PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT

AND SYMBIOSIS
Shea Schiff

The development of the human SUMMARY

personality may be viewed as a progression
of distinct yet interrelated stages pro- The author traces major stages of
ceeding from total physical and psycholo- development by examining some impor-
gical dependence (formed in the sym- tant issues at each stage, the overall
biosis with the caretakers) to functional symbiosis, the specific focus of the sym-
independence or autonomy (the resolution biosis at each stage, and the development
of the symbiosis). and differentiation of the Ego-State sys-
tems and their relatively discrete sub-
The most crucial events during the
systems. It is the author's contention
prenatal period are the things happening
that much of personality development can
to the parents, e.g. the stroke economy of
be understood by examining and inte-
the mother, the fantasies she has about
grating these three analytic models.
pregnancy, birth, infants, etc. The degree
to which the parens react to the stress of Ef Desarrollo de fa Personalidad y
this period and seek resolutions to these fa Simbiosis
problems significantly affects the forma- En este estudio el autor integra las
tion of the symbiosis after birth. For the eta pas de desarrollo con el analisis estruc-
foetus, probably the most crucial experi- tural. EI plantea la simbiosis como un
ences of this period (aside from the concepto util para entender las etapas
physical development) are the primitive estructurales y las de desarrollo.
sensations of bodily rhythm both of their
Die Entwickfung der Personlichkeit
own bodies and also those of their
und Symbiose
mothers' bodies.
What information we have about the In dieser Arbeit integriert der Verfasser
experience of birth for the infant comes Entwicklungsstadien mit Struktur-
from the reports of people who have analyse. Ihm erscheint Symbiose als ein
re-enacted it either in regression or with brauchbarer Begriff beim Verstandniss
hypnosis. Allowing for the questionable von Struktur-und Entwicklungsstadien.
nature of such data, reports indicate an Le Developpement de fa personnalite
association between the sensations we et fa symbiose
call fright and the unexpected loss of
support and rhythm as the primary ex- Dans cette etude, l'auteur assimile les
perience of comfort and security. etapes du developpement a l'analyse
structurale. II trouve que le concept de
The first few months are for the infant
la symbiose aide a comprendre les differ-
a period of discovering that he or she
entes etapes dans I'elaboration de la
exists separate from the world. They
structure et dans le developpement,
being to discriminate between what is
310 Trans. An. J., 7:4. October 1977
 PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT AND SYMBIOSIS

internal and what is external, what is them

and what is not. The mother usually
experiences the symbiosis as peaking in
the later stage of pregnancy and then
gradually decreasing from that point.
During the first few weeks or months,
the symbiosis is experienced at a high
level, particularly if the infant is breast
fed. In the first month the symbiosis
appears not to be experienced by the
INFANT
infant since it is not aware of anything
external. Rhythms continue to have major Figure 1
significance as a source of security.
the biological Child of feeling, sensations,
Crying, sucking, rocking, an infant's own
reflexes, and primitive adaptations. This
breathing and heart beat, along with that
is a structural diagram in that C I is a dis-
of its mother, reinforce this association.
criminable part of the total Ego State
Non-rhythmical experiences, such as the
system. Functionally, we may further
mother's smell, awareness of her eyes and
analyze C I in terms of phenomena
her smile, etc. begin to bring the symbio-
observable in the first six months (Figure
sis into the awareness of the infant during
2). The infant is born with Co representing
the second to fourth month.
Many activities which began as rhythms
and reflexes are now influenced by social
learning and take on purposeful direction
to elicit specific responses. If the rhythmi-
cal behaviors do not produce the desired
result they are likely to increase in intensity
and frequency for a period of time
followed by extinction of the behavior
or alteration of the behavior pattern.
Another crucial learning experience at
this stage is the association between the INFANT
internal sensation of hunger, the activity Figure 2
of crying, flailing, and sucking (the
behavioral bridge between the internal reflexive reactions to stimuli, both internal
and the external) and the external response and external, e.g, hunger-crying, placed
resulting in the acquisition of food. These against breast-nuzzling, respectively. A o
represent a primary protocol for later is partially present, representing pre-
learning and behavior patterns which will ferences or avoidances that seem intrinsic
relate internal sensations to activity and to a particular experience but idiosyncratic
solutions to problems. (If this learning is to the individual (only partially present
interrupted at this stage it has serious since as neural development proceeds the
consequences on the subsequent develop- range of A o responses increases). Po re-
ment.) presents preferences or avoidances which
Structurally we may represent the infant are conditioned and develop after the first
in the first six months of life as in Figure month of life. These three comprise the
1, where C z represents the potential for most primitive organizing functions. The
the whole Child system and C I represents personality will develop as they are ela-
Trans. An. J., 7:4, October 1977 311
SHEA SCHIFF

