• • Movement Toward Others: Self Effacing Solution (The Compliant Personality): Overly values love, affection and approval; feeling weak and helpless; need for a partner to take over (lover, spouse, or friend); poor little me (need to be take care of); self-sacrificing and suffering for others; morbid dependency on others and assumption that others are superior (self-subordination) and the need to find self worth in a relationship (need to be loved).

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Early in 1909 Carl jung, then a colleague and close friend of Freud’s, expressed a keen interest in precognition and parapsychology. To jung’s dismay and irritation, Freud strongly denounced such beliefs as nonsensical. The rejection made jung feel as though his diaphragm were made of red-hot iron, whereupon bookcase. “There;’ jung argued, “that is an example of a so-called catalytic exteriorization phenomenon:’ “Bosh;’ retorted Freud. “It is not;’ Jung replied. “And to prove my point I now predict that in a moment there will be another such loud report!” No sooner had these words been spoken than a second inexplicable detonation went off in the bookcase. “To this day I do not know what gave me this certainty;’ jung was to reflect years later, “but I knew beyond all doubt that the report would come again. Freud only stared aghast at me …. ” (Jung, 1961/1965, pp. 155-156.) I a strange loud noise issued from a nearby jung’s quest for information about the human psyche led him to sources that many would regard as farfetched-the occult, studies of extrasensory perception, alchemy, the myth of flying saucers. Yet jung regarded himself as an empirical researcher, possessed a fine mind, read voraciously and acquired an immense store of knowledge, traveled widely in order to study various races and classes, and was an esteemed psychotherapist; and some of his ideas have become part of the everyday language of psychology and life. IFreud latertook a more positive approach to the occult. See for example Freud, 1933/1965b, pp. 31-56; Roazen, 1975/1976b, pp. 232-241. • To devise a theory of personality that greatly improves on Freud’s ideas while continuing to emphasize the importance of the unconscious. • To correct Freud’s extreme pessimism about human nature by showing that we have both healthy and malignant instincts, and that one of our healthy instincts is individuation (the forerunner of the humanistic concept of self-actualization). • To show that every personality includes a collective unconscious that contains archetypes, or inherited predispositions to perceive the world in certain ways, as well as a personal unconscious that contains repressed or forgotten material. • To show that introversion-extraversion and the four ways in which we perceive the world (sensation, thinking, feeling, and intuition) are important aspects of every personality. • To correct Freud’s belief that mental illness usually has sexual causes by showing that every personality consists of various opposites, and that becoming too one-sided and ignoring the corresponding opposite aspect of personality is the major cause of psychopathology. • To devise improved methods of dream interpretation and psychotherapy. • To relate areas that most would regard as beyond the realm of personality theory, including the occult, extrasensory perception, and alchemy, to the study of personality. Carl Gustav Jung was born on July 26, 1875, in Kesswil, a small village in Switzerland. His father was a Protestant country minister who was tormented by a lack of faith, and was unable to answer Jung’s penetrating questions about religion and life. Jung’s skepticism about the Oedipus complex may have been due in part to a mother who was a “kindly, fat old woman” troubled by marital difficulties (lung, 1961/1965, p. 48), an influence quite different from that of Freud’s beautiful, young doting mother. Like Freud, Jung rose from austere middle-class origins to the heights of world fame. Jung was an introverted and lonely child, deeply preoccupied with his inner psychic world. From an early age he experienced visions of the supernatural, such as a faintly luminous figure with a detached head that appeared to emanate from his mother’s bedroom. He soon came to regard himself as “a solitary, because I know things and must hint at things which other people do not know, and usually do not even want to know …. Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible” (Jung, 1961/1965, pp. 42, 356; see also pp. 18-19). Jung became attracted to the fledgling field of psychiatry during his medical studies at the University of Basel, where he received his degree in 1900. Some of his professors were amazed and disappointed by his choice, but Jung was convinced that he had found his true calling. He became absorbed with the occult, participated in experiments with mediums, and devoured books on parapsychology. In addition to his visions, various experiences appeared to confirm the existence of the supernatural: A solid table and a steel knife in his parents’ home inexplicably shattered into pieces by themselves. He made up a supposedly imaginary story to entertain a group, only to find that he was clairvoyantly revealing true and intimate secrets about a man he did not know. And the morning after being awakened by a sharp headache, he discovered that one of his patients had that night shot himself in the back of the skull (lung, 1961/1965, pp. 51,105-106,109,137,206). Jung first worked at the famed Burgholzli Psychiatric Hospital in Zurich under the direction of Eugen Bleuler, who coined the term schizophrenia and was well known for his work on this disorder. There he developed the word association test and remained until 1909, when he departed to concentrate on his growing private practice. In 1903 he married Emma Rauschenbach, who also became his collaborator and leamed to apply his psychotherapeutic methods. The marriage was basically successful, with the Jungs having four daughters and a son. But no one woman could make up for the emotional deprivations of Carl’s childhood. During middle age he entered into a lengthy affair with a young, attractive, and well-educated former patient, Toni Wolff. He even drew Toni into his family life, making her a regular guest for Sunday dinner. Emma ultimately decided to accept this situation, and Carl kept both his mistress and his family. (See Stem, 1976/1977.) Jung read The Interpretation of Dreams upon its publication in 1900, and he began what proved to be a lengthy correspondence with Freud in 1906. The two men met a year later, and were so captivated with each other that they talked continuously for 13 hours. Unfortunately, the union of the two giants was based on a fundamental misconception that eventually destroyed the relationship. Freud was seeking disciples who would carry forth the psychoanalytic banner and he saw Jung as his crown prince and successor. Jung, on the other hand, regarded his association with Freud as a collaboration that left both sides free to pursue their own ideas. It was inevitable that Jung would view Freud’s insistence on the universality of the Oedipus complex and the sexual nature of libido as dogmatism, whereas Freud would see Jung’s attempts to develop his own theory as a betrayal. For some years, Jung did follow in Freud’s footsteps. Jung defended Freud’s ideas, accompanied him to the United States as an invited lecturer at Clark University in 1909, became a psychoanalyst and taught this subject at the University of Zurich, and served as the first president of the International Psychoanalytic Association. But Jung had to be his own man. His analysis of the delusions and hallucinations of psychotic patients at the Burgholzli had persuaded him of the frequent occurrence of universal archetypes, and he came to view the human personality quite differently from Freud. When Jung continued to argue for his own constructs, the breach with Freud became irreparable-a trying experience that occasioned two fainting spells on Freud’s part, and more than a little anguish on Jung’s. The formal parting came in 1913, with Jung also resigning from the International Psychoanalytic Association in 1914. Jung now turned to the solitude of his home, a large and beautiful edifice of his own design in Ktisnacht (a suburb of Zurich), where he was to live for the rest of his life. Here he spent the years from 1913 to 1919 in relative isolation, probing the depths of his own unconscious. He conversed with voices from within his psyche, including a female that he interpreted as his anima and a group of ghosts that he believed to be souls returning from the dead (Jung, 1961/1965, pp. 170-199). He observed many archetypes emerging into his consciousness, and felt that he was going through the process of individuation and discovering his self. He also suffered symptoms of emotional disturbance, suggesting that this experience was similar to the “creative illness” undergone by Freud (Ellenberger, 1970, p. 672). To avoid succumbing to psychosis, Jung forced himself to retain close ties with his family and patients and scrupulously fulfilled his commitments to the external world. He emerged from this period of introspection in 1919 with a firm belief in the universal validity of the constructs that he developed. Jung was now widely admired as an unusually skilled psychotherapist, attracting patients from England and the United States. He was an active and vigorous man, over six feet tall and broad-shouldered, interested in sailing and mountain climbing as well as scholarly pursuits, a good listener and fine conversationalist, and a democratic man at ease with all types of people. Like Freud, however, Jung’s personality was complex and multifaceted. Some saw him as wise, sensitive, and caring, whereas others viewed him as cantankerous, womanizing, sarcastic (even brutal), and highly critical and condescending toward others–especially those who failed to meet his high standards of scholarship. (See Brome, 1978; Stem, 1976/1977, pp. 181-182.) In 1923, Jung built a primitive, towerlike house in nearby Bollingen, which served as a place for reflection and meditation. He also traveled extensively and observed a variety of peoples and cultures, including the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico and tribes in Tunis, Kenya, Uganda, and India. World War II sharpened his interest in world politics and mass psychoses and also brought charges that he was pro-Nazi and anti-Semitic, which ultimately proved to be unjustified. In 1944, Jung nearly died from a heart attack, had a vision of his soul leaving his body, and at first felt bitter disappointment upon returning to life. He also predicted that his doctor would die in his place, which actually happened shortly thereafter. Jung now became the “wise old man of Kiisnacht,” with people coming from all over the world to visit him. His many honors include the City of Zurich Award for literature and honorary doctorates from Harvard and Oxford, and his prolific writings fill some 20 volumes. Jung died in his Kiisnacht home on June 6, 1961. Jung called his theory analytical psychology. Despite the similarity of names (and of some of the constructs), analytical psychology is substantially different from Freudian psychoanalysis. Instincts and Psychic Energy Libido and Value. Jung agrees with Freud that humans are motivated by innate physiological urges (instincts), which he defines as inborn and regularly recurring modes of action and reaction (Jung, 1919/1971c, p. 54; 1921/1976, p. 376). He also concurs that mental activity is powered by psychic energy (libido). But Jung rejects Freud’s emphasis on sexuality: I am no opponent of Freud’s; I am merely presented in that light by his own short -sightedness and that of his pupils. No experienced psychiatrist can deny having met with dozens of cases whose psychology answers in all essentials to that of Freud …. I do not mean to deny the importance of sexuality in psychic life, though Freud stubbornly maintains that I do deny it. What I seek is to set bounds to the rampant terminology of sex which vitiates all discussion of the human psyche, and to put sexuality itself in its proper place …. Eros is certainly always and everywhere present. … but the psyche is not just [that] [Therefore] I do not connect any specifically sexual definition with the word “libido.” [This term] is used by me in much wider sense. (Jung, 1928/l969a, p. 30; 1917/1972d, pp. 46, 52n.6; 1929/l975c, pp. 226, 230. See also Jung, 1911-1912; 1961/1965, pp. 168,209.) Jungian libido refers to the psychic energy that is invested in a mental event, regardless of the instinct(s) involved. The greater the amount of libido (value), the more the event is desired. Even a child readily begins to form different values, as by weighing whether the mother or the father is more preferred, what objects in the environment are liked or disliked more than others, and so forth. Jung’s construct of “value” is therefore similar to Freud’s concept of “cathexis,” except that cathexes are invariably sexual (in one sense or another) although values need not be. In an extremely competitive society like our own, some people may value power so highly that they direct most of their psychic energy toward professional success and become sexually impotent. Freud would take a dim view of such behavior, since (sexual) libido is denied its most satisfactory outlet. But Jungian libido includes energy from many sources, so discharging it in a quest for power is neither more nor less pathological than discharging it in sexual activity. “The shoe that fits one person pinches another; there is no universal recipe for living” (Jung, 1931/1933b, p. 41; see also Jung, cited by Evans, 1976, p. 46). It is difficult to identify all of the human instincts, and to ascertain the exact nature of libido, because instinctual behavior is easily confused with our conscious motives. A partial list of instincts includes nutrition (hunger and thirst), sexuality, power, activity (including the love of change, the urge to travel, and play), becoming whole or one’s true self (individuation), and creativity (Jung, 1917/1972d; 1919/1971c, p. 53; 1937). Jung also differs sharply with Freud by concluding that human beings have an inborn religious need, and the idea of God is absolutely necessary: Man positively needs general ideas and convictions that will give a meaning to his life and enable him to find a place for himself in the universe. He can stand the most incredible hardships when he is convinced that they make sense; he is crushed when, on top of all his misfortunes, he has to admit that he is taking part in a “tale told by an idiot.” (Jung, 1964/1968, p. 76. See also Jung, 1957/1958b, p. 36; 1917/1972d, pp. 27, 71; 1929/1975c, p. 227.) Complexes. Psychic energy attracts constellations of related and emotionally charged ideas, or complexes. (See Jung, 1934a; 1938/1970a, pp. 19ff.) For example, the group of thoughts and feelings that concern “mother” cluster together to form the mother-complex, whereas the complex relating to “I” or “myself’ constitutes the component of personality known as the ego. The power of a complex to attract psychic material depends on the amount of libido at its disposal (its value). A weak mother-complex possesses little psychic energy (low value), includes only a small quantity of associated ideas, and has relatively little influence on behavior. Alternatively, a mother-complex may be so powerful that it dominates the psyche like a large electromagnet, attracting ideas that belong elsewhere. Such highly valued complexes can exert considerable control over one’s personality. For example, a man ruled by his mothercomplex may be unable to form satisfying heterosexual relationships because he is far more concerned about her wishes and opinions. He may also talk about his mother at length, make her the subject of various slips of the tongue, and constantly dream of mother-symbols. Complexes may be wholly or partly conscious, or they may be entirely within either of the two realms of the unconscious (personal and collective, to be discussed below). (See Jung, 1928/1969a, p. 11; Fordham, 1966, pp. 23-23.) The Word Association Test. Jung cautions that the construct of libido is useful only if quantitative differences in values can be estimated. Otherwise this approach can never become scientific and must be abandoned. For a time Jung measured the power of a complex by using the word association test, wherein a list of single words is read one at a time and the subject must reply with the first word that comes to mind. (See Jung, 1910; 1928/1969a, p. 9; 1905/1974e). For example, the stimulus word “mother” might well evoke the response of “father.” After the list has been completed, the participant goes through it once again and tries to recall the previous responses. If a series of related words in the list should cause such signs of disturbance as significant hesbecoming pale or having a markedly itations, unusual responses (e.g. “mother”-”anger”), increased pulse rate, or failing to recall the original responses during the retest, this would indicate the existence of an important (and probably troublesome) complex. Jung eventually abandoned this technique, however, concluding that anyone who wants to know the human psyche will learn next to nothing from experimental psychology. He would be better advised to abandon exact science, put away his scholar’s gown, bid farewell to his study, and wander with human heart through the world. There, in the horrors of prisons, lunatic asylums and hospitals, in drab suburban pubs … he would reap richer stores of knowledge than textbooks a foot thick could give him, and he will know how to doctor the sick with real knowledge of the human soul. (Jung, 1912/1972f, pp. 246-247. See also Ellenberger, 1970, pp. 691-694; Jung, 1957/1958b, pp. 61-62.) The Principle of Opposites To Jung, life consists of “a complex of inexorable opposites”: day and night, birth and death, happiness and misery, good and evil, introversion (inner-directedness) and extraversion (outer-directedness), consciousness and unconsciousness, thinking and feeling, love and hate, and so forth. Such contradictory ideas, emotions, and instincts exist simultaneously within the psyche, producing a tension that creates psychic energy and enables life to exist. “There is no energy unless there is a tension of opposites …. Life is born only of the spark of opposites” (Jung, 1917/1972d, pp. 53-54; see also Jung, 1964/1968, p. 75; 1928/1972e, p. 142). When any extreme is primarily conscious, the unconscious compensates by emphasizing the other extreme. The psyche is for the most part a closed system, so libido withdrawn from one aspect of personality normally reappears somewhere else (the principle of equivalence). The psyche is also a self-regulating system wherein libido flows from a more intense to a less intense component, just as heat flows from a warmer to a colder body (the principle of entropy). Sooner or later, therefore, any overvalued component will yield psychic energy to its undervalued counterpart. Thus the (unconscious) opposite is likely to emerge in the course of time, a tendency Jung refers to as enantiodromia. For example, intense love may eventually give way to profound hate, or a rational and skeptical scientist may turn to mysticism and the occult. Values are particularly likely to undergo radical changes as we grow from the morning of youth to the afternoon of middle age, with religious needs gaining ascendance while material and sexual urges become less important (Jung, 1917/1972d, pp. 74-75; see also Jung, 1928/1969a, pp. 18,25; 1934/1974c, p. 101). The principle of opposites and enantiodromia imply that no personality is ever truly onesided. An individual who appears to be cold and lacking in sentiment will have warm and emotional characteristics, though these compensating tendencies may be unconscious and unobservable. “Extremes always arouse suspicion of their opposite” (Jung, 1917/1972d, p. 21). Furthermore, any extreme (introversion, extraversion, emotionality, rationality, or whatever) is harmful because it prevents the contradictory tendency from gaining satisfactory expression. The opposites must then waste libido in conflict with each other, as when the apparently unfeeling individual uses up psychic energy in a misguided attempt to suppress innate emotional instincts and repeal the principle of entropy. In a mature and well-adjusted personality, the various opposites are united through some middle path. This concept is common in Eastern philosophies, as with the Taoist symbols of Yin and Yang; but it is a difficult one for our Western culture, which has never even devised a name for it. lung proposes the term transcendent function for the process that unites the various opposing aspects of personality, particularly consciousness and unconsciousness, into a coherent middle ground. The transcendent function also provides us with guidelines for personal development that enable us to become our true selves-guidelines that cannot be found in the external world or opinions of other people. (See lung, 19l6/197le, pp. 298, 300; 1921/1976, p. 449; 1928/1972e, p. 205.) Teleology Whereas Freud stressed the childhood determinants of personality (causality), lung argues that behavior must also be understood in terms of its purpose or goal (teleology). Personality is shaped by our past and by our intentions and plans for the future: A man is only half understood when we know how everything in him came into being . . . . Life does not have only a yesterday, nor is it explained by reducing today to yesterday. Life has also a tomorrow, and today is understood only when we can add to our knowledge of what was yesterday the beginnings of tomorrow. (lung, 1917/1972d, p. 46. See also lung, 1921/1976, p. 431.) lung also rejects Freud’s contention that psychic events can be reduced to physiological causes. Instincts have an organic aspect, but mental life follows “a specific law of its own which cannot be deduced from the known physical laws of nature” (lung, 1947/l969b, p. 91; see also p. 90). lung readily accepts the existence of parapraxes, even contributing some specimens to Freud’s collection. (See Freud, 1901/1965c, p. 84; lung, 1927/1971b, p. 28; 1916/197le, p. 276; 1917/1972d, p. 115; 1928/1972e, pp. 177, 180.) In marked contrast to Freud, however, lung concludes that the unconscious is relatively autonomous and speaks to us of its own accord. The messages and wishes that emanate from the unconscious are events that happen to us, and are not caused by any actions of our own. Some people hear their unconscious as a voice within themselves and actually carryon a conversation with it, “as if a dialogue were taking place between two human beings with equal rights, each of whom gives the other credit for a valid argument.” But most of us do not allow this invisible partner of ours to make itself heard, for “we are so in the habit of identifying ourselves with the thoughts that come to us that we invariably assume we have made them” (lung, 1916/1971e, p. 297; 1928/1972e, p. 201). lung does agree with Freud about the importance of bringing unconscious material to consciousness, and about our reluctance to experience the dark side of our personality. So long as the unconscious strongly influences our behavior, we are not the masters of our own personality. Yet we turn away in fear from investigating our shadow-side, for it consists not just of minor weaknesses but of a “positively demonic dynamism” (lung, 1917/l972d, p. 30; see also lung, 1964/1968, p. 72; 1917/1972d, p. 26). Unlike Freud, however, lung does not regard the unconscious as a purely demoniacal monster. The unconscious includes wellsprings of creativity and sources of guidance that can suggest solutions when the conscious mind becomes hopelessly bogged down. “[The unconscious] has at its disposal … all those things which have been forgotten or overlooked, as well as the wisdom and experience of uncounted centuries” (Jung, 1917/1972d, p. 116; see also lung, 1931/1933b, pp. 61-62; lung, 1934/1974c, p. 100). A substantial part of the unconscious is collective, and contains predispositions and guidelines inherited from past generations. Only a smaller part results from repressions and other personal experiences unique to the individual. lung’s model of the psyche is considerably more chaotic than Freud’s. Complexes originating in the unconscious can gravitate to consciousness and exert control over the personality for purposes of their own, and unconscious components may fuse together rather than remaining separate and distinct. Consciousness in psychoanalytic theory is often depicted as the tip of a huge iceberg, with the unconscious represented by the vast portion below the water. Similarly, consciousness in analytical psychology resembles a small island rising from the midst of a vast sea (Jung, 1928/1969d, p. 41). The Ego. The ego is a complex of conscious ideas that constitutes the center of awareness. It includes feelings of continuity and identity, and begins to develop at about the fourth year of life. lung conceives of the ego as a relatively weak entity that is often at the mercy of more powerful forces, tossed like a shuttlecock between the demands of reality and those of the unconscious. However, it can consign threatening material to the (personal) unconscious by means of repression. (See lung, 1951; 1928/1972e, p. 196; 1921/1976, p. 425; lung, cited by Evans, 1976, pp. 60-61.) The Persona. We usually cannot afford to confront the world with our true feelings. Instead, we must fashion an outward appearance that will satisfy the demands of society. This protective fa~ade is a complex of conscious material called the persona, after the masks worn by ancient actors to signify the roles that they played. The persona helps us to deal with other people by indicating what may be expected from them. The doctor’s professional role is validated in the patient’s eyes by an appropriately reassuring manner, whereas the college professor is supposed to display a persona of expertise. If the doctor or professor violates these expectations by acting anxious and uncertain, this will provoke suspicion and resistance. In general, people with underdeveloped personas appear to be incompetent, boring, tactless, eternally misunderstood, and blind to the realities of the world. (See lung, 1928/1972e, pp. 198-199; lung, cited by Evans, 1976, p. 79.) The persona may instead become overdeveloped and intrude on the ego. For example, a mediocre doctor with false visions of greatness may present a pompous persona of excellence. In such instances, the ego misguidedly identifies with the persona and becomes inflated with a sense of excess importance: L’ hat c’ est moi is the motto for such people …. In vain would one look for a personality behind the husk. Underneath all the padding one would find a very pitiable little creature. That is why the office–or whatever this outer husk may be-is so attractive: it offers easy compensation for personal deficiencies. (Jung, 1928/1972e, pp. 143, 145; see also p. 156 n.l.) As would be expected from the principle of opposites, this conscious arrogance is compensated for by unconscious feelings of inferiority that cannot find satisfactory expression. The conflict between these extreme aspects of personality wastes libido that could better be used in the pursuit of healthy activities. The personal unconscious begins to form at birth, and contains material that is no longer (or is not yet) at the level of awareness. Some memories are simply forgotten because they are no longer important, many of which can easily be recalled to consciousness (such as the contents of last night’s dinner). Other material in the personal unconscious is repressed because of its painful nature. For example, a secretary who is jealous of one of her employer’s associates may habitually “forget” to invite this individual to meetings and never admit-not even to herself-the true reason for her omission. (See Jung, 1964/1968, p. 22; 1927/1971b, p. 38; 1917/1972d, pp. 64ff, 77; 1928/1972e, pp. 135ff.) Other aspects of mental life remain in the personal unconscious because they lack sufficient psychic energy to enter awareness. We often see, hear, taste, and smell things without noticing them because the sensory impressions are not strong enough (”subliminal perceptions”). A professor who was walking in the country with a student noticed that his thoughts were invaded by memories of his early childhood. He could not account for this distraction until he retraced his steps and realized that they had recently passed some geese, whose odor provided a subliminal reminder of a farm where he had lived as a youth. Similarly, a young woman once developed a blinding headache. Without consciously noticing it, she had heard the foghorn of a distant ship, which reminded her of an unhappy parting with a loved one (lung, 1964/1968, pp.2l-22). The Shadow. The shadow is the primitive and unwelcome side of personality that derives from our animal forebears. (See Jung, 1951.) It consists of material that is repressed into the personal unconscious because it is shameful and unpleasant, and it plays a compensatory role to the more positive persona and ego. The shadow’s power is evident when a person is overcome by violent and uncontrollable rage, a theme exemplified in literature by the dangerous Mr. Hyde underlying the implacable Dr. Jekyll. As with any construct in analytical psychology, the shadow must be at least somewhat beneficial in order to have survived generations of evolution. Like the Freudian id, it provides us with vitality and strength. “Too much of the animal distorts the civilized man, [but] too much civilization makes sick animals” (Jung, 1917/1972d, p. 28). Just as it is impossible to have sunshine without shadow, the light of consciousness must always be accompanied by the dark side of our personality. Rather than turn away in disgust from our shadow, we must open this Pandora’s box and accept its contents. Jung does not regard repression as actively maintained, so a person who honestly wishes to examine the shadow can do so, but this is a highly threatening task that most prefer to avoid. The shadow, like all that is unconscious, is projected onto other people. We normally experience it in this indirect fashion, with the characteristics that we find most objectionable in others very likely to be those aspects of ourselves that we most dislike. Thus another unfortunate effect of denying our shadow is that the resulting deeper repressions will trigger more powerful projections of our undesirable characteristics, producing greater dislike of other people-and possibly, culminating in the sick system of social relationships that constitutes neurosis. (See Jung, 1931/1933c, p. 142; 1935b, p. 24; 1951; 1957/1958b, pp. 109-114; 1964/1968, p. 73; 1917/1972d, p. 26.) Although the personal unconscious and the ego originate after birth, the newborn infant is far from a tabula rasa. Its psyche is a complicated, clearly defined entity consisting of the collective (or trans personal) unconscious, a storehouse of archaic remnants (”primordial images” or archetypes) inherited from our ancestral past. (See Jung, 1938/l970a, p. 11; 1919/1971c, p. 52; 1917/1972d, pp. 65-66; 1921/1976, p. 376.) Characteristics ofArchetypes. Archetypes result from the “deposits of the constantly repeated experiences of humanity” (Jung, 1917/1972d, p. 69). They differ from instincts in that they are modes of perception, rather than of action and reaction. That is, archetypes predispose us to perceive the world in certain ways. Archetypes resemble poorly formed channels in the psyche that may predispose libido to follow a certain course, but are too roughly hewn to ensure that it will actually do so. They are only potentialities, not specific memories or facts, and will remain dormant unless strengthened by appropriate experiences. “I do not by any means assert the inheritance of ideas, but only of the possibility of such ideas, which is something very different” (Jung, 1917/l972d, p. 65; see also Jung, 1938/1970a, pp. 13-17). Everyone inherits a tendency to fear objects that our ancestors found to be potentially dangerous, such as snakes, so it will be easier to learn to fear snakes than to fear flowers. But an individual who grows up enjoying only pleasant encounters with snakes will not be greatly affected by this archetype. The Persona and Shadow Archetypes. The persona and shadow have existed in the human psyche throughout countless generations. This is reflected by corresponding archetypes in the collective unconscious, so that we all inherit tendencies to form these components of personality. The Anima and Animus. All males and females possess some characteristics of the opposite sex. Man’s unconscious feminine disposition is due to the archetype known as the anima, whereas the male archetype in women is called the animus. The anima and animus develop from generations of exposure to the opposite sex, and imbue each sex with an innate understanding of the other. “The whole nature of man presupposes woman, both physically and spiritually. His system is tuned in to woman from the start” (Jung, 1928/1972e, p. 190; see also Jung, 1925/1971d; 1951). Typically, the feminine anima compensates for the outward masculine persona of power. Trying to deny this