Empirical investigation of the tenets of Object Relations Theory is recent. This study of the theoretical convergence between Object Relations Theory and Personal Construct Theory brought a new direction to the empirical investigation. It was hypothesized that individuals who displayed a well developed level of object relations, as measured by Object Relations Theory, would also display a highly adaptive blend of cognitive complexity and ordination, as described by Personal Construct Theory, and vice versa. A correlational analysis of personality measures on 136 college students approached but did not attain statistical significance. Results indicated no significant theoretical convergence between Object Relations Theory and Personal Construct Theory. Further research is warranted only if greater variability in sample age, life experience, and psychopathology is assured.

Chapter One of this thesis looks at psychoanalytical object relations theory dealing with early childhood, with an aim to outline the shift that has taken place within critical thinking on personal development--from an emphasis on oedipal relations to the auspicious re-exploration of pre-oedipal states. Here the main theme derives from the paradoxical nature of the human skin, whose fluid sensory and communicative qualities profoundly shape our psychological functioning, and thus ultimately our creation of (gendered) knowledge in all its forms. / Chapter Two seeks to establish some of the possible socio-political implications of a recovered pre-oedipal sensibility, by way of situating the place of the personal within critical discourse--the cross-fertilization of critical theory and self-critical artistic discourses. Using the specific example of film, my central conceit consists in drawing a parallel between the skin and the filmic screen as both being simultaneously introjective and projective liminal membranes. / Chapter Three is a case study of sorts, one which traces the manifestations of a liminal subjectivity during a critical phase in the history of my native Nordic culture--the period of transition between pagan and Christian society. Its spirit is then shown to be alive and well within the ensemble films of Ingmar Bergman, whose work has come to stand as something of an archetype of the Nordic film form. / The second section, PRAXIS, appropriately provides this project's own creative component, a sketch of a film scenario that I hope to one day be able to liberate from the stasis of the written page and project into the uncertain spaces of a theater screen.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2007 / Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Social Work. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 100-102).

Thesis (M.A.)--Trinity International University, Deerfield, Ill., 1997. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-87).

Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-68).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Duquesne University, 2004. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p. 117-118).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-96). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-96). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--McMaster University, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 87-97) Also available via World Wide Web.

The current study investigated the relationship between clients' object relations functioning and the working alliance. The Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale (SCORS; Westen, 1991), an object relations scoring system for the TAT, was used to assess object relations functioning. Forty-eight therapy clients at a university-based training clinic were administered the TAT, Adult Attachment Scale (AAS), Symptom Checklist 90-Revised (SCL-90-R; Derogatis, 1977), and the short form of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MCSD; Crowne & Marlowe, 1960). Following the initial assessment of client characteristics shortly after intake, clients and their therapists rated the working alliance 3 sessions later. Results indicated that the SCORS was significantly correlated with client and therapist ratings of the working alliance. The current study also assessed the predictive validity of the SCORS by examining how its various scales are related to aspects of the working alliance and the other measures used in this study. The findings suggest that the relationship between object relations functioning, the working alliance, symptom severity, and attachment disturbance depends on the aspect of object relations that is being assessed.