borated and differentiated. As a functional tain that image in her absence along with
model it (Fig. 2) is useful in tracing the attendant feelings and behavior. This
motivation in the mature individual and capacity results in "anticipatory upset"
will be discussed after the full structure when the infant perceives that the mother
has been completed. is about to leave and in exploration of
From approximately six months to two behavior to prevent that. With that
years the infant is entering a stage of exploration, PI is formed by the antici-
independence and exploration, developing patory response to discomfort. These are
control of its body, discovering more not the only experiences that lead to the
about its capacities and limitations. formation of these structures but rather
Awareness of the symbiosis peaks for were chosen to illustrate the process and
the infant around eight to nine months elucidate the symbiotic issues at this stage.
when the mother is clearly perceived as From approximately twelve to twenty-
separate and the dependency on her is four months, there is an increase in curio-
recognized. The experience of separation sity and in investigation of the external
and loss at this point is the first major world, both material and social-due
experience of grief and becomes a moti- both to increased cognitive abilities and to
vating force for increasing independence a decrease of the internal distress of mid-
to reduce the threat of separation to a infancy occasioned by teething and
tolerable level so that it will no longer be separation issues. Negative experiences
life threatening. The beginnings of self- are responded to with grief and frustra-
definition are found in this stage and are tion, but as yet there is little understanding
reinforced by activities such as weaning, that at least some of these negative
self-feeding and exploratory activity. experiences are the result of intentional
The intensity of awareness of the sym- acts from the environment, i.e. the care-
biosis then begins a gradual decline to a takers. The issue is control and the posi-
level acceptable in a mature adult (though tion is optimistic, with the assumption
of course acceptable is a normative concept that when the learning (which has paid
allowing a wide range of variance in the off so well heretofore) is complete the
individual). During this stage jwo sub- frustrations will be eliminated and the
structures of the Child system develop as child will be in control of his environment.
shown in Figure 3. Al is marked by the
development of a fantasy structure suffi- The symbiosis at this stage is charac-
cient to discriminate the mother and re- terized by increasing independence of the
infant in motor skills, awareness of the
environment, beginning of language
acquisition, and greater tolerance for
the absence of the mother. A pattern has
now been established which is likely to
recur throughout development: a difficult
and stressful period is followed by a
gratifying and less stressful period. This
cycle has two major consequences. The
stressful periods seem to promote the
breakdown of the symbiosis for both
child and parents, whereas the more
gratifying periods enable them to main-
INFANT tain an ongoing positive investment in
Figure 3 the relationship.
312 Trans. An. J., 7:4, October 1977
 PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT AND SYMBIOSIS

At about age two the infant has gained nurturance necessary for the youngster's
both the cognitive abilities and experiences well being.
to realize that he is not going to be Successful resolution at this stage will
able to learn to make his environment lay the foundation for the person's ability
respond as he wishes. He realizes that to relate to a full range of feelings in
it is populated by individuals who have others with a full range of feelings in him-
feelings and wants separate from his and self. The transition may be diagrammed
that not all of the spontaneous responses structurally (Figure 4) illustrating the
seeking gratification will work. It becomes greater range of feelings in C 2 available
necessary for the child to make a social
contract in which he accepts the necessity
of adapting his behavior to the demands
of others in order to maintain the desired
flow of strokes and nurturance, and to
alleviate the discomfort of continual
frustrations. The Adult is cathected in
response to those increased demands
and expectations. The necessity for
remembering details in his environment
and in relationships becomes a source of
motivation for the type of thinking done
by the Adult system (though this system
has not yet reached anything close to its MOTHER INFANT
full potential and will not until what
Piaget calls the stage of formal operations).
In this stage a significant change occurs
in the symbiosis between mother and
child. For the first time it is possible for
the mother to react to the child with a
full range of affect and to expect a
socially adaptive response, due to the
increased capacities for thinking and
behavior. Though the parents may now
permit themselves to utilize the full range
of their feelings to help the youngster
experience the necessity (and eventual MOTHER INFANT
desirability) of social conformity, they do Figure 4
not respond this way in all situations at
all times. Rather, their responses take into to the caretaker in relating to the youngster
account the capacity the child has for and the increase in cognitive abilities of
adaptation, considering the limitations of the youngster (only a portion of A 2 is
attention span, short and long term included to indicate it has not developed
memory, experienc eof the significance of fully as yet).
various behaviors, etc. This transformation From approximately age three to four,
of the symbiosis increases the quantity the youngster is actively incorporating
and alters the quality of responses from culture in terms of social roles and
the parents' Child Ego States as they definitions at a new level of generality.
continue to maintain the protection and The stress of the previous stage has
Trans. An. J., 7:4, October 1977 313
SHEA SCHIFF