aspect of personality will result in a one-sided and conflicted individual, as when a man who prides himself on an overly virile persona is beset by feelings of weakness and moodiness. The masculine animus, on the other hand, produces unshakable and arbitrary convictions. The woman who suppresses her animus in a misguided attempt to appear extremely feminine will be troubled by spells of intense stubbornness (Jung, 1928/1972e, p. 206). The well-adjusted personality integrates the male and female attributes by means of the transcendent function, allowing both to find satisfactory expression. Other Archetypes. Other archetypes include the wise old man, the mother, the father, the child, the parents, the wife, the husband, God, the hero, various animals, energy, the self (the ultimate goal of personality development), the trickster, rebirth or reincarnation, the spirit, the prophet, the disciple, and numerous archetypes representative of situations. (See Jung, 1934b; 1940; 1938/1970a; 1940/1970b; 1945/1970c; 1954/1970d; 1917/1972d, pp. 68, 95, 110; 1928/1972e, pp. 171, 178, 190.) However, Jung advises against trying to understand the CAPSULE Analytical psychology Anima SUMMARY Jungian Terminology (I) Some Important The female archetype in man. Predisposes man to understand the nature of woman, is sentimental, and compensates for the powerful male persona. The male archetype in woman. Predisposes woman to understand the nature of man, is powerful, and compensates for the sentimental female persona. A predisposition to perceive the world in certain ways that is inherited from past generations; not a specific idea or belief. Is much the same across different cultures (a “universal thought form”) and is in the collective unconscious: Archetypes include the anima, animus, shadow, persona, mother, father, and many others. The tendency of one part of personality to balance or adjust for another part. For example, the unconscious will compensate for pronounced conscious introversion by emphasizing the quality of extraversion. A constellation of related and emotionally charged thoughts, feelings, or ideas. A complex varies in strength according to the amount of psychic energy at its disposal (its value), and may be conscious or unconscious (or both). Enantiodromia Inflation The tendency of any characteristic to eventually turn into its opposite. Expansion of the ego beyond its proper limits, resulting in feelings of exaggerated self-importance. Usually compensated for by unconscious feelings of inferiority. An inborn physiological urge. The instincts include hunger, thirst, sexuality, power, individuation, activity, creativity, morality, and religious needs. Libido Numinosum Principle of entropy Principle of equivalence Principle of opposites Projection Psychic energy Repression A synonym for psychic energy; not necessarily sexual. A profoundly moving experience with spiritual, mystical, and religious aspects. The tendency for psychic energy to flow from a more highly valued to a less highly valued part of personality, just as heat flows from a warmer to a colder body. The tendency for psychic energy that is withdrawn from one part of personality to reappear elsewhere within the psyche. Thus the psyche is for the most part a closed system. The belief that personality consists of many contradictory ideas, emotions, and instincts, and the spark of life is created from the tension between these extremes. Unconsciously attributing one’s own threatening impulses, emotions, or beliefs to other people or things. Similar to Freud’s use of the term. The “fuel” that powers all mental activity; an unobservable, abstract construct. Unconsciously eliminating threatening material from consciousness and relegating it to the personal unconscious. Not actively maintained (as in Freudian theory), so repressed material may be recovered fairly easily. A representation of something vague and unknown, such as an archetype. A process that joins various opposing forces into a coherent middle ground, and furthers the course of individuation by providing personal lines of development that could not be reached by adhering to collective norms. The amount of psychic energy that is invested in a mental event. The greater the value, the more the event is preferred or desired. A procedure for determining the strength of a complex. The tester reads a list of words, one at a time, and the respondent answers with the first word that comes to mind. The stronger the complex, the more likely are unusual responses, hesitations, and physiological changes. Symbol Transcendent function Word association test CAPSULE SUMMARY The Structure of Personality Oung) The ego: a complex of conscious ideas that constitutes the center of awareness, and provides feelings of identity and continuity. Begins to develop at about the fourth year of life. The persona: the outward face of personality; a protective fayade that conceals one’s true inner nature in order to meet the demands of society. Facilitates contacts with people by indicating what may be expected from them. The collective (transpersonal) unconscious: a storehouse of inherited predispositions to perceive the world in certain ways (archetypes); thus, present at birth. The deepest, most inaccessible layer of the psyche. Includes the persona and shadow archetypes (among others), which facilitate the development of the corresponding representations elsewhere in the personality. The personal unconscious: includes material that has been forgotten, repressed, or perceived subliminally. The layer between the collective unconscious and consciousness; begins to form at birth. Includes the primitive, guilt-laden, unwelcome aspects of personality (the shadow). nature of archetypes by memorizing such a list. Archetypes are autonomous events that come upon us like fate, and they must be experienced firsthand in order to be understood. Unfortunately, Jung has no simple remedy for those who remain skeptical about analytical psychology because they have never enjoyed such enriching encounters with the collective unconscious. “You can only say that you have never had such an experience, and your opponent will say: ‘Sorry, I have.’ And there your discussion will come to an end” (lung, 1938, p. 113). He does recommend learning more about one’s personal unconscious, which will weaken the layer above the collective unconscious and make archetypal images more accessible to consciousness. Archetypal Symbols. We never become aware of archetypes themselves, which always remain within the inaccessible collective unconscious. But the collective unconscious is like the base of a volcano that extends to the core of personality and occasionally erupts, shooting archetypal images or symbols up to the surface. Unlike such common signs as words and pictures, which merely denote the objects to which they are attached, archetypal symbols imply something that is hidden from us. Since they are produced entirely by the unconscious, they have a numinous or fascinating quality that clearly identifies them as something out of the ordinary. (See Jaffe, 1971/1975, p. 16; Jung, 1964/1968, pp. 3,41; 1917/1972d, p. 70; Progoff, 1953/1973, p. 56.) Symbols derived from the same archetype may differ in form and content, especially to the extent that they are influenced by racial, cultural, and even family differences. “There is also a collective psyche limited to race, tribe, and family over and above the ‘universal’ collective psyche” (lung, 1928/1972e, pp. 147-148).2 But such symbols all point back to one basic form, the underlying universal archetype. For this reason, the unconscious processes of widely separated races show a remarkable correspondence. The archetype of the universal creative mother is expressed in such varied cultural myths as Mother Nature, Greek and Roman goddesses, and the “Grandmother” of Native Americans. lung was once advised by a psychotic patient that the sun possesses a phallus, whose movement creates the wind; and when he later encountered the same unusual symbology in an ancient Greek papyrus, which the patient could never have seen, he attributed the similar imagery to an unconscious universal archetype. He also cites the production of archetypal symbols by children as further support for his theory, since it often seems clear that they could not have had access to the relevant facts and must therefore have produced the images from their own psyche. (See lung, 1964/1968, p. 61; 1938/1970a; 1927/1971b, pp. 36-37; 1917/1972d, p. 96; Progoff, 1953/1973, pp. 59-60.) The collective unconscious is widely regarded as an extremely controversial construct. Yet even Freud, a staunch opponent of analytical psychology, accepted the idea of an “archaic heritage that a child brings with him into the world, before any experiences of his own, influenced by the experiences of his ancestors” (Freud, 1940/1969a, p. 24; see also Freud, 1916-1917/1966, p. 371; 1939; Rieff, 1959/1961, p. 220). Although lung does not posit specific stages of development, he does draw a sharp distinction between youth and middle age. During childhood the ego, the personal unconscious, and other parts of personality gradually develop into separate entities. This process continues through puberty, which is when the sexual drive begins, and into young adulthood. Our early years are like the rising sun, which “gains continually in strength until it reaches the zenith-heat of high noon. Then comes the enantiodromia: the steady forward movement no longer denotes an increase, but a decrease, in strength” (lung, 1917/1972d, p. 74; see also lung, 1930-1931/1971a, pp. 14-15; 1913/1975a, pp. 35, 83). This “second puberty” occurs at about age 35 to 40 and serves as the gateway to the latter half of life, which is a time of considerable importance: A human being would certainly not grow to be seventy or eighty years old if this longevity had no meaning for the species. The afternoon of human life must also have a significance of its own, and cannot be merely a pitiful appendage to life’s morning. (lung, 1930-1931/1971a, p. 17.) Middle age is highlighted by a shift from materialism, sexuality, and propagation to more spiritual and cultural values; by radical reversals in one’s strongest convictions and emotions, often leading to changes of profession, divorces, and religious upheavals; and by the reconciliation of the various opposing forces of personality through the transcendent function. This gradual, lifelong unfolding of one’s inherent and unique personality is known as individuation. Individuation is a difficult and complicated journey of self-discovery, and many hazards along the way are likely to prevent a successful outcome. First of all, the formidable and often terrifying contents of the shadow must be brought to consciousness and experienced both intellectually and 2And therefore “it is a quite unpardonable mistake to accept the conclusions of a Jewish psychology [i.e., Freud's] as generally valid” (Jung, 1928/1972e, p. 152 n. 8). emotionally. The persona must also be tom down, for this collectively oriented far;ade impedes true individuality. The libido freed by the destruction of these superstructures gravitates downward to the collective unconscious, and this additional energy enables archetypal symbols to rise to consciousness. Among these are the anima (animus), wise old man, and great mother. This creates yet another pitfall: These alluring archetypes may prove to be overwhelming, causing the individual to succumb to megalomanic beliefs of omniscience and omnipotence. (See lung, 1928/1972e, pp. 227-241.) If the process of individuation is able to avoid these pitfalls, the individual’s increased knowledge of the collective unconscious liberates substantial amounts of libido that had been associated with the aforementioned archetypes. This libido comes to rest in a twilight zone between consciousness and unconsciousness and forms an entity known as the self, which represents the ultimate goal of personality development and serves as the new center of personality. The … purpose of [individuation] is the realization, in all its aspects, of the personality originally hidden away in the embryonic germplasm … Individuation means becoming an “in-dividual,” and, insofar as “individuality” embraces our innermost, last, and incomparable uniqueness, it also implies becoming one’s own self. We could therefore translate individuation as “coming to selfhood” or “self-realization.” (lung, 19l7/1972d, p. 110; 1928/1972e, p. 173. See also lung, 1929; Fordham, 1966, pp. 49-62, 77; Progoff, 1953/1973, pp. 124-132.) CAPSULE SUMMARY Psychological Types (Jung) Tries to understand and interpret aspects of the external world. Is logical, practical, objective. May be a scientist (Darwin, Einstein) or public prosecutor. Unconscious emphasizes introversion and feeling. Makes judgments that conform to external standards. Conservative; enjoys popular trends. May seem emotional, flighty, capricious. Unconscious emphasizes introversion and thinking. Interested in perceiving and experiencing the external world. Realistic, unimaginative; often sensual, pleasure-seeking. Unconscious emphasizes introversion and intuition. Seeks new possibilities in the external world. Easily bored; often unable to persist in one job or activity. May be a speculator or entrepreneur. Unconscious emphasizes introversion and sensation. Tries to understand and interpret own ideas. May be a philosopher, theorist like Freud, or absent-minded professor. Unconscious emphasizes extraversion and feeling. Makes judgments based on own standards. Nonconformist; views are often contrary to public opinion. May seem cold, reserved, inscrutable. Unconscious emphasizes extraversion and thinking. Interested in perceiving and experiencing own inner self. May be modem artist or musician whose work is often misunderstood. Unconscious emphasizes extraversion and intuition. Seeks new possibilities within own inner self. May develop brilliant new insights or be a mystical dreamer, self-styled prophet, or “misunderstood genius.” Unconscious emphasizes extraversion and sensation. The emergence of the self is signaled by archetypal symbols that express wholeness, completeness, and perfection. Such a symbol often takes the form of a circle (mandala, after the Sanskrit word for “magic circle”) and may appear in dreams, drawings, and paintings. (See Fordham, 1966, pp. 65-68; Jung, 1955/1972a; 1934/1972b; 1950/1972c.) Although the self lies between consciousness and the unconscious, it is beyond our awareness. Every personality possesses the innate tendency to individuate and develop selfhood, but this ideal is rarely if ever achieved to the fullest. For some people, it remains totally out of reach; so they resort to imitating peers or eminent people, a faulty and ineffective way of seeking individuation. “To find out what is truly individual in ourselves, profound reflection is needed; and suddenly we realize how uncommonly difficult the discovery of individuality is” (Jung, 1928/1972e, p. 155). Progression and Regression Libido normally proceeds in a forward direction, furthering the development of personality. But if this progression is blocked by frustrations in the external world, or by the internal barrier of repression, libido turns back to early memories and archetypal images that reside within the depths of the psyche (regression). In contrast to Freud, who conceptualized regression as a return to childhood fixations, Jung regards the backward flow of libido as a potentially creative process that can awaken neglected aspects of one’s personality. “The patient’s regressive tendency is not just a relapse into infantilism, but a genuine attempt to get at something necessary His development was onesided; it left important items of character and personality behind, and thus it ended in failure. That is why he has to go back” (Jung, 1930, pp. 32-33; see also Jung, 1935a, pp. 8-9). However, regression does involve one danger: The unconscious may use the additional psychic energy to overwhelm consciousness, producing neurotic or even psychotic behavior. Character Typology: Functions and Attitudes Jung attributes individual differences in personality to two processes: the typical way in which we perceive internal and external stimuli, and the characteristic direction (inward or outward) of libido movement. (See Jung, 1937; 1921/1976.) There are four ways of perceiving stimuli, or functions: merely establishing what is there (sensation), interpreting and understanding the meaning of what we perceive (thinking), evaluating how desirable or pleasant it is (feeling), and forming apparently inexplicable hunches or conclusions without using any of the other functions (intuition). “Sensation