According to object relations theory, object constancy involves maintaining a lasting relationship with a specific object, or rejecting any substitute for such an object. Example of the latter: rejecting mothering from anyone except one’s own mother.
Object constancy is “the capacity to recognize and tolerate loving and hostile feelings toward the same object; the capacity to keep feelings centered on a specific object; and the capacity to value an object for attributes other than its function of satisfying needs. – Margaret Mahler
You may know people who see others as all good or all bad – partisan politics?? And of course there are those that only value people according to their utility. Many people long to be real, to with others that are real, and have real relationships.
Object constancy is usually defined as the capacity to see and relate to the other as a person in his or her own right. This capacity is part of the quality of the Personal Essence, of being personal and able to make direct personal contact. – A. H. Almaas
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