superego Jacobson stressed the role of parental influence
as crucial. Parental love is the best guarantee for a normal ego and superego development, but also frustrations and parental demands make a significant contribution to the development of an effective, independently functioning and self-reliant Ego.
Psychoanalysis
Object relations theory
Id, ego, and superego
Sigmund Freud
Anna Freud
Heinz Hartmann
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
psychoanalyst. Her major contributions to psychoanalytic thinking dealt with the development of the sense of identity
Identity (social science)
Identity is a term used to describe a person's conception and expression of their individuality or group affiliations . The term is used more specifically in psychology and sociology, and is given a great deal of attention in social psychology...
and self-esteem
Self-esteem
Self-esteem is a term in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs and emotions such as triumph, despair, pride and shame: some would distinguish how 'the self-concept is what we think about the self; self-esteem, the...
and with an understanding of depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
and psychosis
Psychosis
Psychosis means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality"...
. She was able to integrate the tripartite structural model of classic psychoanalysis with the theory of object relations
Object relations theory
Object relations theory is a psychodynamic theory within psychoanalytic psychology. The theory describes the process of developing a mind as one grows in relation to others in the environment....
into a revised Drive Theory
Drive theory
The terms drive theory and drive reduction theory refer to a diverse set of motivational theories in psychology. Drive theory is based on the principle that organisms are born with certain physiological needs and that a negative state of tension is created when these needs are not satisfied...
. Thereby, she increased the treatment possibilities of the more disturbed pre-oedipal
Oedipus complex
In psychoanalytic theory, the term Oedipus complex denotes the emotions and ideas that the mind keeps in the unconscious, via dynamic repression, that concentrate upon a boy’s desire to sexually possess his mother, and kill his father...
patients.
Biography
Edith Jacobson was a physicianPhysician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and later she became also a psychoanalyst. In 1922 she received her medical degree, after she attended medical school at Jena
Jena
Jena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...
, Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
, and at Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. From 1922 until 1925 she did her pediatric internship at the University Hospital in Heidelberg. She develops interest in psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
during that period. In her internship she observed instances of childhood sexuality
Psychosexual development
In Freudian psychology, psychosexual development is a central element of the psychoanalytic sexual drive theory, that human beings, from birth, possess an instinctual libido that develops in five stages. Each stage — the oral, the anal, the phallic, the latent, and the genital — is characterized...
. Edith Jaconson began training at the Berlin Psychoanalytic Institute
Berlin Psychoanalytic Institute
The Berlin Psychoanalytic Institute was founded in 1920 to further the science of psychoanalysis in Berlin. Its founding members included Karl Abraham and Max Eitingon. The scientists at the institute furthered Sigmund Freud's work but also challenged many of his ideas.-History:During the 1920s,...
in 1925 and her analyst was Otto Fenichel
Otto Fenichel
Otto Fenichel was a psychoanalyst of the so-called "second generation".Otto Fenichel started studying medicine in 1915 in Vienna. Already as a very young man, when still in school, he was attracted by the circle of psychoanalysts around Freud...
. In 1930 she became a member of the Berlin Psychoanalytic Society and was soon presenting papers that dealt with her interest in the problems of the superego and its development. In 1934 she became a training analyst at the Berlin Institute.
In 1935 the Nazis imprisoned Jacobson because she refused to divulge information about a patient. In 1938, she became ill with Graves disease and diabetes; while hospitalised in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, she escaped to Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. Shortly after her escape, she emigrated to the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where she soon became a member of the New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute. In America she became a training analyst and a teacher.
Jacobson’s theoretical and clinical work was about ego and superego functioning, the processes of identification underlying the development of ego and superego, and the role of the ego and superego in depression. In her writings, she tries to construct an overarching developmental perspective. This perspective would do justice to drives and to real objects
Object (philosophy)
An object in philosophy is a technical term often used in contrast to the term subject. Consciousness is a state of cognition that includes the subject, which can never be doubted as only it can be the one who doubts, and some object or objects that may or may not have real existence without...
and their representations in building up the ego and superego. Jacobson was interested in the fate of self-representations in depressive and psychotic
Psychosis
Psychosis means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality"...
patients. She introduced the concept of self-representation with Heinz Hartmann
Heinz Hartmann
Heinz Hartmann , was a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. He is considered one of the founders and principal representantives of ego psychology.-Life:...
. In 1964's The Self and the Object World, she presented a revised drive theory.