tells you that something exists; thinking tells you what it is;feeling tells you whether it is agreeable or not; and intuition tells you whence it comes and where it is going” (Jung, 1964/1968, p. 49). Thinking and feeling are opposites, and are called “rational” functions because they involve acts of cognition and judgment. Sensation and intuition also oppose each other, and these more reflexive functions are referred to as “irrational” (meaning nonrational, not pathological). Although everyone has the ability to use all four functions, there is an inborn tendency for one of them to become dominant over the others. There are also two directions of libido movement, or attitudes. The outward turning of libido toward the external world is known as extraversion, whereas the inward flow of libido toward the depths of the psyche is referred to as introversion. Extraverts are outgoing, venture forth with careless confidence into the unknown, and are particularly interested in people and events in the external world. Introversion is reflected by a keen interest in one’s own psyche, and often preferring to be alone. (See Jung, 1917/1972d, p. 44; 1921/1976, p. 330.) As with the functions, there is an innate tendency for one attitude to become dominant over the other; and the dominant attitude combines with the dominant function to form the conscious personality. This yields a total of eight possible character types, which are shown in the Capsule Summary on page 70. Jung’s typology is often misunderstood and oversimplified. There are no pure introverts or extraverts, nor can people be classified into a mere eight categories. As with intelligence or mental health, the extent to which a person is introverted or extraverted, thinking or feeling, and sensing or intuitive is a matter of degree. Also, the unconscious compensates for the dominant attitude and function by emphasizing the opposite tendencies, whereas the remaining two functions waver between consciousness and the unconscious. For example, a person with a dominant thinking function will often try to analyze information in a logical and objective way. If introversion is the dominant attitude, most of these thoughts will focus on ideas within the psyche (as with Freud, or an absent-minded professor). If extraversion is dominant, thinking will be directed toward the external world (as with a scientist like Darwin or Einstein). In either case, the opposite function (feeling) and the opposite attitude are repressed into the personal unconscious. The remaining two functions (here, sensation and intuition) may serve as conscious or unconscious auxiliaries, as when the scientist’s attempts to think out new research hypotheses are aided by intuitive hunches. Thus the typological model for the extraverted-thinking type looks like this: Extraversion Thinking Introversion Feeling Similar reasoning applies to the remaining categories. (See also Progoff, 1953/1973, p. 90.) For example, an introverted-sensation type is unconsciously extraverted and intuitive, and may use thinking or feeling as conscious or unconscious auxiliaries: The function and attitude to which one is innately predisposed must become dominant in order for personality development to be successful. Since America strongly favors extraversion, parents and teachers in our society are likely to treat an introverted child with excessive concern and criticism. But extraversion and introversion are equally normal and healthy, and misguided attempts to alter a person’s inherent nature will lead to later neurosis. (See lung, 1921/1976, pp. 332, 375; lung, cited by Evans, 1976, p. 94.) Maladjustment will also occur if the inferior attitude and functions are repressed too strongly. A natural extravert may ignore inner warnings, become a “workaholic,” and develop an ulcer or heart attack. A natural introvert may be blind to the demands of the external world, behave ineptly in social situations, and suffer painful rejections. Or a person who is inherently sensing or intuitive may be unable to deal with a problem that requires thinking, and make serious errors. Such behaviors are ineffective and self-defeating because they are governed by functions and attitudes that have not been sufficiently developed. The remedy for an overly one-sided personality is a regression to the unconscious, possibly with the aid of lungian psychotherapy. Ideally, this will enable any undervalued function or attitude to emerge in its own right. Some people do develop a second or even a third function, or strike a balance between introversion and extraversion. But individuation is a difficult process that is never completely achieved, and very few people are able to integrate all of the attitudes and functions into a coherent whole and allow each one its due expression. FURTHER APPLICATIONS OF ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY Dream Interpretation In analytical psychology, as in psychoanalysis, dreams provide important clues about the hidden realm of the unconscious. However, lung’s approach to dream interpretation differs significantly from that of Freud. Personal and Collective Dreams. Dreams about one’s family, friends, and everyday life arise from the personal unconscious. In contrast, the collective unconscious triggers archetypal dreams that are numinous and fascinating. lung relates that this distinction is prominent among the Elgonyi natives of central Africa: A “little” (i.e., personal) dream is regarded as unimportant, but anyone who has a “big” (i.e., collective) dream summons the whole tribe and tells it to everybody (lung, 1928/1972e, p. 178; see also Fordham, 1966, pp.97ff). The Purpose of Dreams. To lung, a dream can serve many purposes other than wishfulfillment. It may express a person’s fears, mirror actual situations in the dreamer’s life, anticipate the future (as by providing a warning of impending trouble), propose solutions to the dreamer’s problems, or even result from telepathy. (See Ellenberger, 1970, p. 716; lung, 1964/1968, p. 34; 1916/1974a.) The majority of dreams are compensatory, and aim at restoring a state of psychological balance. lung once dreamed of bending his head far back in order to see a patient in a high tower. He concluded that he must be looking down on her in reality, and this insight enabled a previously unsuccessful treatment to progress at a rapid pace. Similarly, a man with an inflated ego may dream of himself as a drunken tramp rolling in a ditch, or a person suffering from feelings of inferiority may dream of encountering such famous personages as Napoleon or Alexander the Great (Jung, 1961/1965, p. 133; 1964/1968, pp. 51-52; 1917/1972d, p. 112; 1928/1972e, p. 179; 1934/1974c, pp. 102-103). Although it is possible to detect wishfulfillments in some of these dreams, the primary goal is to compensate for a one-sided aspect of personality by emphasizing the opposite view. Dream Symbols. Whereas Freud believed that dream symbols disguise unpleasant truths in order to preserve sleep, Jung regards the manifest content as the true dream. The language of dreams is confusing only because it reflects the natural illogic of the unconscious: To me dreams are a part of nature, which harbors no intention to deceive, but expresses something as best it can …. What [Freud] called “disguise” is actually the shape all impulses naturally take in the unconscious. (Jung, 1961/1965, p. 161; 1964/1968, p. 53. See also Jung, 1930, p. 32; 1917/1972d, p. 100.) Jung agrees that some dream symbols have sexual connotations, but emphasizes that there are many other possibilities. Inserting a key in a lock might symbolize sexual intercourse, or it could describe the hopeful opening of new possibilities in one’s life. A passive female patient’s dream of her energetic father’s sword could be caused by childhood sexual fantasies and unconscious wishes for his “weapon” (phallus), or it might signify the need for some new source of strength that will enable her future dealings with the world to be more aggressive and effective. According to Jung, every dream symbol has at least two meanings. Also, the identical symbol can mean different things to different people. Two of Jung’s patients dreamed of leading a group of horsemen across a wide field and barely managing to jump a ditch, into which the other riders fell. To the first patient, a cautious introvert, the dream indicated that he ought to take more chances. The second patient was a pronounced extravert, and his dream warned that he was far too daring. Thus accurate interpretation requires the active cooperation of the dreamer, and “it is plain foolishness to believe in ready-made systematic guides to dream interpretation, as if one could simply buy a reference book and look up a particular symbol” (Jung, 1964/1968, p. 38). Instead Jung favors Freud’s technique of free association, though he prefers to restrict the dreamer’s train of thought to the context of the dream. (See Fordham, 1966, pp. 97-98; Jung, 1964/1968, pp. 12-15, 18, 42, 56; 1916/1971e, pp. 281-282; 1917/1972d, p. 25; 1945/1974b, pp. 69,71-72; 1913/1975b, pp. 155-156). Dream Series. When possible, Jung bases his interpretations on a series of dreams from the same individual. Important themes and issues tend to recur in various dreams, so this approach facilitates accurate interpretations by providing more substantial data. The use of dream series, and the nondeceptive nature of dream symbols, have been accepted by some modern theorists in preference to Freudian theory (e.g., C. S. Hall, 1966). Jung shares Freud’s view of psychopathology as a difference in degree, rather than in kind. The ideal of normality is rarely reached, and virtually every personality is at least somewhat one-sided: Neurotic phenomena are by no means the products exclusively of disease. They are in fact no more than pathological exaggerations of normal occurrences; it is only because they are exaggerations that they are more obvious than their normal counterparts …. At bottom we discover nothing new and unknown in the mentally ill; rather, we encounter the substratum of our own natures. (Jung, 1961/1965, p. 127; 1964/1968, p. 20. See also Jung, 1917/1972d, p. 55; 1928/1972e, pp. 143-144.) CAPSULE SUMMARY Some Important JungianTerminology (II) Attitude Extraversion Introversion or extraversion. An outward flow of libido toward the external world. Extraverts are outgoing, venture forth with confidence into the unknown, and are particularly interested in people and events in the environment. A way of experiencing internal or external stimuli. Sensation establishes that something is there, thinking interprets what is perceived,feeling determines the desirability of what is perceived, and intuition forms hunches or conclusions without the aid of the other functions. Thinking and feeling are “rational” functions, whereas sensation and intuition are “irrational” functions. The unfolding of one’s inherent and unique personality, aided by the transcendent function and leading to the formation of the self. A lifelong task that is rarely if ever completed. An inward flow of libido toward the depths of the psyche. Characterized interest in one’s own inner world and often preferring to be alone. Mandala Progression Regression A circular symbol of wholeness and perfection, and therefore of the self. A forward movement of libido, favoring personal growth and development. A backward movement of libido to earlier memories or periods of development. Contrary to Freudian theory, Jungian regression may be a creative process that liberates neglected aspects of personality. The new center of personality that results from individuation, unifies the various opposites, and lies between consciousness and the unconscious. There is also a self archetype within the collective unconscious. A relationship between events that is based on meaningful coincidence, rather than cause and effect. by a keen Causes of Neurosis. The collective unconscious includes an innate tendency to be more introverted or extraverted, and to emphasize one of the four functions. For personality development to be successful, the favored attitude and function must become dominant, and they must be brought into harmony with the inferior opposites. If this goal is frustrated by the external world, or if one misguidedly tries to make some other function or attitude dominant, the unconscious will come into conflict with consciousness. This inner cleavage may eventually become so severe as to constitute a neurosis, with the attempt to deny one’s true nature causing the normal intrapsychic polarities to erupt into open warfare. Neurotic conflicts may occur between various components of personality, such as the ego versus the shadow, the dominant versus the inferior function or attitude, the persona versus the anima or animus, or the persona versus the shadow. (See lung, 1932/1933d, p. 236; 1935a, p. 20; 1917/1972d, p. 19.) Suppose that an inherently introverted child is pressured into becoming a pronounced extravert by the parents (or by society). This unwelcome external influence disrupts the individuation process, and causes the child’s psyche to become a house divided against itself. The conscious mind now seeks conformity with the parental dictates by emphasizing extraverted behavior, and by banishing introverted wishes from awareness. But the introverted tendencies, which must remain within the closed system of the psyche, flourish within the unconscious and strongly oppose the conscious processes. Or neurosis might be caused by overemphasizing the inherent introversion and trying to exclude all traces of extraversion, for not even the inferior aspects of personality can or should be totally eliminated. In contrast to psychoanalysis, analytical psychology prefers to concentrate on the neurotic’s present attempts to maintain a pathological state of one-sidedness. To Jung, dwelling upon childhood memories is an evasion that may well do more harm than good: The cause of the pathogenic conflict lies mainly in the present moment …. We ask: … What is the task which the patient does not want to fulfill? What difficulty is he trying to avoid? … The task of psychotherapy is to correct the conscious attitude and not go chasing after infantile memories. Naturally you cannot do the one without paying attention to the other, but the main emphasis should be upon the attitude of the patient. There are extremely practical reasons for this, because there is scarcely a neurotic who does not love to dwell upon the evils of the past and to wallow in self-commiserating memories. Very often his neurosis consists precisely in his hanging back and constantly excusing himself on account of the past. (lung, 1930, pp. 31-32; 1913/1975a, pp. 84,100.) Neurotic Symptoms. The libido involved in neurotic conflicts cannot move in a forward direction, since the normal course of progression is disrupted by the inner war. Instead, the libido regresses toward the unconscious. This regression is not necessarily harmful (as we have seen), since it may help to awaken the neglected and undervalued aspects of personality. But it is all too easy to maintain the one-sided behaviors that caused the neurotic conflict, and to ignore the warnings sent by the collective unconscious in the form of dream symbols. (For example, a person who overuses the thinking function may keep trying to reason out solutions to his or her problems, instead of allowing the undervalued feeling function to emerge.) The regressing libido, deprived of a satisfactory outlet, will then constellate powerful unconscious complexes that express themselves in the form of neurotic symptoms. Thus a man who has stifled his anima in order to emphasize a persona of power and authority may develop a complex that indicates a damaged anima, project this complex onto women in general, and be attracted only to women who are physically or mentally disabled. (See Jung, 1934c.) The neuroses of young adults usually concern power and sexuality. In marked contrast to Freud, however, Jung concludes that the neurotic symptoms of older adults often result from the denial of their inherent religious needs. Some two thirds of the patients seeking his services were past middle age, and the primary problem facing each one was that of finding a religious outlook on life. Only those who succeeded in this quest were truly healed (Jung, 1931/1933b, p. 61; 1932/1933d, p. 229). Jung also takes exception to Freud’s literal interpretation of incestuous wishes, arguing instead that these are symbolic desires to achieve psychological rebirth and bring forth the undervalued aspects of personality from one’s unconscious. Finally, Jung is not enthusiastic about using such terms as phobia and hysteria. He prefers