Kohut's Self Psychology

A detailed Summary of Kohut's Self Psychology

Unempathetic parents are individuals who are basically ambivalent to the emotional needs of the child (Ramano). Kohut emphasized the importance of empathy responses in an individual's development of self, and asserted that empathy is an essential constituent of every psychological observation (Ramano). Empathy may be defined as "a process arising from the interaction between two individuals over time...the ability to understand the experience of another...attempting to understand how others see and experience themselves and their worlds" (Ramano). Kohut defined empathy as "vicarious introspection" (Ramano).

According to Kohut, narcissistic behaviors are consequences of early developmental failures (Ramano). These individuals have "difficulty in forming and maintaining relationships, have little empathy for others' needs and feelings, and show overt grandiosity, exaggerated self-regard, demands for attentions and inappropriate idealization of certain others" (Ramano). Moreover, when these individuals perceive an injury to self-esteem, they may react by "displaying an increase in

Unempathetic parents are inconsistent in parenting skills. They show little concern for the child's feelings and emotional well-being. They are cold and indifferent toward achievements and successes, while at the same time possibly displaying anger at failures and misdeeds. Such children learn shame and humiliation, and develop anger due to unsatisfied emotional needs. A child must be nurtured, both physically and emotionally, in order to develop a healthy self-image, otherwise he/she will depend on others for approval.

Moreover, they are "unable or unwilling" to empathize with others (Rhodewalt).

grandiosity and aloofness" (Ramano). However, profound anger is another characteristic of narcissistic personality, and is "characterized by a failure of early repetitive self-object mirroring, resulting in a fragmented self" (Ramano). Kohut describes this rage as belonging to the range of aggression, "which includes anger, destructiveness, and self-destructiveness," and encompasses a desire for revenge by whatever means (Ramano).

Kohut focused on disturbances in early social

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Kohut's Self Psychology

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