Reading 10

Winnicott, D. W. (1971) Transitional Objects and Transitional Phenomena: Playing and Reality. London: Tavistock, Pp. 1-25.

Playing and reality – Winnicott

Original hypothesis

When fits born, children uses fist/finger/thumb in stimulation of the oral-erotogenic ones. Then, later, dolls and then harder toys are used. Mother usually gives the baby a special object and expects the baby to become “addicted” to the object. Winnicott’s hypothesis of thumb/dolls/objects are related but separated by time intervals. 

The first possession

• many patterns or variations in the baby’s first “not me” possession. i.e. from thumb-sucking to a teddy bear doll or toy. Other than oral excitement, it is the basis of “everything else” [whatever winnicott meant by that]. Other things could be studies, such as:
• nature of the object.
• infant’s capacity to reorganize the object as “not-me”.
• the place of the object: outside/inside/on the boundary.
• the infant’s capacity to create/think up/devise/originate/produce an object.
• The initiation of an affectionate type of object relationship.

Transitional objects/transitional phenomenon

-for the intermediate area of experience between:

• the thumb and the teddy bear
• oral eroticism and object relationship
• primary creative activity and projection of what has been introjected already
• primary unindebtedness and indebtedness

-lullabies and babbling is a form of transitional phenomenon, as are the objects which are not the baby’s body but not fully reorganized as belonging to an external reality 

Inadequacy of usual statements of human development

-talking about human nature in interpersonal terms is not enough even if it accounts for conscious/unconscious fantasy

-when there is a clear boundary between the internal and external, then you can start talking about one’s internal reality versus external world. 

Experiencing is the mixture of internal and external, which is a “resting place” from keeping a differentiation between inner and outer experience. Usually people speak of reality testing and the difference between apperception and perception. Winnicott claim that there is an intermediary stage between inability and ability to recognize and accept reality àillusion in children is seen in adults in art and religion.

-illusionary experience: a group experiencing the same illusion, and is a basis of human groupings. Forcing others to accept one’s illusions is seen as “mad”.

-it is not the thumb or teddy bear per se, but the infant’s first possession with its intermediary area between subjective and objective 

Development of a personal pattern

-not much attention was given to how babies deal with “not-me”/other-than-me objects 

Progression/complication of the auto-erotic experience (i.e. thumb-sucking):

1. baby sucks on other objects together with fingers
2. the other objects are held/sucked or not sucked at all
3. the other objects are held/sucked or not sucked at all
4. child picks the object and keeps its parts
5. mouthing occur

-such transitional phenomenon becomes important to the child in times of anxiety, especially of the depressive type. If it’s an object used, it is called a transitional object

-variation in age of this phenomenon (4-12 months)

-the original patterns/objects persist into childhood, such as at bedtime/loneliness/depressive moods. Such objects may later reappear in times of deprivation. In times of health, a wider range of interests reappear.

-no gender differences in the use of original not-me objects [transitional objects]

-with language, a word could be used as a transitional object [i.e. Baa, the b coming the parents uding the word bear]. 

-sometimes no transitional objects expect mother. Child may be so emotionally disturbed that he cannot enjoy the transitional object. The transitional state cannot be enjoyed or sequence of objects have been broken 

Summary of special qualities in the relationship

1. infant assumes right over the object, with some abrogation of omnipotence
2. object is affectionately cuddled, excitedly loved and mutilated
3. it must never be changed, except by the object
4. must survive instinctual loving/hating [and if necessary, pure aggression]
5. yet it must give the infant warmth
6. it comes from without [adult view] but not in infant’s view, not from within [i.e. it is not a hallucination]. Then subject widens out into play/religion/etc…
7. its fate is gradually decathected with time, relegated into limbo. It is not forgotten or mourned – meaning is just forgotten.

Relationship of the transitional object to symbolism

-the object is symbolical of a part-object. What matters is its actuality and not its symbolism.