to stress the need for understanding patients, rather than merely assigning them to preconceived categories. (See Jung, 1961/1965, p. 124; 1964/1968, p. 82; 1913/1975a, p. 86; Progoff, 1953/1973, pp. 110-114.) Psychosis. Unlike the neurotic, the psychotic is totally inundated by archetypal images. (See Jung, 1907/1974f; 1939/1974g, p. 160.) This gives psychosis a numinous and spellbinding quality, similar to a “big” dream. For this reason, exploring the depths of one’s psyche requires a firm attachment to reality (as through work or marriage) and the guidance of a competent psychotherapist. If disinterring a neurosis will allow a latent psychosis to emerge, it may well be best to leave the neurosis alone. We are greatly mistaken if we think that [analyzing] the unconscious is something harmless that could be made into an object of entertainment, a parlor game …. Something deeply buried and invisible may thereby be set in motion … as if one were digging an artesian well and ran the risk of stumbling on a volcano. (lung, 1917/1972d, p. 114; see also Jung, 1961/1965, pp. 135-136.) Jung’s early psychological training included considerable experience with schizophrenia (then called “dementia praecox”). He soon recognized that psychotic symptoms, like those of neurosis, have important meanings. One of his schizophrenic patients who made the apparently senseless statement, “I am the Lorelei,” was referring to the poor prognosis of her case. Her doctors often discussed her symptoms with the words “I know not what it means,” which is the first line of Heine’s famous poem “Die Lorelei” (Jung, 1961/1965, p. 126; 1907/1974f, p. 116). Jung was the first to apply psychoanalytic concepts to schizophrenia, and to recognize the possibility of psychosomatic mechanisms in this disorder (Arieti, 1974, pp. 22-25). Jung’s early attempts to explore the unconscious involved the use of hypnosis, but this technique soon proved to be unsatisfactory. At a demonstration before a group of 20 students, he informed a middle-aged woman patient suffering from paralysis of her left leg that he was going to hypnotize her. She obligingly fell into a deep trance without any hypnosis whatsoever and talked at length for half an hour, resisting Jung’s attempts to awaken her. Upon finally being brought out of the trance she cried out that she was cured, threw away her crutches, and was able to walk! To cover his embarrassment, Jung announced: “Now you’ve seen what can be done with hypnosis!” Actually he had not the slightest idea what had happened (Jung, 1961/1965, pp. 118-120). Such experiences led Jung to seek out more comprehensible and dependable methods, as by obtaining the patient’s unconscious projections from dreams and drawings. The latter is generally credited as the forerunner of modem art therapy, whereas another suggestion of Jung’s led indirectly to the establishment of Alcoholics Anonymous (Ellenberger, 1970, pp. 732-733; Roazen, 1975/1976b, p. 284). Theoretical Foundation. Jungian psychotherapy strives to eliminate the sufferer’s inner conflicts and bring the conscious and unconscious opposites into harmonious unity, thereby restoring the normal course of individuation. Through a confrontation or conversation with the unconscious, the patient leams that life is not a matter of being either introverted or extraverted, thinking or feeling, sensing or intuiting, good or evil. Rather, the undervalued components of personality must be accepted by the ego. Harmful projections also wane as greater knowledge of the unconscious is achieved, enabling the patient to perceive others more accurately and respond more appropriately. The therapist must be careful to avoid proceeding too quickly, however, lest an onslaught of archetypal material result in a psychosis. (See Ellenberger, 1970, pp. 713-719; Jung, 1961/1965, p. 135; 1917/1972d, pp. Ill, 114.) Therapeutic Procedures. Jung advocates a wide variety of therapeutic procedures. “There is no therapeutic technique or doctrine that is of general application, since every case that one receives for treatment is an individual in a specific condition” (lung, 1964/1968, p. 54). Painting, modeling with clay, singing, and acting are not uncommon in Jungian therapy. When faced with a patient who had not slept for some time, Jung sang her a lullabye. In the case of a woman who was unable to tap her inner religiosity, he taught her the Scriptures and assigned regular homework (Whitmont & Kaufmann, 1973, p. 99). Upon being threatened with a slap by an imposing and arrogant female patient, Jung promptly rose to his full six-foot stature. “Very well, you are the lady,” he said. “You hit first-ladies first! But then I hit back!” The deflated patient fell back into her chair, and from that moment the treatment began to succeed (lung, 1961/1965, p. 142). Nor was Jung averse to using psychoanalytic methods, even giving some of his more educated patients books by Freud and Adler and discovering from their reaction the approach that would be more suitable. (See Jung, 1935a, p. 20; 1961/1965, p.131.) In the early phase of treatment, the Jungian therapist sees the patient four times a week. The initial stage is one of catharsis and emotional cleansing, a period that often requires the utmost in confidentiality and compassion from the therapist. Jung once inferred from the word association test of an apparently psychotic woman patient that she had deliberately allowed one of her children to drink tainted water, which proved fatal. Her pathology dated from the moment she discovered that her true love, whose seeming disinterest had been the occasion of her marrying someone else, had actually cared for her all along. Jung confronted her with his conclusions, which he carefully concealed even from his colleagues, and 2 weeks later the patient was well enough to be discharged and never again required hospitalization (lung, 1929/1933a, pp. 55, 57; 1961/1965, pp. 115-116). The heartfelt outpourings of the cathartic stage bind the patient emotionally to the therapist, leading to the next stage of treatment. The patient examines the threatening contents of the shadow and learns to abandon immature and unrealistic fantasies, such as the transferential wish for an all-powerful provider, and “the road to a normally disillusioned life is now open” (lung, 1929/1933a, p. 68). After this comes a stage of education about various aspects of life, designed to overcome the inevitable gaps in knowledge caused by the patient’s pathology. Some patients require a fourth stage of treatment. This uniquely Jungian approach is referred to as transformation, or as the synthetic-hermeneutic method (after Hermes, the god of revelation). It occurs after the persona, personal unconscious, and shadow have been explored, making the deeper layer of the collective unconscious more accessible and allowing archetypal symbols to emerge more readily. These symbols offer clues and guidelines for further individuation, and promote the formation of the self. (See Ellenberger, 1970, pp. 717-718; Fordham, 1966, pp. 59-60, 84-96.) During the latter stages of therapy (or earlier in less severe cases), the patient is seen only once or twice a week. The patient and therapist sit face to face, and specific tasks and reading matter are often assigned. “In my experience the absolute period of cure is not shortened by too many sittings. It lasts a fair time in all cases requiring thorough treatment. … The patient must learn to go his own way” (lung, 1935a, p. 20; 1935b, p. 27). This approach helps the patient develop independence, is less financially demanding, and allows the therapist more time for other cases. Resistance, Transference, and Countertransference. Jung does not regard transference as a necessary part of psychotherapy, though its emergence is almost inevitable. He criticizes the transference neurosis of psychoanalysis as a therapeutic blunder that encourages the patient to wallow in infantile fantasies, creating an extreme dependence that can be difficult to terminate: Apparently we are to fall back on some nebulous trust in fate: somehow or other the matter will settle itself. “The transference stops automatically when the patient runs out of money,” as a slightly cynical colleague once remarked to me. (lung, 1928/1972e, p. 131. See also Jung, 1946/1969f, pp. 8-9; 1917/1972d, pp. 62, n. 13, 66-67; 1913/1975a, pp. 112-118.) Jung also argues that the patient’s rejection of an interpretation is not necessarily a resistance. “Either the patient has not yet reached the point where he understands, or the interpretation does not fit” (lung, 1964/1968, p. 50). And Jung stresses that the personality and psychological health of the therapist are more important than technique. Jung was the first to advocate that all analysts be analyzed themselves so as to reduce the likelihood of harmful countertransferences, a suggestion Freud readily accepted. (See Jung, 1934c, pp. 158-159; 1935a, pp. 5, 8; 1961/1965, p. 132; 1964/1968, p. 48.) Jung does not regard the effects of psychotherapy as permanent. The difficulties and contradictions of life cannot be eliminated-nor should they be, since they provide an essential challenge-and periodic returns to therapy may well prove helpful (Jung, 1916/1971e, p. 278). Jung’s prolific writings include relatively little about the psychology of work. As we have seen, an extraverted-thinking type would appear well suited for a career in the physical sciences, an extraverted-intuitive type would undoubtedly prefer an entrepreneurial profession, an introvert should probably be dissuaded from becoming a salesperson, and so forth. Such categorizations tend to be oversimplifications, since the inferior and auxiliary processes also affect personality to a significant degree. But in work, as elsewhere, successful adjustment requires that one follow the innate predispositions of the collective unconscious. Although Jung takes a positive approach to religion, he does not advocate any particular denomination. Having extensively studied Eastern and Western religions, he concludes that people should follow their own path to individuation. Jung is highly critical of religions that emphasize blind faith and minimize the importance of reason, for this devaluing of the thinking function is another form of pathological onesidedness. He does concede that people need to form some conception of life after death, even though it is far from certain that aspects of the psyche continue beyond our physical demise. Nevertheless, the literal teaching of religious mythology is likely to present people with a most unpleasant choice: either to believe in impossibilities, or to reject religion entirely. (See Jung, 1957/1958b, pp. 49, 76; 1961-1965, pp. 94, 302, 322; 1964/1968, p. 84.) Jung therefore recommends an analytical approach to religion. He postulates the existence of a God archetype, which can trigger intense religious feelings. He attributes contradictory aspects even to God, including kindness and cruelty. And he treats religious myths as symbolic representations of the human unconscious. For example, Christ dying for others epitomizes the internal crucifixion of an ego suspended between hostile forces (Jung, 1938; 1952/1973a; Pro goff, 1953/1973, p. 115). Jung’s ideas have generated more than a little controversy, yet many theologians regard them as major contributions to the development of religious thought (Ellenberger, 1970, pp. 688-689, 734-735). Literature and Mythology According to Jung, literature that has a clear and asymbolic meaning is determined primarily by the author’s conscious intentions. Other creative impulses are triggered by autonomous unconscious complexes and archetypal images, which use the author to fulfill their own particular purpose. A work of this sort, typified by Wagner’s Ring and the second part of Faust, has an enthralling quality that compels us to seek out its hidden significance. “Sublime, pregnant with meaning, yet chilling the blood with its strangeness, it arises from timeless depths: glamorous, daemonic, and grotesque, it bursts asunder our human standards of value and aesthetic form” (Jung, 1930/1971g, p. 90; see also Jung, 1922/197lf, pp. 72, 83; 1930/1971g, p. 104). Literature and art exert a broadening effect that helps society to compensate for its faulty, one-sided development. Analytical psychology offers an interesting interpretation of the common fascination with flying saucers. We are threatened with disaster from such sources as nuclear weapons and increases in population, and the earth may well be becoming an overcrowded prison from which humanity would like to escape. Such unpleasant issues tend to be repressed, and create an unconscious desire for heavenly beings who will solve our problems. We project the aliens’ mode of transportation in the form of a circle or mandala, which symbolizes the order and stability that we so urgently seek (lung, 1958a). Jung ascribes a symbolic meaning to the work of ancient alchemists, whose manifest concern was to transmute less valuable elements into gold. (See Fordham, 1966, p. 80-82; Jaffe, 1971/1975, pp. 50-52; Jung, 1944; 1955-1956; Rieff, 1959/1961, p. 16.) He argues that alchemical writings represent unconscious projections of inner experience, particularly the need to “transmute” the various components of personality into a new spiritual wholeness: “The secret of alchemy was in fact the transcendent function, the transformation of personality through the blending and fusion of the noble with the base components, of the differentiated with the inferior functions, of the conscious with the unconscious” (Jung, 1928/1972e, p. 220). Synchronicity Toward the end of his life, Jung developed the principle of synchronicity, which refers to events that are related to each other by meaningful coincidence rather than by cause and effect. When a clock stops at the moment of its owner’s death, one event does not cause the other; the malfunction serves no known purpose; yet neither can Jung attribute this coincidence to pure chance. Similarly, one may dream of an unlikely event that shortly thereafter comes true, such as a chance meeting with a friend one has not seen for years. (See Jung, 1964/1968, p. 41; 1952/1973b; 1951/1973c.) Criticisms and Controversies The Autonomy of the Psyche. If sexuality was the “numen” that drove Freud to dogmatism, psychic autonomy may well have done the same to Jung. He regards our thoughts and fantasies as autonomous events that happen to us, triggered by complexes that have a purpose of their own. (See for example Jung, 1928/1972e, p. 201). Not only is it normal to hear voices originating from within your head, but this is necessary in order to learn from the collective unconscious and further the process of individuation! This unusual position differs radically from modem psychological standards, for a statement about hearing inner voices is in and of itself sufficient for an (actually healthy) individual to be admitted to a mental institution (Rosenhan, 1973). This aspect of Jung’s theory may well have been influenced by a personal bias. At an early age, he was besieged with thoughts so terrible that he developed intense anxiety. “Don’t think of it, just don’t think of it!” he would tell himself. He resolved his anguish by deciding that “God Himself had placed me in this situation …. God had also created Adam and Eve in such a way that they had to think what they did not at all want to think” (lung, 1961/1965, pp. 36-40). Thus he attributed his distressing thoughts to an external, supernatural source, which would seem to be an unconscious projection designed to alleviate the accompanying guilt. Jung did regard it as ironical “that I, a psychiatrist, should at almost every step of my [self-analysis] have run into the same psychic material which is the stuff of psychosis and is found in the insane” (1961/1965, p. 188). Yet he apparently underestimated his need to disavow his own unpleasant thoughts, and the extent to which this personal consideration influenced his bizarre belief that auditory hallucinations are normal and healthy. Literary and Conceptual Confusion. Although Jung’s writing is at times strikingly clear and insightful, his usual literary style has been described as dreadful, confused, and lacking any semblance of logical order. His readers must frequently struggle through pages of abstruse ideas, often including lengthy citations from obscure and tedious sources. Some of Jung’s terminology is also confusing: his definition of instinct includes habitual or learned responses as well as innate determinants of behavior, and feeling actually signifies something closer to evaluating. Lack of Scientific Rigor. Jung’s construct of the collective unconscious, and his belief in parapsychology, have been criticized as mystical and unscientific. Despite the differences in definition, Jung’s model oflibido is as vulnerable to attack as is Freud’s. The quantity ofpsychic energy that is invested in any mental activity cannot be measured, so the concept of libido currently enjoys little use outside of strict Jungian and psychoanalytic circles. The transcendent function does not explain the process to which it applies, whereas synchronicity is little more than a name for coincidences to which Jung arbitrarily assigns some grand design. The so-called law of averages does not necessarily apply in the short run, and even a fair coin or pair of dice is likely to yield some exceptional and apparently noteworthy series. A coincidence that seems meaningful or “synchronistic” may only reflect the fact that the laws of statistics do not always operate in accordance with common sense. Psychology and Religion. Jung’s emphasis of our spiritual and religious longings has provoked considerable controversy. Proponents claim that Jung has extended the scope of psychology by calling attention to a vital area of human functioning. Critics argue that a scientific psychology cannot deal with such arcane issues as the nature of God and the existence of the supernatural, or that Jung’s approach is shallow and unsuccessful (e.g., Stem, 1976/1977). Empirical Research Research on analytical psychology has focused on the psychological types. