Beloved Objects offers a systematic psychology of things, developed progressively from four perspectives: the motivating effects of objects on the sense of identity; objects as part of the spatial environment; material symbols in culture and communication; and things as media and symbols of affective relationships with others. These four viewpoints are introduced through reinterpretations of classics and illustrated with a variety of psychological and psychoanalytical, sociological, and cultural-anthropological studies. In the concluding section, the four theoretical perspectives are integrated through the psychologically significant case of specific beloved objects. Starting from the transitional object of the toddler, the significance of beloved objects for the formation and transformation of identity across the lifespan is traced ontogenetically.