OBJECT RELATIONS THEORY (KLEIN, MAHLER, BOWLBY)

1. Which of the following statements about Object relations theory is not true? (Klein)
a. Object relations theory places more emphasis on biologically based drives.
b. Object relations theory tends to be more maternal.
c. Object relations theory puts more importance on consistent patterns of interpersonal
relationships.
d. Object relations theorists generally see human contact and relatedness as the prime motive of
human behavior.

2. One of Klein's basic assumptions is that the infant, even at birth, possess an ___. (Klein)
a. conscious fantasies
b. social interest
c. active phantasy life
d. archetypes

3. Which of the following statements about Klein's positions is true? (Klein)

a. it refers to phases of development through which a person passes
b. it indicates alternate back and forth
c. it pertains to adults’ ways of dealing with both internal and external objects
d. it only includes the paranoid-schizoid position

4. Klein claimed that infants use the paranoid-schizoid position to ___. (Klein)
a. strengthen their attachments with their respective mothers
b. escape from reality
c. fight off threats from older siblings
d. control the good breast and fight off its persecutors

5. Klein believed that feelings of anxiety about losing a loved object and a sense of guilt for
desiring to destroy that object refers to ___. (Klein)
a. paranoid-schizoid position
b. depressive position
c. moralistic anxiety
d. idealistic anxiety

6. Gail began recognizing that her mother is not going away permanently but rather will return after
each departure shows that the she ___. (Klein)
a. has achieved a resolution of the depressive position
b. developed a persecutory complex
c. is experiencing identity crisis
d. has regressed to an earlier period of time

7. According to Melanie Klein, children engage in splitting, which essentially means ___. (Klein)
a. adapting both to the outside environment and inner world
b. attaining a balance of two attitudes; introversion and extraversion
c. categorizing memories into anxiety-producing and not too threatening
d. separating objects and feelings into good and bad aspects

8. This psychic defense mechanism refers to the fantasy that one's own bad or good feelings and
impulses reside within another person which can help alleviate anxiety of being destroyed by
dangerous internal forces. (Klein)
 a. Introjection
b. Projection
c. Splitting
d. Projective Identification

9. Ashley is feeling conscious because she feels that she has put on weight, but because she cannot
admit this to herself, she projects this thought on to her friend, Julia, and convinces herself that it
is Julia who has actually put on weight. Ashley projected her insecurities onto Julia, saying
“Looks like you’ve put on weight”. Even though Julia may not have put on weight, she began
checking herself in the mirror, thinking whether she really has. Eventually, Julia believed that she
has, in fact, put on weight. In this situation, which psychic defense mechanism took place?
(Klein)
a. Introjection
b. Projection
c. Splitting
d. Projective Identification

10. Which of the following statements about Klein's ego is not true? (Klein)
a. it is completely organized at birth
b. it begins to evolve with the infant's first experience with feeding
c. it is strong enough to feel anxiety
d. it evaluates all experiences in terms of how they related to the good breast and the bad breast