Revised Drive Theory
Jacobson was the first theorist to attempt to integrate Drive TheoryDrive theory
The terms drive theory and drive reduction theory refer to a diverse set of motivational theories in psychology. Drive theory is based on the principle that organisms are born with certain physiological needs and that a negative state of tension is created when these needs are not satisfied...
with structural and object relations theory
Object relations theory
Object relations theory is a psychodynamic theory within psychoanalytic psychology. The theory describes the process of developing a mind as one grows in relation to others in the environment....
in a comprehensive, developmental synthesis, and her influence on subsequent work in this area has been profound. Jacobson built on the contributions of Anna Freud
Anna Freud
Anna Freud was the sixth and last child of Sigmund and Martha Freud. Born in Vienna, she followed the path of her father and contributed to the newly born field of psychoanalysis...
, Heinz Hartmann
Heinz Hartmann
Heinz Hartmann , was a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. He is considered one of the founders and principal representantives of ego psychology.-Life:...
, Rene Spitz
René Spitz
René Árpád Spitz was an American psychoanalyst of Hungarian origin.- Biography :Rene Spitz was born in Vienna and died in Denver, Colorado. From a wealthy Jewish family background, he spent most of his childhood in Hungary. After finishing his medical studies in 1910 Spitz discovered the work of...
, and Margaret Mahler
Margaret Mahler
Margaret Schönberger Mahler was a Hungarian physician, who later became interested in psychiatry. She was a central figure on the world stage of psychoanalysis...
. In 1964 she wrote The Self and the Object World, in which she revised Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
's theory about the psychosexual phases in the development
Psychosexual development
In Freudian psychology, psychosexual development is a central element of the psychoanalytic sexual drive theory, that human beings, from birth, possess an instinctual libido that develops in five stages. Each stage — the oral, the anal, the phallic, the latent, and the genital — is characterized...
, and his conceptualizations of id, ego, and superego.
General Concepts of the revised drive theory
In Freud’s point of view, drives were innate, while the ego psychologistsEgo psychology
Ego psychology is a school of psychoanalysis rooted in Sigmund Freud's structural id-ego-superego model of the mind.An individual interacts with the external world as well as responds to internal forces. Many psychoanalysts use a theoretical construct called the ego to explain how that is done...
emphasized the influence of the environment
Social environment
The social environment of an individual, also called social context or milieu, is the culture that s/he was educated or lives in, and the people and institutions with whom the person interacts....
. Jacobson found a way to bridge the gap between those points of view. According to Jacobson, biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
and experience mutually influence each other, and interact
Interaction
Interaction is a kind of action that occurs as two or more objects have an effect upon one another. The idea of a two-way effect is essential in the concept of interaction, as opposed to a one-way causal effect...
throughout the development.
In accordance with Hartmann, Jacobson proposed that the instinct
Instinct
Instinct or innate behavior is the inherent inclination of a living organism toward a particular behavior.The simplest example of an instinctive behavior is a fixed action pattern, in which a very short to medium length sequence of actions, without variation, are carried out in response to a...
ual drives are not innate ‘givens’, but biological predisposed
Predisposition
Predisposition may refer to:* Genetic predisposition, a genetic effect which can identify individuals who may be predisposed to certain health problems* Predispositioning Theory, mathematical term in the field of decision theory...
, innate potentials. These potentials get their distinctive features in the context of the early experiences of the child. From birth on, experiences will be registered as pleasurable (‘feeling good’) or unpleasurable (‘feeling bad’). A balance in subjective feeling states in the early experiences of the child will contribute to the harmonious development of the libido
Libido
Libido refers to a person's sex drive or desire for sexual activity. The desire for sex is an aspect of a person's sexuality, but varies enormously from one person to another, and it also varies depending on circumstances at a particular time. A person who has extremely frequent or a suddenly...
and aggressive drive
Death instinct
In classical Freudian psychoanalytic theory, the death drive is the drive towards death, self-destruction and the return to the inorganic: 'the hypothesis of a death instinct, the task of which is to lead organic life back into the inanimate state'...
. The libido will emerge from experiences of feeling good and normally there will be less aggression. However, if early experiences are particularly frustrating, the aggressive drive might disturb the normal development. The libido helps integrating images of good and bad objects and good and bad self. Aggression, on the other hand, facilitates separation and establishing different images of self and others. Libido and aggression cannot function without each other. Libido promotes pulling together, and aggression moving out. Libido and aggression are necessary to build a stable identity
Identity (social science)
Identity is a term used to describe a person's conception and expression of their individuality or group affiliations . The term is used more specifically in psychology and sociology, and is given a great deal of attention in social psychology...
by integrating experiences from the environment.
Jacobson articulated that experiences are subjective
Subjectivity
Subjectivity refers to the subject and his or her perspective, feelings, beliefs, and desires. In philosophy, the term is usually contrasted with objectivity.-Qualia:...