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (Myers, 1962) is a pencil-and-paper inventory that measures four bipolar dimensions: introversion versus extraversion, thinking versus feeling, sensation versus intuition, and perception (simply experiencing events) versus judgment (evaluating these events in terms of a set of standards). Studies using this instrument have found that extraverts were more likely (and introverts less likely) to accept a group learning situation, as would be expected, and that social service volunteers tended to be extraverted-intuitive (Carlson & Levy, 1973; Kilmann & Taylor, 1974). The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator has also been widely used in vocational and educational counseling, as by advising extraverts who emphasize the thinking function to study such externally oriented sciences as astronomy or physics and students who are introverted-thinking to consider such inner-directed subjects as personality theory. (See for example Myers, 1993; Myers & Kirby, 1994; Myers & McCaulley, 1985.) Factor-analytic research has consistently found introversion-extraversion to be one of the four or five most important human traits, as we will see in Chapter 13. And introversionextraversion is determined to a considerable extent by heredity, which supports lung’s belief that each of us has an innate tendency to be more introverted or extraverted and that it is an error to force a child in the opposite direction. This issue will be discussed in the section in Chapter 17 that deals with the biological perspective. Research findings also provide some support for lung’s construct of archetypes. We do appear to have an inborn predisposition to perceive the world in certain ways, as by being more afraid of objects that our ancestors found dangerous (such as snakes, spiders, heights, and tainted food). It is easy to condition and difficult to extinguish fears of such objects, and it is easier to learn to fear snakes and spiders than to fear flowers. (See, for example, Cook et aI., 1986; Davey, 1995; Garcia & Koelling, 1966; Ohman, 1986.) These are only predispositions, as lung emphasized, and a person who has only pleasant experiences with snakes or heights may well adopt a snake as a pet or become a tightrope walker. But we more easily fear those things that our ancestors had to avoid in order to survive, because those ancestors who did so lived long enough to transmit their genes to subsequent generations. lung’s concept of an inherent positive tendency for self-realization helps to correct Freud’s extreme pessimism about human nature, and it anticipates the general outlook of such theorists as Homey, Allport, Rogers, and Maslow. lung also departed from Freud by taking an active interest in psychosis, and made significant contributions to our understanding of schizophrenia. He emphasized that dream symbols may be neither sexual nor deceptive, and developed the dream series method. Introversion-extraversion is regarded as extremely important by modem psychologists and has become part of our everyday language, albeit in a more simplified way than lung intended. lung’s implicit or explicit suggestions led to such modem forms of treatment as art therapy and Alcoholics Anonymous. Some of his approaches to psychotherapy have gained widespread acceptance, such as the use of fewer than four sessions per week, face-to-face interviews, and required training analyses for psychoanalysts. Like Freud, lung emphasized the importance of unconscious projections and the problems that they cause. The concept of a collective unconscious suggests that something of us continues after death. lung was acutely aware that we need our lives to have meaning, and his positive approach to religion has supporters as well as critics. Finally, many of lung’s practical guidelines make excellent sense: to follow our true inner nature yet not use this as an excuse to trample on the rights of others, to bring the shadow to light and accept the unpleasant aspects of our personality, to avoid the dangers of an excessive and stifling persona or one that is underdeveloped, and-above all-to beware of the extreme one-sidedness that constitutes pathology. To lung as to Freud, extremism is surely a vice, and true self-knowledge is indeed a virtue. Freud once tartly characterized lung as crazy (Roazen, 1975/1976b, p. 261), and there are modem psychologists who would agree. Yet at the very least, lung was an insightful psychotherapist and highly imaginative thinker who possessed unusually extensive knowledge about a wide variety of subjects. Many of the criticisms of Jungian theory are cogent and serious, but his writings offer considerable riches as well. Suggested Reading Perhaps the best place to begin a first-hand study of lung is with his autobiography, Memories, Dreams, Reflections (1961/1965). Although there are apparently some contradictions and inaccuracies in his retrospections (Ellenberger, 1970, pp. 663, 667), this work provides a strikingly personal glimpse of the man and his theories. lung’s chapter in Man and His Symbols (1964/1968) ranks among his clearest expositions and includes substantial material on dream interpretation. Two of lung’s most important articles appear in Two Essays on Analytical Psychology (1917/1972d, 1928/1972e), and the basic introduction to the attitudes and functions is given in Chapter Ten of Psychological Types (1921/1976). The latter is also included in The Portable lung (Viking Press, 1971), a collection of significant articles. The standard edition of lung’s work, translated or revised by R. F. C. Hull, is the definitive version. Among the helpful secondary sources on lung are those by Ellenberger (1970), Fordham (1966), Progoff (1953/1973), and a critical biography by Stern (1976/1977). Evans (1976) reports an interesting interview with lung that took place toward the end of the latter’s life. The extensive correspondence between Freud and lung is also readily available (McGuire, 1974). 1. THE BASIC NATURE OF HUMAN BEINGS. The Instincts: We are motivated by such innate instincts as hunger, thirst, sexuality, individuation, power, activity, and creativity. Moral tendencies and a need for religion are also inborn. Psychic Energy: All mental activity is powered by psychic energy, which is called libido regardless of the instinct(s) involved. The greater the amount of libido (value) that is invested in a mental event, the more the event is desired. Psychic energy attracts complexes of related and emotionally charged ideas. Powerful conscious or unconscious complexes can exert considerable control over one’s thoughts and behaviors. The Principle of Opposites: Psychic energy is created by the tension between such opposites as introversion-extraversion, thinking-feeling, sensation-intuition, good-evil, consciousnessunconsciousness, love-hate, and many others. When one extreme is primarily conscious, the unconscious compensates by emphasizing the opposite tendency. Successful adjustment requires uniting the various opposing forces through some middle ground. Teleology: Behavior is not only motivated by prior causes, but is also oriented toward a future purpose or goal. The Unconscious: The vast majority of the psyche is unconscious, and includes both destructive forces and positive wellsprings of creativity and guidance. The unconscious is divided into two parts, personal and collective. 2. THE STRUCTURE OF PERSONALITY. The Ego: The ego is an entirely conscious complex that constitutes the center of awareness and begins to develop at about the fourth year of life. The Jungian ego is a relatively weak component of personality. The Persona: The (conscious) persona is a protective fa~ade, or social mask, that facilitates contacts with other people. An overdeveloped persona results in a state of pomposity or inflation, whereas an underdeveloped persona gives one the appearance of being incompetent, tactless, boring, and eternally misunderstood. The Personal Unconscious: The personal unconscious begins to form at birth. It includes material that is no longer (or is not yet) conscious, such as forgotten and unimportant memories, significant repressions, and stimuli that have been perceived subliminally. The Shadow: The shadow, located in the personal unconscious, is the primitive and unwelcome side of personality. However, it also provides a necessary ingredient of vitality. Like all that is unconscious, the shadow is often projected onto other people and experienced in this indirect fashion. The Collective Unconscious: The collective unconscious is a storehouse of archetypes inherited from our ancestral past. Archetypes result from the repeated experiences of past generations and predispose us to perceive the world in particular ways. Included among the many archetypes are the shadow, persona, anima, animus, self, wise old man, and great mother. We never become aware of the archetypes themselves, but experience them through the images or symbols that they produce and transmit to consciousness. 3. THE DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONALITY. Individuation and the Self: There are no formal stages of development in analytical psychology. During childhood the various components of personality develop, with sexuality not appearing until puberty. A “second puberty” occurs at about age thirty-five to forty, at which time interests in sexuality and power yield to more spiritual and cultural values. The lifelong unfolding of one’s inherent potential, or individuation, results in the formation of a new center of personality (the self) that unifies the many opposites. Individuation can never be fully achieved, however, and may well be beyond the reach of many people. Progression and Regression: Libido normally proceeds in a forward direction, furthering the development of personality. If this progression is blocked by frustrations in the external world, or by internal repressions, libido turns back to earlier memories and archetypal images. Such regressions may result in infantile or pathological behavior, but they may also awaken undervalued and neglected aspects of one’s personality. Character Typology: Individual differences in personality result from the characteristic direction of libido movement (introversion or extraversion), and from the typical way in which a person perceives the world (thinking, feeling, sensation, or intuition). The dominant or superior attitude and function are conscious, whereas the opposite (inferior) processes are primarily unconscious. A predisposition toward one attitude and function is inborn, and these are the ones that should become dominant for the personality to be well adjusted. However, the inferior processes must also be afforded satisfactory expression. 4. FURTHER APPLICATIONS. Dream Interpretation: Dreams provide important information about the personal and collective unconscious. They may serve as wish-fulfillments, anticipate the future, provide a warning, offer solutions to waking problems, or even result from telepathy. A dream symbol has at least two meanings, is not an attempt at deception, and often does not concern sexuality. Psychopathology: Psychopathology consists of an excessively onesided personality, which brings the unconscious into conflict with consciousness. It may be caused by trying to go against one’s true inner nature or by rejecting essential aspects of one’s personality. The neuroses of the young usually concern sexuality and power, whereas those of older people are more likely to involve the denial of their inherent religious needs. Psychosis is also understandable and amenable to treatment, although the prognosis is poorer than for neurosis. Psychotherapy: Jungian psychotherapy uses a wide variety of procedures, often including face-to-face interviews and only one or two weekly sessions. The goal is to eliminate painful inner conflicts and pathological one-sidedness through a regression to the unconscious, thereby bringing the conscious and unconscious opposites into harmonious unity and allowing individuation to continue. The stages of treatment include catharsis, elucidation, education, and perhaps transformation, with transference kept to a much lower level than in psychoanalysis. Other Applications: Other applications of analytical psychology include work, religion (to which Jung is highly favorable but critical of many religious practices), literature, mythology, and the analysis of alchemical writings. 5. EVALUATION. Analytical psychology has been criticized for literary and conceptual confusions, a lack of scientific rigor, and overemphasizing the autonomy of the psyche. It is all too easy to misconstrue Jung’s words as permission to be neurotic or psychotic, or to disavow the responsibility for one’s thoughts and actions. Jung has made substantial contributions to the understanding and treatment of psychosis, to dream interpretation, to the development of psychotherapy, to more positive views of human nature, to religious thought, and to our understanding of such characteristics as introversion and extraversion. Part I. Questions 1. What differences between the personalities of Jung and Freud might help to explain: (a) Jung’s belief that many of our thoughts and fantasies are autonomous events that happen to us, rather than our own creations? (b) Jung’s greater tolerance for and interest in psychosis? 2. “I know things and must hint at things which other people do not know, and usually do not even want to know …. Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible.” Do you think that this statement by Jung could just as easily have been made by Freud? Why or why not? 3. Compare Jung’s list of human instincts with Freud’s. Which better explains our behavior? 4. Give a real-life example to support Jung’s contention that “extremes [in personality] always arouse suspicion of their [unconscious] opposite.” 5. Give an example from your own life, or from the life of someone you know well, to illustrate: (a) enantiodromia; (b) an inflated persona. 6. Give an example from your own life, or from the life of someone you know well, to support Jung’s contention that the characteristics we detest in other people often represent what we most dislike about ourselves. 7. “To find out what is truly individual in ourselves, profound reflection is needed; and suddenly we realize how uncommonly difficult the discovery of individuality is.” Do you agree? Why or why not? 8. (a) Which attitude is dominant in your personality? (b) Which function is dominant in your personality? (c) Are the opposite attitude and function underdeveloped and difficult for you to express, as Jung would expect? (d) Based on the preceding answers, what job might you be well suited for? 9. If possible, provide an example from your own life of an archetypal symbol emerging into consciousness or of a “big dream.” 10. (a) How might Freud criticize such Jungian therapeutic procedures as singing a lullabye to a woman who could not sleep, or teaching Scriptures to a patient who could not tap her inner religious feelings? (b) How might Jung reply? 