Psychoanalytic Psychology

Holt, Robert R.

doi: 10.1037/0736-9735.2.4.289pmid: N/A

In recent years, metapsychology has been effectively destroyed by a series of critiques, here summarized. Clinical psychoanalysis, its heart, is a testable scientific theory and need not be trivialized by being reduced to a hermeneutics, but it has been exposed by Grunbaum and Rubinstein as scriously lacking in empirical verification. Its genetic hypotheses are extremely difficult to test; the clinical case study is useful only as a means of generating hypotheses. As Rubinstein has shown, however, the clinical theory can be systematized and stated in probabilistic propositions testable by statistical research. Its fundamental propositions can be tested only by nonpsychoanalytic data, however. Object relations and self psychology have had a large vogue but do not address the fundamental theoretical problems. Those threaten the survival of psychoanalysis, but are being complacently ignored. Some possible solutions are discussed.

Freedman, Norbert

doi: 10.1037/0736-9735.2.4.317pmid: N/A

Transformation is viewed as the essential process of structure building. This article delineates levels of meaning organization that undergo alteration and move increasingly toward higher levels of symbolization. The transition from each stage of mental organization involves a dialectic conflict leading to recorganization at a higher level. This general thesis is illustrated by clinical material, reference to the literature, and a body of research data.

Horner, Thomas M.

doi: 10.1037/0736-9735.2.4.341pmid: N/A

The peek-a-boo behavior of a young infant is used to illustrate early processes of intentionality and reality testing. Based on the observations made in this study, as well as findings from similar studies of face-to-face behavior in infants, a general paradigm of cyclical engagement-disengagement of objects on the part of infants is described and discussed. Observations of the transfer of engagement-disengagement behavior on the part of the infant from oral to visual modalities are presented. The observations are discussed from a psychoanalytic object-relational standpoint with integrations of cognitive theory. Implications for an emerging subjectivity in the infant are briefly addressed.

Cook, Harold

doi: 10.1037/0736-9735.2.4.365pmid: N/A

The present experiment examined the effect of a subliminally presented symbiotic gratification and a magic of believing message on academic achievement. Graduate students were randomly assigned to one of the two experiemental message conditions, or to a control message condition, and received on the average 12 sessions, 10 exposurers per session, of 4-msec visual subliminal presentation of one of the three messages. Each session occurred immediately prior to a lecture in either a statistics or a measurement class. Each of the courses was taught in a traditional manner by the regular faculty, who were naive regarding the experimental conditions. Objective final examinations for each course revealed statistically significant differences in favor of the symbiotic gratification experimental condition over the control condition. No differences were obtained between the symbiotic and magic of believing conditions. Research and clinical implications of the findings are also explored.

Block Lewis, Helen

doi: 10.1037/0736-9735.2.4.373pmid: N/A