, which means that there is no good mothering, but only mothering that feels good to a particular baby. It is all about ‘affective
Emotion
Emotion is a complex psychophysiological experience of an individual's state of mind as interacting with biochemical and environmental influences. In humans, emotion fundamentally involves "physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience." Emotion is associated with mood,...
matching’ between mother and child, in which factors like baby’s temperament
Temperament
In psychology, temperament refers to those aspects of an individual's personality, such as introversion or extroversion, that are often regarded as innate rather than learned...
, fit or misfit between baby and mother and the mother’s capacity to respond adequately to the baby’s needs, play an important role.
Development of the child
The early psychic state of a child is undifferentiated, with no clear boundaries between the inner self and the outer world. Libido and aggression are not experienced as distinct drives.Because a newborn cannot differentiate between self and others, the earliest images are fused and confused. Jacobson proposed – in agreement with Rene Spitz
René Spitz
René Árpád Spitz was an American psychoanalyst of Hungarian origin.- Biography :Rene Spitz was born in Vienna and died in Denver, Colorado. From a wealthy Jewish family background, he spent most of his childhood in Hungary. After finishing his medical studies in 1910 Spitz discovered the work of...
– that experiences, whether they are good or bad, will accumulate
Accumulation
Accumulation may refer to:* Accumulation: None, a 2002 lo-fi album* Capital accumulation, the gathering of objects of value* Glacier ice accumulation, an element in the glacier mass balance formula...
in a child’s psyche
Psyche (psychology)
The word psyche has a long history of use in psychology and philosophy, dating back to ancient times, and has been one of the fundamental concepts for understanding human nature from a scientific point of view. The English word soul is sometimes used synonymously, especially in older...
. These earliest images form the groundwork for later subjective feelings of self and others and will serve as a filter through which one will interpret new experiences.
At the age of approximately 6 months a baby is capable of differentiating between self and others. Gradually, the aggressive
Aggression
In psychology, as well as other social and behavioral sciences, aggression refers to behavior between members of the same species that is intended to cause humiliation, pain, or harm. Ferguson and Beaver defined aggressive behavior as "Behavior which is intended to increase the social dominance of...
and libidinal
Libido
Libido refers to a person's sex drive or desire for sexual activity. The desire for sex is an aspect of a person's sexuality, but varies enormously from one person to another, and it also varies depending on circumstances at a particular time. A person who has extremely frequent or a suddenly...
components also become more differentiated, which leads to new structural systems: the ego and the superego. In the second year, there is a gradual transition to individuation
Individuation
Individuation is a concept which appears in numerous fields and may be encountered in work by Arthur Schopenhauer, Carl Jung, Gilbert Simondon, Bernard Stiegler, Gilles Deleuze, Henri Bergson, David Bohm, and Manuel De Landa...
and ego autonomy
Autonomy
Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...
, in which the representations of the child become more realistic. The child discovers its own identity and learns to differentiate wishful from realistic self and object images. The Superego develops over a long time and becomes consolidated during adolescence
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
.
In normal development, there is a balance between libido and aggression, which lead to a mature differentiation between self and other. However, a lack of balance between libido and aggression could lead to weak boundaries between self and other, which can be observed in psychotic patients. Also with regard to the development of the Ego and Superego Jacobson stressed the role of parental influence
Attachment theory
Attachment theory describes the dynamics of long-term relationships between humans. Its most important tenet is that an infant needs to develop a relationship with at least one primary caregiver for social and emotional development to occur normally. Attachment theory is an interdisciplinary study...
as crucial. Parental love is the best guarantee for a normal ego and superego development, but also frustrations and parental demands make a significant contribution to the development of an effective, independently functioning and self-reliant Ego.
See also
Drive TheoryDrive theory
The terms drive theory and drive reduction theory refer to a diverse set of motivational theories in psychology. Drive theory is based on the principle that organisms are born with certain physiological needs and that a negative state of tension is created when these needs are not satisfied...
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
Object relations theory
Object relations theory
Object relations theory is a psychodynamic theory within psychoanalytic psychology. The theory describes the process of developing a mind as one grows in relation to others in the environment....
Id, ego, and superego
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
Anna Freud
Anna Freud
Anna Freud was the sixth and last child of Sigmund and Martha Freud. Born in Vienna, she followed the path of her father and contributed to the newly born field of psychoanalysis...
Heinz Hartmann
Heinz Hartmann
Heinz Hartmann , was a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. He is considered one of the founders and principal representantives of ego psychology.-Life:...