Anton Kris studies free association of adult analysands. The central determinant of narcissistic associational patterns is the cycle of unconscious punitive self-criticism projected onto the analyst, self-deprivation, and insatiable demand. The patient's wish for the analyst's love leads to insatiable demandingness, which further heightens the sense of guilt. The externalization of unconscious guilt results in a conflict of ambivalence: the patient's desire to freely express associations is coupled with fears of criticism, of loss of the good relationship with the analyst, and of shame. Kris challenges the developmental formulations of self psychology, which view the characteristic attitudes of the narcissistic analysand as self-object transferences, versions of very early memories of past relationships. This minimizes the role of unconscious guilt, externalization, and conflicts of ambivalence.