ABSTRACT
The preceding chapters have ranged over a wide variety of theory and practice, illustrating the influence that psychoanalytic theory has had on understanding the way people behave in groups and organizations. The work of some of the significant people in this field shows a clear link in the chain of development of thought, which is most clearly illustrated by the progression of ideas that originated with Freud and then developed by Klein and Bion. Mental energy powers the psychic apparatus; the part of the mind that processes information received through the senses and that then results in physical activity. In a baby, the psychic apparatus is primitive and the mental energy, which is continually generated by the instincts, is used up almost immediately in muscular activity. The psychic apparatus is the means by which mental energy, constantly generated through the instincts, is distributed and allocated throughout the total personality.