11. Do you prefer Jung’s approach to religion or Freud’s? Why? 12. At the moment someone dies, the person’s favorite picture falls off a wall and is shattered. How might this be understood as a mere coincidence, rather than as an example of synchronicity? Part II.Comments and Suggestions 1. See the discussion of the autonomy of the psyche in the evaluation section. Also recall that Jung saw a luminous figure with a detached head emanating from his mother’s bedroom, and that he conversed with voices in his head that he believed to be souls returning from the dead. Apparently Jung experienced psychotic ideation firsthand, whereas Freud did not. 2. I think so. The first sentence aptly represents Freud’s view of Oedipal theory, while the remainder of the quote fits Freud’s self-perception as an unraveler of great mysteries. Since Jung saw himself in much the same way, it is hardly surprising that he ultimately broke with Freud; it was essential to find new mysteries and new explanations. 3. Ask a psychoanalyst and an analytical psychologist and you’ll get two different answers. However, I prefer Jung’s list. All too often I am reluctant to risk trying something new, preferring instead the safety of the familiar. So I have found that it is possible to be sexually satisfied, but dissatisfied with regard to what Jung calls activity (which includes the love of change, the urge to travel, and play). I therefore share Jung’s belief that activity and sexuality are separate needs. 4. When I see a television evangelist crusading with great intensity and passion against sexual behavior (usually because I have accidentally tuned to the wrong channel), I suspect that these extremely negative conscious attitudes about sexuality conceal powerful repressed sexual urges, and that the crusade is a form of reaction formation. (Of course, there are other possibilities. But there are many other ways to make a living, yet the evangelist chose this one.) So I am not surprised when a scandal erupts because the evangelist is caught in a sexually compromising situation, as actually happened not long ago. 5. (a) In my teens, I became an avid bridge player. For some 25 years I participated in tournaments, read voraciously about bridge, discussed bridge with friends for hours on end, and even wrote numerous bridge books and articles. I also had no interest in religion. Some 15 years ago, however, enantiodromia set in. My interest in bridge yielded to almost complete disinterest; I hardly ever play, and I no longer read or write about it. (Some might say that I “burned out.”) Also, I have become more involved with religion. I enjoy working with my religious organization, and studying religion from the point of view of modern psychology. This supports Jung’s belief that middle age is highlighted by a shift in one’s strongest convictions and interests. I find all this particularly striking because I’m not a Jungian. (b) Consider the late Howard Cosell, or any of the all too common professional athletes who are consistently arrogant and self-centered. 6. What might well be the true (albeit unconscious) feelings of a man who detests weakness in other people? A woman who detests those who are arrogant? 7. If you disagree because you have always known who you are and what you wanted, I envy you (though I suspect that you may not know yourself as well as you think). Having spent too much of my time obeying introjected parental demands (or what I thought were parental demands), I have experienced more than a little difficulty untangling my own wishes from these introjected standards and figuring out what I really want (as by finding work that I genuinely like). So I agree with Jung’s statement. See also the quote that appears at the end of the section on criteria of maturity in the chapter on Allport, and Freud’s quote at the end of the section on the ego in Chapter 2. 8. My answers: (a) Introversion. I am introspective, comfortable being by myself, and not wildly enthusiastic about seeking out new situations. (b) Thinking. I emphasize rationality and trying to solve problems by thinking out good answers. (c) Extraversion: yes. (See above.) Feeling: I usually don’t have much difficulty evaluating the desirability of what I perceive, so here I disagree with Jung. But if this term were meant more literally (namely, the experiencing of emotion), I would agree. (d) A writer of textbooks on psychology. 9. I have never experienced an archetypal symbol emerging into consciousness, which makes it more difficult for me to appreciate Jung’s theory. However, I have had one dream that might well fit the description of a “big dream:” I dreamed that I was a physiological psychologist studying cell mechanisms. I was on the track of something unbelievably important, for I was going to be the first person to discover the true meaning of life. But then some invisible super-being put a message in my head: “They kill you if you find out too much. The secret of life is DEATH!” So I gave up my research and decided that it was safer not to know what life really meant. This was not a nightmare; the dream had an awesome quality, as though I were experiencing rare and profound wonders. This dream may indicate that there were unpleasant aspects of my life that I was on the verge of discovering, but preferred not to know about. Or I could have been placing too much emphasis on raising my self-esteem by making brilliant discoveries and achieving lasting fame (like a Freud or lung), and the dream might have been warning me that this was psychological suicide; I should instead be working on other issues, such as my relationships with important people in my life. (See also the section on dream interpretation in Chapter 6 and the dream of a writer driving up a mountain peak.) lung might well see an emerging archetype somewhere. 10. (a) Consider Freud’s views about secondary gains, managing the transference correctly in order to create a transference neurosis, and religion. (b) Consider lung’s views about transference neurosis, religion, and the purpose of the third stage of psychotherapy. 11. I find something useful in each approach. I agree with Freud that some people focus too heavily on a hereafter, and misguidedly sacrifice their responsibility for making decisions by conceiving of an all-powerful Being who will direct their behavior and solve their problems. Certainly many evils, such as wars, have been committed in the name of religion. But I also share lung’s belief that many people (including myself) need to believe that there is some greater meaning to life, and that it is not “a tale told by an idiot.” Surely many evils have been committed because of a failure to follow important moral and ethical principles that are found in religion. And it has been shown that people who are religious are more likely to survive certain serious illnesses because they are reassured by a real and valuable faith. 12. Science emphasizes the importance of using predictions to verify a theory; after-the-fact reasoning is suspect. Consider that a great many other coincidences might have occurred at the time of the person’s death: his clock might have stopped (as in lung’s example), his house might have been damaged by a storm, a stock he owned might have fallen, a friend might have had an accident. There are countless possibilities-so many, in fact, that it might be more surprising if nothing coincidental happened at the moment of the person’s death. Also, we tend to forget the many times when no coincidence occurred. To find one specific coincidence like the falling picture and then argue after the fact that this event somehow shows the existence of “synchronicity” is unscientific-and, in my opinion, incorrect.

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Scientific inquiry is normally rational and objective, yet there are times when it resembles a bitter family feud. One such monumental uproar occurred in 191 I, when it became apparent that the theories of Freud’s colleague Alfred Adler were irreconcilably different from those of psychoanalysis. An irate Freud “forced the whole Adler gang” to resign from psychoanalytic circles, and forbade his followers to attend any of Adler’s conferences. Longstanding friendships broke up, wives of the combatants stopped speaking to each other, and members of opposing factions refused to sit near each other at dinner parties. Psychoanalysts charged Adler with plagiarism, and were accused in turn of retaining his ideas while expunging his name from their writings. Even Jung, a man known for his tolerance of all races and peoples, described Adler’s group as an “insolent gang” of “impudent puppies.” (See Ellenberger, 1970, pp. 638-645; McGuire, 1974, pp. 447,534; Roazen, I97511976b, pp. 184-193.) Although Freud’s pungent attacks were excessive, he better understood the way to lasting fame. Today Freud is clearly recognized as the originator of psychoanalysis, whereas Adler’s significant ideas have been widely subsumed, without credit, into the theories of other psychologists. • To devise a theory of personality that can easily be understood and used because it is less metaphysical and complicated than Freud’s or Jung’s. • To argue that instincts and heredity aren’t important causes of human behavior. • To emphasize the social aspects of personality:We must cooperate with others in order to survive, and everyone has an inborn tendency to do so (social interest). • To show that striving for superiority over our formidable environment (striving for self-perfection) is the most important human motive. • To reject Freud’s emphasis on the depths of personality by showing that the unconscious is relatively unimportant, and that personality is determined by our consciously chosen goals and methods of achieving them (style of life). • To argue that personality is an indivisible unity: Conscious and unconscious always work together, and personality is never torn by conflicting wishes and goals that set one part against another part. • To emphasize that personality development is strongly influenced by the child’s relationship with his/her parents and birth order. • To correct Freud’s belief that mental illness usually has sexual causes by showing that psychopathology most often occurs when pathogenic parenting (notably pampering and neglect) causes the child to develop an inferiority complex, abandon the desire to cooperate, and try to achieve superiority in selfish ways that hurt rather than help other people. • To show that successful psychotherapy can be accomplished more easily and quickly than Freud believed. Alfred Adler was born on February 7,1870, in Rudolfsheim, a suburb of Vienna. His father was a Jewish grain merchant with a cheerful disposition and a particular fondness for Alfred, and his mother has been described as gloomy, rejecting, and self-sacrificing. Like Freud and Jung, Adler rose from lower middle-class origins to world fame; but unlike his illustrious counterparts, he remained emotionally attached to the lower classes and keenly concerned with their problems. Adler was a second-born (Ellenberger, 1970, p. 576) who grew up in the shadow of a gifted and successful older brother, and his family included an envious younger brother and three other siblings. Alfred never developed strong ties to his Jewish heritage, perhaps because his childhood was spent in liberal and heterogeneous surroundings, and he converted to Protestantism in 1904. Adler studied medicine at the University of Vienna. Ironically, he never attended any of the lectures on hysteria given there by a relatively unknown psychologist, Sigmund Freud. Adler received his medical degree in 1895, though not with outstanding marks, and soon thereafter began private practice. In 1897 he married Raissa Epstein, an ardent socialist and independent thinker whom he met at a political convention. The Adlers were to have four children (three daughters and a son), two of whom became individual psychologists. His first publication, which appeared in 1898, stressed the pathogenic working conditions of independent tailors and the need of the poor for socialized medicine. Adler first met Freud in 1902 under circumstances that are shrouded in legend (Ellenberger, 1970, p. 583). He remained active in psychoanalytic circles for some 10 years, and became the first president of the Viennese Psychoanalytic Society in 1910. Like Jung, however, Adler insisted on the freedom to pursue his own ideas. As he once remarked to Freud, “do you think it gives me such great pleasure to stand in your shadow my whole life long?” (Freud, 1914/1967, p. 51; Roazen, 1975/1976b, pp. 179-184.) Eventually Adler’s theories became so different from psychoanalysis as to precipitate an acrimonious parting of the ways, with Freud accusing him of heresy and imposing the penalty of excommunication. Adler resigned from the Psychoanalytic Society in 1911 and founded his own organization, known first as the Society for Free Psychoanalysis and later as the Society for Individual Psychology. Adler suffered a particularly painful rebuff in 1915, when he was denied a teaching position at the University of Vienna because his work was regarded as unscientific. During World War I, he engaged in psychiatric work with the Viennese Army. The postwar period was a difficult one, with the defeated Austria-Hungary suffering from poverty, famine, and epidemics. These trying times reinforced Adler’s socialistic leanings, though he rejected any involvement with militant political activities. Adler was a short and sturdy man. He was less handsome and charismatic than Freud or Jung, and he often presented an almost sloppy appearance. His style of life was simple and unpretentious, quite unlike the typical man of distinction. He possessed strong emotions that at times yielded to hypersensitivity, as well as the ability to make quick and accurate guesses about a patient’s clinical disturbances, life problems, and birth order. He also impressed people as a witty and inspiring lecturer. Unfortunately, he could be highly impractical as well. Whereas psychoanalytic conferences were conducted in a formal and proper manner, Adler unwisely acquired a reputation for superficiality by meeting with followers and patients in various Viennese coffeehouses. Adler’s most significant achievements came during the years 1920-1933. He published numerous important books, and founded a series of child guidance clinics in Vienna. Adler visited the United States frequently from 1926 onward, participating in a symposium at Wittenberg College and teaching extension courses at Columbia University. In 1930 he was honored with the title of Citizen of Vienna, but the mayor unwittingly earned Adler’s deep resentment by introducing him as “a deserving pupil of Freud.” Adler foresaw the Nazi menace at an early date and moved permanently to the United States in 1934, where he taught at the Long Island College of Medicine and continued to strive for the establishment of individual psychology. There is no official standard edition of his works, which number perhaps a dozen volumes. During his later years Adler developed a heart condition, but he enjoyed working too much to lead a limited life. While on a lecture tour in Aberdeen, Scotland, he suffered a fatal heart attack on May 28, 1937. Adler called his theory individual psychology, a name that is somewhat misleading. The term individual expresses his belief in the uniqueness and indivisibility of every human personality. It by no means precludes the social element, a factor he considers “all-important. … The individual becomes an individual only in a social context. Other systems of psychology make a distinction between what they call individual psychology and social psychology, but for us there is no such distinction” (Adler, 1929/1969, p. 95). Individual psychology pays little attention to abstruse metaphysical constructs, or to speculations about the deepest layers of the psyche. Adler emphasizes practical recommendations for dealing with our problems, bringing up children, getting along with others, and upgrading the quality oflife in general. (See Adler, 1927/1957, p. 1; 1929/1969, p. 1.) Social Interest Whereas psychoanalysis views life as an inevitable struggle between our selfish drives and the demands of society, Adler argues that we have an innate potential for relating to others. This social interest or community feeling (GemeinschaftsgefUhl) involves more than membership in a particular group. It refers to a sense of kinship with humanity, and it enables our physically weak species to survive through cooperation: Imagine a man alone, and without an instrument of culture, in a primitive forest! He would be more inadequate than any other living organism …. The community is the best guarantee of the continued existence of human beings … [and social interest] is the true and inevitable compensation for all [of their] natural