6 | INTERNALIZED OBJECT RELATIONS
An internalized object relation is an affective-cognitive phenomenon that corresponds to a mental representation of an interpersonal relationship that is stored as a memory —the interpersonal relationship is in the physical world, the internalized object relation is in the mental world—. Internalized object relations are composed of a self representation interacting with an object representation and the affect associated with this kind of interaction15; internalized object relations are mainly unconscious. Internalized object relations are established during early development of individuals when we interact with our primary caregivers. Each one of the specific internalized object relations that have been stored in memory is called an object relation dyad.16 A person contains a limited number of stored dyads and based on these dyads builds the knowledge of him or herself, of others, and later, of the world around him or her —remember that at the beginning of life, the world of the newborn includes only him or herself and his or her primary caregiver, as time goes by and hatching occurs, his or her world expands to include other things, such as secondary caregivers and inanimate objects.17 Thus, a person´s knowledge of the physical world, not matter how elaborate, also has its origin within an interpersonal scenario.
At all times, a person has a specific activated object relation dyad to relate with others or the world that surrounds them, even at this moment, for example, the reader has one active: Is it that of the demanding reader —self representation— who is frustrated —affect—by the poor expressive quality of the author —object representation—, or is it that of the avid reader, satisfied with the text, who considers the author conspicuous?
This phenomenon will be essential for understanding transference and countertransference.