Abstract

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Title:: Winnicott’s Theory of Transitional Objects：The Path of ItsDevelopment

Keywords:: Winnicott; transitional object; transitional phenomena; potential space

Abstract:: “Winnicott’s theory of transitional objects-transitional phenomena-potential space is an alternativecharacterization of human nature after Freud and Klein and has exerted a profound influence in the field ofpsychoanalysis. His successors developed the theory in the following three directions：extension of the theoryof individual development；trans-disciplinary studies；integration and analysis of different theories. The firstextension covers both normal and abnormal developments in adolescents and adults；the second is embodiedby the application of psychoanalysis in the fields of literature and arts and by the support and criticism from theempirical studies in anthropology；the theoretical integration and analysis has led to the theoretical summationof the trans-disciplinary studies on the function and evolution of transitional phenomena and to Ogden’scontemporary interpretation of potential space.