Concept
Grandiose self
A structure of the self that holds an exhibitionistic sense of perfection and power. For Kohut it is a normal stage of the archaic self which, when the child's display goes unmirrored, persists unaltered and is revived in the mirror transference; for Kernberg it is a pathological fusion of the real self, the ideal self and the ideal object, built as a defence against rage and envy.
- Broader concept
- Narcissism
- Introduced by
- Heinz Kohut
- Key works
- 4
reworked by
- Otto F. Kernberg 1970 Kernberg described the grandiose self of narcissistic personalities as a pathological fusion of the ideal self, the ideal object and the actual self-image, built to ward off dependence and envy, against Kohut's view of it as a normal stage of development that had been arrested.
gave rise to
- Narcissistic transference 1971 The mirror transference is the therapeutic revival of the grandiose self, as the idealizing transference is of the idealized parental imago.
- Malignant narcissism Kernberg described malignant narcissism as the pathological grandiose self of the narcissistic personality infiltrated by aggression, so that cruelty and the wish to dominate become part of the inflated self-image.
introduced by
- Heinz Kohut 1971 Sets the grandiose self beside the idealized parental imago as the two archaic narcissistic configurations revived in analysis; he had first named both in a 1968 paper.