Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego

Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego Synopsis

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. The relations of an individual to his parents and to his brothers and sisters, to the object of his love, and to his physician - in fact all the relations which have hitherto been the chief subject of psycho analytic research - may claim to be considered as social phenomena, and in this respect they may be contrasted with certain other processes, described by us as 'narcissistic', in which the satisfaction of the instincts is partially or totally withdrawn from the influence of other people. The contrast between social and narcissistic - Bleuler would perhaps call them 'autistic' - mental acts therefore falls wholly Within the domain of Individual Psychology, and is not well calculated to differentiate it from a Social or Group Psychology.