decreased and a curiosity emerges about themselves into conformity. If external

the structure of the social world. The parenting is insufficient (which it will
child learns girls grow up into women, probably be in some area for almost
policemen help people and put criminals everyone) these fantasies can be used to
in jail, and many other assorted bits of provide punishment. The whole mechanism
information out of which she begins to is a function of P J in the Child Ego State,
formulate initial fantasy images of the and the latter is the specific function
world (examples from U.S. middle class). called Witch Parent in TA. At this stage,
This is the end of the rapid growth of P I is develped to near its full capacity
Al ("The Little Professor") used to and will decrease in significance and rate
facilitate social adaptatons by providing of development as the youngster matures.
the child with a picture of her culture. The focus of the symbiosis at this stage
The foci of the symbiosis at this stage is between P I of the youngster and the
are the transactions between the mother's parents' P 2 and A 2 (see Figure 6). These
extended range of Ego State involvement provide the rational functioning which the
and A I' A 2, and some of P I in the young- child lacks, thereby facilitating the
ster (see Figure 5). The stroking for the integration of the fantasy-fear structure
with reality as defined by A 2• There is
usually an ambivalence in the parents in
reacting to the fantasies and the fears
the child creates: both an inclination to
respond with comfort and reassurance,
and impulses to express irritation at their
irrationality. Both reactions are probably
useful in placing the P I structure in
,,":\....Olo,,-or-P, perspective, since the nurturance maintains
the relationship while the irritation
flJ-+-+-A, provides motivaton to examine the world
C, (both internal and external) more
objectively using A 2 functions. All of this
MOTHER YOUNGSTER is accompanied by information from the
parents and encouragement to seek solu-
Figure 5 tions for the problems created by the
fantasy-fear structure.
youngster's C I is still very important as
well as the closeness which will become
part of her fantasy structure about her
relationship to the world.
Around ages four to five, there is
increasing awareness of the youngster's
need to control himself in relationship to
the environment and produce those
adaptive behaviors which will result in ~I,---\-- P,
problem-solving and strokes. However,
his ambition exceeds his ability. To A,
compensate this, a relatively new C,
mechanism is developed and explored:
using a combination of fantasy and the MOTHER YOUNGSTER
feeling of fear, children learn to scare Figure 6
314 Trans. An. J .• 7:4, October 1977
 PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT AND SYMBIOSIS

During the stage from about age five acquiring new options and testing limits.
to about age eight, the child is moving To the parents it appears as though the
out into a much larger world involving child is actively defending againt or
school, increased social responsibilities, challenging parental values much of the
and areas of group process quite different time (partially true). However, the func-
from prevous experiences. Children have tion of the challenge has less to do with
to "compete" for strokes and attention the particular value than with the develop-
from grown-ups and peers with diverse emnt of internal resources with which to
backgrounds and views, and rely on encounter future problems. Toward the
themselves to solve problems. They have end of this period the Parent Ego State
incorporated a great deal of extraneous (which we have drawn in dotted lines up
Parent, which seems useless in the situa- to now) is cathectable as an autonomous
tion. They discover that incorporating working system, enabling the child to
structure is not going to solve all problems. consider problems in social interacton not
They must learn to be less vulnerable to merely in terms of consequences or cause
the input of the external world while not and effect but from a value orientation.
endangering their sources of strokes and The symbiosis is further reduced as the
gratification. youngster, using her own Parent, takes
The symbiosis at this stage is charac- over more of the functions related to
terized by increasingly large portions of evaluation (Figure 8).
the youngster's functioning occuring
outside the symbiosis, with a corresponding
reduction in the functions provided by the
parents (see Figure 7). The intensity of the
symbiotic relationship is still high, but it
has become more selective. The parents
provide reassurance that the youngsters
can independently explore ways of dealing
with problems and protect themselves
from being hurt by being aware of reasons
and being less vulnerable. MOTHER YOUNGSTER
Figure 8

It is difficult to describe the symbiosis

during adolescence since there is by now a
great deal of autonomy. The symbiosis
still exists but is manifested only in a few
selected areas such as physical or economic
dependence, and unresolved tasks from
earlier developmental stages. This period
is characterized by active movement by
MOTHER YOUNGSTER both parents and children out of the
Figure 7 symbiosis and mutual reaasurances that
this is acceptable and desireable. While
Between age eight and age twelve, the reinforcing their autonomy, they are also
child is actively oriented and defends engaged in picking up previously unre-
against feelings. Parent values are being solved issues which need to be dealt with
compared and altered. Children are within the symbiotic relationship. This
Trans. An. J., 7:4, October 1977
SHEA SCHIFF

account of adolescence does not, of Shea Schiff, CMW with a Clinical

course, include many of the important Teaching Contract in the ITAA is a
developments which occur from the trainer at Cathexis Institute in Oakland,
individuals own active integraton of his California.
internal structure with the external world.
REFERENCES
In conclusion, it is my belief that major
Berne, E. "Standard nomenclature," Transactional
aspects of the development of the per- analysis bulletin,
sonality can be understood by examining Material is taken from unpublished work done at
the progressive resolution of the relation- Cathexis Institute.
ship between the child and the caretakers. Schiff, J. et. al., The cathexis reader. Harper and
Row, 1975,23.
Another significant model which explicates
this process is the development and
*Author's Note: Some of this material comes from
differentiation of the systems of Ego unpublished work at Cathexis Institute. My debt
States and their relatively discrete sub- to the work of my mother, Jacqui Schiff, is obvious
systems. * and gratefully acknowledged.

316 Trans. An. J.• 7:4, October 1977