-when symbolized, the infant already knows the difference between internal and external. Transitional object gives room of accepting the difference/similarity -->this leads to “experiencing” -->move from subjective to objective -->beginning of symbolization 

-children can easily can easily give retrospective info about their transitional object 

-there is value in history taking: parents can take notes to compare between the children’s characteristics at their early stages 

Theoretical studies

-several comments can be made, based on psychoanalytic theory

1. transition object stands for the breast or the object of the first relationship
2. Transition object antecedes reality testing
3. In relation to the transitional object, the infant passes from magical/omnipotent control to control by manipulation. i.e. muscle eroticism/coordinated pleasure
4. Transitional object may develop a fetish object and persist, as a characteristic of adult sexual life
5. Transitional object may stand for feces because of anal erotic organization.

Relation to internal object i.e. Melanie Klein

-transitional object an internal objet, but not an external object either. 

Complex relationship:

-transitional object can be used when internal object is alive/real/good but internal object rely on external object for characteristics. If external object fails in some essential function leads to deadness/persecutory quality of internal figure -->then transitional object does not work either. The transitional stands for external object and indirectly to the internal object 

-transitional object is never under magical control, like the internal object, yet not under outside control, like the real other is 

Illusion-disillusion

-no possibility to move from pleasure principle to reality principle or beyond identification, unless there was a good enough mother figure. i.e. the person who adapts to the child’s needs and gradually withdraws when the child’s ability to adapt grows in dealing ith frustration. 

To deal with maternal failure include:

1. Frustration is time-limited [hopefully short]
2. Growing sense of process
3. Beginning of mental activity
4. Employment of auto-erotic satisfaction
5. Remembering/reliving/fantasizing/dreaming: integration of past/present/future

-if all goes well, the child is able to deal with frustration. i.e.:

• incomplete adaptation of need makes objects real [hated and loved]
• exact adaptation is not good = too resembling of magic
• but at first, adaptation must be almost exact [if not, baby will not begin to experience relationship to reality

illusion/value of illusion

-at first, mother gives the infant the impression “illusion” that her breast is part of the infant’s experience. With time, mother’s task is to gradually bring disillusion to the infant

-breast is ‘created’ by infant over and over, out of capacity to love/out of need. The breast becomes subjective experience as the mother places it at the infant. 

“the intermediate area which is allowed to the infant between primary creativity and objective perception based on reality testing”.

-transitional phenomenon represents early stages of illusion without it, there will be no reality testing.

-there is an overlap between what mother provides and what the child conceives of. 

-transitional objects/phenomena’s main function is to give a neutral experience which will not be challenged. i.e. parents will not ask: is that teddy bear’s feelings real? Did you conceive of it yourself or is it external? 

-at first, mother’s job is to create illusion, but then it is to create disillusionment. This is similar to the weaning necessary for Melanie Klein’s depressive position.

-if disillusion happens abruptly, then child could not wean [as it was not done gradually] 

Development of a theory of illusion/disillusionment

-person’s reality acceptance is never complete: there is always some tension between inside and outside. The relief is given by an intermediary is in direct continuity with the small child lost in play. Good enough mothering helps the child in relationship between self and the world i.e. through the provision of the transitional object. Parents are to allow the intermediary stage – the intersubjectivity of transitional object without insisting on objectivity. 

SUMMARY

-first possession starts with thumb-sucking and moves to soft and then hard objects. It relates to external [mom’s breast] as well as the internal [magically introjected breast] 

-transitional object and phenomena relate to the illusion which is the basis of experience. This early stage of development is made possible with mother’s allowing of the illusion that the baby creates really exists. 

-the intermediate area of experience, unchallenged, belonging to both internal and external reality, and constitutes a large part of the baby’s experience. Transitional objects become decathected onto cultural elements. This approach has a paradox in the positive sense, and resolution of it leads to true/false self. 

Application of the theory

-the transition is not the object but in the infant’s transition from being merged with the mother to being in a relation to the mother as something separate. 

Psychopathology manifestation in the area of transitional phenomenon

-i.e. if mother figure is gone for a while, the internalized image fades for the infant. Before it fades totally, becoming decathected into meaninglessness, the infant exaggerates the use of the transitional object and denial of the object. 

Point of article: the interplay/growth of subjectivity and objectivity

End of reading!!!