Abstract
Relationship between the ego functioning and the phenomenal self: A study on psychological integration for adjustment
K. Saito
The present study was attempted to determine the psychological integration for adjustment, theoretically and empirically, from the standpoint of synthesizing the two frames of reference, t11e Ego functioning and the Phenomenal Self. First, the concepts of Ego functioning, Phenomenal Self, the relationship between these two frames, and the Integrative function for adjustment were defined, through the theoretical study. It was asserted that this Integrative function depending upon the close relationship between the Ego and the Self, would be indispensable for adjustment. The three basal requirements for this Integrative function were considered and the working hypothesis with respect to the relation between adjustment and the way of satisfying the requirements for Integration were presented. Secondly, the investigation was attempted to testify this hypothesis for three groups at different adjustment levels (normals, neurotics and schizophrenics). The Rorschach technique as an indirect method to measure the Ego functioning on the outerly defined hypothetical construct; the Self evaluating method as a phenomenological approach to the individual's subjective reality, and the synthesizing method of these two measurements were used for this purpose. Supporting the hypothesis, each group presented different characteristic distinguishable from each other in the Integrative functioning for adjustment.