Harry Sullivan’s interpersonal theory

Harry Sullivan’s interpersonal theory, like any other, must be understood taking into account the historical context in which it was generated.. This plays a fundamental role in understanding why and why a theoretical development was carried out and what questions said development answered.

Harry Sullivan was an American psychiatrist. His graduation as a doctor coincided with the outbreak of the First World War. He worked for many years as an Allied military doctor and later at Pratt Towson Hospital. Sullivan dedicated a lot of time to the study of schizophrenia, due to the impact these patients had on him.
His initial psychiatric practice was inclined towards Freudian psychoanalysis, however, he did not last long in this. For his theory – the interpersonal theory of psychiatry – he took some of the psychoanalytic principles referring to human dynamics – unconscious motivation, defense mechanisms and the interpretation of dreams.

Theoretical influences of Harry Sullivan’s interpersonal theory

Throughout his short life, Sullivan’s work was influenced by the writings of: Sigmund Freud, George Herbert Mead (for his theory of status and social role), Adolfo Meyer (for his biological method), Leonard Cotrell, Ruth Benedict and especially Edward Sapir.

Sullivan is a third-generation psychoanalytic author, as is Erich Fromm. He can be classified as an independent Freudian, since using his training he borrowed certain theoretical foundations from Freudian psychoanalysis to give them a different use.

So, The main point of study of Harry Sullivan’s interpersonal theory is focused on the ways of relating and communicating. However, his premature death meant that he could not round out his theory. During his lifetime he only produced one book and the other 5 were published after his death.

What is Harry Sullivan’s interpersonal theory about?

Harry Sullivan’s interpersonal theory is quite popular in psychiatry and psychology. Although it is a theory that could not be completed, it had an important development from the study of people with diagnoses of schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

This author considers that Patterns of relationships between people are greatly influenced by childhood experiences. This is because in That time empathy is developed; an empathy that Sullivan defines as the child’s ability to feel in some way the attitude of people towards him.

Personality formation

Sullivan proposes that personality is formed from the interpersonal relationships that each individual has. That is to say, a transfer occurs from the interpersonal to the intrapersonal. Varying the ways in which these experiences are experienced as the stages of life go through, where the mastery of language, social skills and the satisfaction of needs become more complex.

Modes of cognitive experience

This author describes three, having a logical and chronological order between them:

Protactical mode: initial experience in which the baby does not perceive itself as an integrated being, there is no notion of time or causality. She will progressively become aware of her body as an instrument of interaction with the outside world, experiencing sensations of relief and tension.Paratactic mode: from infancy the child begins to differentiate the internal from the external and how to satisfy their needs. Symbols – language, interpretation of gestures – appear after experiences that allow causality to be established.Syntactic mode: is he most advanced way of personality development. It expands as new experiences exist. The symbols acquired in the pratactic mode are used to relate to other people and be validated through consensus with them.

Factors in personality formation

Sullivan essentially describes major factors in personality development. Both with a great influence of interpersonal relationships and language:

Needs and dynamism

It proposes a dualism that influences one another, but that belong to two different areas.

Needs: biological scope and basic needs – feeding, defecating/sexuality, sleep –Dynamism or security: social or cultural sphere. Learned actions to interact with the outside world and be able to satisfy their basic needs. They are complex patterns of behavior.The infant responds to the emotions of his parents or any other parental substitute. These significant adults They produce “empathized well-being” if they have a friendly attitude and accept it or “empathized discomfort” if they have a rejecting attitude which causes the development of unhappiness.

The dynamics that resolve or reduce tension lead to integrating a situation; those that do not, lead to disintegration and generate anxiety. Producing appropriate or inappropriate patterns, depending on the anxiety processes generated.

The ego system

It is a complex psychic structure that develops throughout childhood. Its function is to manage anxiety. That is, it seeks to protect the personality and social image by dealing with the need for security. That is why it is also known as -dynamism of the self-. It is linked to the pursuit of satisfaction and the pursuit of security, thus creating the dynamism of the self.

Harry Sullivan’s interpersonal theory, although it could not be completely finished and schematized, leaves us, as we have seen, with some important ideas. For his theoretical development, he was based on completely observable facts, proposing a systematic theory of personality development. Maintaining that man is a product of interaction with other human beings, plus a biological substrate.

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