On concreteness
Brown, L.J.
Psychoanalytic Review 72(3): 379-402
1985
ISSN/ISBN: 0033-2836 PMID: 2413496 Document Number: 249404
Subtypes of concreteness (organic, topographical, semiotic, and interactional) are described in this paper. These are considered within the context of overall development during the first two and a half years of life and cognitive growth is systematically linked to the maturation of object relations. Factors which contribute to concreteness are the nature of the cognitive strategies available for thinking, the growth of an internal space in which an independently functioning mind is located, and the gradual separation of the self and nonself. Finally, some examples of concreteness in clinical practice are offered particularly as these relate to the nature of projective identification.