Psychologists
Ronald Fairbairn
FAIR-bairn (/fɛrˈbɛərn/)
Also Known As W. Ronald D. Fairbairn
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Ronald Fairbairn (1889-1964) was a Scottish psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, a central figure in the development of object relations theory. Working in relative isolation in Edinburgh, he replaced Freud's drive-based model of personality with one built entirely on relationships, arguing that the infant seeks the object (the caregiver) itself rather than the discharge of instinctual tension, and that a failure of that relationship is internalized through splitting into distinct ego structures.
Facts
BirthplaceMorningside, Edinburgh, Scotland 1 Nationality / Culture Defining ContributionFormulated a systematic object-relations theory of personality that replaced Freudian drive theory with the infant's relationship to its caregiver as the primary motivating force, describing splitting into libidinal, central and anti-libidinal ego structures. 1 Notable WorkPsychoanalytic Studies of the Personality (1952), published in the United States as An Object-Relations Theory of the Personality (1954) 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
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1. Wikipedia: Ronald Fairbairn
Wikimedia FoundationIntroductionQuote, Introduction
He was generally known and referred to as "W. Ronald D. Fairbairn".
1. Wikipedia: Ronald Fairbairn
Wikimedia FoundationinfoboxQuote, infobox
Ronald Fairbairn FRSE
1. Wikipedia: Ronald Fairbairn
Wikimedia FoundationCareer sectionQuote, Career section
Fairbairn produced only one book-length collection of his papers called Psychoanalytic Studies of the Personality (1952) published in the United States as An Object-Relations Theory of the Personality by Basic Books in 1954.
Wikipedia: Object Relations Theory
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Melanie Klein, Kleinian object relations theoryQuote, Associated With: Melanie Klein, Kleinian object relations theory
In contrast to Fairbairn and later Guntrip, Klein believed that both good and bad objects are introjected by the infant, the internalization of good objects being essential to the development of healthy ego function.
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