of self and other, an increased risk of development of varieties of psychosis results. Not accomplishing the second task (overcoming splitting) results in an increased risk of developing a borderline personality disorder. Furthermore, his developmental model includes Kernberg's view about drives, in which he differs from Freud. Kernberg was obviously inspired by Melanie Klein, whose model draws mainly on the paranoid-schizoid position and on the depressive position. More elaborate information on Kernberg's ideas can be found in a recent publication by Cohen M. (2000). First months Kernberg saw the infant in the first months of his life as struggling to sort out his experience on the basis of the affective valence of this experience. The infant moves back and forth between two different affective states. One state is characterized as pleasurable and gratified; the other state is unpleasurable, painful and frustrating. Regardless of what one is in, no distinction is made between self and other. Developmental tasks First developmental task: psychic clarification of self and other The first developmental task embodies being able to make a distinction between what is self and what is other. When this task would not be accomplished, one cannot develop a dependable sense of the self as separate and distinct because one cannot make a distinction between one's own experience and the experience of others. This failure is hypothesized to be the major precursor for all psychotic states. In schizophrenic symptoms (hallucinations, delusions, psychic fragmentation) we can see a lack of being able to separate between internal and external world, own experience and experience of others, own mind and the mind of another. Second developmental task: overcome splitting The second developmental task is to overcome splitting. When the first developmental task is accomplished, one is able to differentiate between self-images and object images; however, these images remain segregated affectively. Loving self images and images of good objects are held together by positive affects, or libidinal affects. Hateful images of the self and bad, frustrating object images are held together by negative or aggressive affects. The good is separated from the bad. The developmental task is accomplished when the child is able to see objects as "whole", meaning that the child can see objects as being both good and bad. Next to seeing "whole" objects, the child is required to see the self as being loving and hating, as being good and bad at the same