weaknesses …. (Adler, 1927/1957, pp. 35-36; 1929/1964a, p. 31. See also Adler, 1933/1964b, pp. 98-99; 1931/197ge, pp. 210-211.) It is social interest, rather than a superego or collective unconscious, that establishes the guidelines for proper personality development. The well-adjusted person learns at an early age to develop this inherent potential, and to assist the common good of present and future generations. Maladjustment is defined not as the failure to sublimate or individuate, as Freud or lung would argue, but as the denial of one’s social interest. A major task of psychology, therefore, is to understand and alleviate deficiencies in cooperation. “Society has no place for deserters” (Adler, 1927/1957, p. 194; see also Adler, 1933/1964b, p. 283; 1933/1979g). Teleology, Feelings of Inferiority, and Striving for Superiority (Self-Perfection) Life Goals and Teleology. Adler differs sharply from Freud and lung by regarding the idea of inherited personality components as a “superstition” (1931/1958, p. 168). According to Adler, we are not mere pawns of innate instinctual urges. We select our fundamental life goals and the methods that we use to achieve them. Even social interest is only a predisposition, and it is all too possible to deny this tendency and choose to be neurotically self-centered. The psychic life of man is determined by his goal. No human being can think, feel, will, dream, without all these activities being determined, continued, modified, and directed toward an ever-present objective …. A real understanding of the behavior of any human being is impossible without a clear comprehension of the secret goal which he is pursuing …. (Adler, 1927/1957, pp. 29, 49. See also Adler, 1933/1979a, p. 52; 1932/1979i, p. 87.) Although Adler emphasizes the importance of teleology, he regards infancy and childhood as a time of considerable importance. Our major goals are usually formed during the first few years of life, and they can be deviated from during adulthood only with great difficulty. Therefore, “no one can understand the grown-up who does not learn to understand the child” (Adler, 1931/1958, p. 65; see also Adler, 1927/1957, pp. 18,31; 1933/1964b, pp. 81-82). Suppose that a young girl who craves attention from her parents decides to fulfill this goal by becoming ill frequently, so they will spend a great deal of time taking care of her. She is very likely to behave in similar ways as an adult, as by suffering from persistent migraine headaches because they bring welcome concern from her husband. Freud would regard such rewards as only secondary gains, but to Adler they represent fundamental clues for understanding human nature. “We do not suffer from the shock of [traumatic experiences;] we make out of them just what suits our purposes” (Adler, 1931/1958, p. 14). Life goals need not be realistic, for we often act “as if’ certain fictions were actually true. A person’s behavior will be significantly affected by the belief that virtue is rewarded with an afterlife in heaven, or by neurotic fantasies of exaggerated self-importance, even though these ideas may not correspond very well with reality. Feelings of Inferiority and the Striving for Superiority. To Adler, the primary goal of all human behavior is self-perfection. Everyone begins life as a weak and helpless child, and we all possess the innate drive to overcome this inferiority by mastering our formidable environment: To be a human being means the possession of a feeling of inferiority that is constantly pressing on towards its own conquest …. The goal of the human soul is conquest, perfection, security, superiority …. Every child is faced with so many obstacles in life that no child ever grows up without striving for some form of significance …. Every voluntary act begins with a feeling of inadequacy. (Adler, 1927/1957, pp. 38,135; 1933/1964b, pp. 73, 145. See also Adler, 1920/1973, pp. 1-15; 1933/1979g, pp. 32-33.) Healthy striving for superiority (or perfection, or significance) is guided by social interest, and gives due consideration to the welfare of others. Conversely, the selfish striving for dominance and personal glory is distorted and pathological (Adler, 1931/1958, p. 8). The feelings of inferiority that underlie the striving for superiority are by no means abnormal or undesirable. If a child faces its weaknesses with optimism and courage, and strives for superiority by making the necessary effort to compensate for them, a satisfactory or even superior level of adjustment may be achieved. A famous example is that of Demosthenes, an apparently incurable stutterer, who practiced speaking with pebbles in his mouth and became the greatest orator in ancient Greece (Adler, 1929/1964a, p. 35; Orgler, 1963/1972, p. 67). Or a physically unattractive person may win friends and admirers by becoming genuinely warm and compassionate. The feeling of inferiority “becomes a pathological condition only when the sense of inadequacy overwhelms the individual, and … makes him depressed and incapable of development.” Such a shattering inferiority complex can occur as early as the second year of life. (Adler, 1929/1969, pp. 25, 31; 1927/1957, p. 69). The child who surrenders to an inferiority complex sees only the possibility of evading difficulties, instead of trying to overcome them. “Imagine the goal of the child who is not confident of being able to solve his problems! How dismal the world must appear to such a child! Here we find timidity, introspectiveness, distrust, and all those other characteristics and traits with which the weakling seeks to defend himself’ (Adler, 1927/1957, p. 33). Even an intelligent or capable person can develop an inferiority complex. Adler devotes considerable attention to developmental factors that can turn normal feelings of inferiority (and healthy strivings for self-perfection) into a pathological inferiority complex (and distorted, selfish strivings), as we will see in a subsequent section. Since Adler regards personality as an indivisible unity, he makes no assumptions about its structure. He does agree with Freud and Jung that much of personality is beyond our awareness, and that “the hardest thing for human beings to do is to know themselves and to change CAPSULE SUMMARY Some Important Adlerian Terminology A child’s position in the family (first-born, second born, etc.). To Adler, a major factor in the development of personality. Community feeling Compensation A synonym for social interest. Overcoming real or imagined inferiority through effort and practice, or by developing abilities in a different area. Physical inferiorities are often compensated for in psychological ways, whereas social interest enables the human race to compensate for its inferiority to the overwhelming forces of nature. Memories of infancy and childhood. Even if inaccurate, these recollections provide important clues about the style of life because they are strongly influenced by the individual’s self-selected goals. Umealistic life goals that influence behavior because the person acts “as if’ they were true. Individual psychology Inferiority complex The name Adler gave to his theory of personality. Exaggerated and pathological feelings of weakness, including the belief that one cannot overcome one’s difficulties through appropriate effort. Usually accompanied by a conscious or unconscious superiority complex. Normal and inevitable feelings of weakness that result from our helplessness during childhood. May stimulate healthy striving for superiority and compensations. Behavior motivated by objections to the belief that society regards men as superior to women. A form of superiority complex that may occur in males or females. Failing to give a child sufficient care and nurturing, which creates the belief that the world is a cold and unfriendly place. One of the three major reasons why a child selects mistaken, pathogenic goals. A significant physiological defect that can cause strong feelings of inferiority. Need not result in pathology if effectively compensated, but often becomes one of the three major reasons why a child selects mistaken and pathogenic goals. Giving a child excessive attention and protection. Pampering inhibits the development of initiative and independence, and creates the impression that the world owes one a living. One of the three major reasons why a child selects mistaken, pathogenic goals. An innate potential to relate to and cooperate with other people. Everyone possesses the potential for social interest, but it must be developed through appropriate training for personality to become well adjusted. Striving for superiority (self-perfection, perfection, significance) Style of life Superiority complex A universal, innate drive to overcome feelings of inferiority by mastering our formidable environment. Healthy strivings for superiority are guided by social interest, whereas pathological strivings ignore the welfare of others. A person’s chosen life goals and the methods used to achieve them. Pathological feelings of power and arrogance that conceal an underlying inferiority complex. themselves,” but he attributes this lack of self-knowledge to holistic and teleological forces. We deceive ourselves in order to fulfill our chosen goals, and the unconscious is whatever we do not wish to understand: There can be no question here of anything like a repressed unconscious; it is rather a question of something not understood, of something withheld from the understanding …. Consciousness and unconsciousness move together in the same direction and are not contradictions, as is so often believed. What is more, there is no definite line of demarcation between them. It is merely a question of discovering the purpose of their joint movement. … Every memory is dominated by the goal idea which directs the personality-asa-whole …. That which is helpful we are conscious of; whatever can disturb our arguments we push into the unconscious. (Adler, 1927/1957, pp. 21, 50, 90-91; 1933/l964b, p. 16; 1929/1969, p. 15.) Such socially undesirable traits as vanity, cowardice, and hostility are likely to be deliberately misunderstood (i.e., unconscious) so as to preclude the necessity for changing them. Thus a person who dresses unusually poorly is likely to be concealing powerful (unconscious) arrogance behind a facade of excessive modesty. Socrates is said to have once told a speaker who mounted the podium wearing old and bedraggled clothes, “Young man of Athens, your vanity peeps out through every hole in your robe!” Or hostility may be expressed in a selfdeceptive way by forgetting the instructions of a domineering spouse or employer. (See Adler, 1927/1957, p. 158; 1933/1964b, pp. 206-208.) To Adler, then, conscious and unconscious always work together to achieve those goals (understood or not) that the individual has selected. Adler shares Freud’s belief that personality is formed during the first 5 years of life. But Adler rejects the idea of specific developmental stages, preferring to stress practical guidelines for promoting social interest and avoiding a disastrous inferiority complex. (See Adler, 1931/1958, pp. 12,34,200; 1929/1969, pp. 83, 123-130.) Pathogenic Factors in Personality Development Ideally, the child’s potential for social interest is brought to fruition by the mother. She administers the first lesson in cooperation by nursing the baby at her breast, thereby serving as the child’s bridge to social life. “We probably owe to the maternal sense of contact the largest part of human social feeling, and along with it the essential continuance of human civilization” (Adler, 1933/l964b, p. 221; see also Adler, 1927/1957, p. 220; 1931/1958, pp. 17-18, 120, 125-126). If the mother is clumsy, uncooperative, or untrustworthy, however, the child will learn to resist social interest instead of striving to develop it. The father’s role is to encourage feelings of self-reliance, and to stress the need for choosing a satisfying and worthwhile occupation. To Adler, all too many parents are poorly prepared for the difficult and challenging task of raising their children: The first cooperation among other people which [the child] experiences is [that] of his parents; and if their cooperation is poor, they cannot hope to teach him to be cooperative himself Unfortunately, however, parents are neither good psychologists nor good teachers Few [of them] are inclined to learn and to avoid mistakes … [and those] who most need advice are the [ones] who never come for it. (Adler, 1927/1957, p. 219; 1931/1958, pp. 133,178; 1929/1969, p. 103. See also Adler, 1931/1958, pp. 134-138.) Pampering. Perhaps the most serious parental error is to shower the child with excessive attention, protection, and assistance. Such pampering (or “spoiling”) robs children of their independence and initiative, shatters their self-confidence, and creates the impression that the world owes them a living. Under the misguided belief that they suffer from a lack of ability, rather than from a lack of training, pampered children develop an intense inferiority complex. Since they have never learned self-reliance, and have been taught to receive but not to give, they try to solve their problems by making unrealistic demands on other people. Pampered children may use enuresis, nightmares, or temper tantrums as manipulative (albeit unconscious) devices for obtaining sympathy and attention. They may expect to be admired and honored without having to put forth any effort, or insist that everyone treat their wishes as laws. They may rebel against parental authority through active opposition or sulking, and act depressed or even suicidal if they do not get everything they want. As adults they approach work and marriage with a selfish orientation, rather than in the spirit of cooperation. Such behavior provokes sharp criticism and rejections, which intensifies the inferiority complex and strengthens the need for more pampering. “Every pampered child becomes a hated child …. There is no greater evil than the pampering of children …. Grown-up pampered children are perhaps the most dangerous class in our community” (Adler, 1931/1958, p. 16; 1933/1964b, p. 154; 1929/1969, p. 10; see also Adler, 1931/1958, pp. 128, 151, 240, 282-283; 1929/1969, p. 33; Orgler, 1963/1972, pp. 72-75). Pampering may also result in an apparent Oedipus complex, which Adler regards as neither universal nor sexual. “[The] so-called Oedipus complex is not a ‘fundamental fact,’ but is simply a vicious unnatural result of maternal overindulgence …. The victims of the Oedipus complex are children who were pampered by their mothers … [and whose fathers were] comparatively indifferent or cold” (Adler, 1931/1958, p. 54; 1933/1964b, p. 21).1 Only a pampered boy wants to eliminate his father and subjugate his mother, and his motive is to preserve the mother’s overindulgence. Adler charges psychoanalysis with the error of restricting its study primarily to pampered children, who follow the pleasure principle and become enraged and defensive if their selfish wishes are not fulfilled, and then overgeneralizing its findings to all of humanity. “Psychoanalysis was [preoccupied with] the world of spoiled children … Its transitory success was due to … the immense number of pampered persons who willingly accepted the views of psychoanalysis as universally applicable rules” (Adler, 1933/1964b, p. 36; see also pp. 51, 154,213-214). Neglect. The opposite extreme, failing to provide sufficient care and nurturing (neglect), creates the impression that the world is cold and unsympathetic. The neglected child “has never known what love and cooperation can be: he makes up an interpretation of life which does not include these friendly forces …. He will overrate [the difficulties of life] and underrate his own capacity to meet them … [and] will not see that he can win affection and esteem by actions which are useful to others” (Adler, 1931/1958, p. 17; see also Orgler, 1963/1972, pp. 76-79). Such children regard life as an enemy, and express their inferiority complex through suspiciousness, stubbornness, and maliciousness. In the words of Shakespeare’s Richard III, “since I cannot prove a lover. .. I am determined to prove a villain.” Other Parental Factors. Establishing unattainable standards or resorting to punishment overemphasizes the child’s helplessness, and is therefore likely to bring about an inferiority complex. “Punishment, especially corporal punishment, is always harmful to children. Any teaching which cannot be given in friendship is wrong teaching …. Praise or blame should be given to success or failure in the training and not to the personality of the child” (Adler, 1931/1958, p. 135; 1933/1964b, p. 226). Ridiculing a child is “well-nigh criminal,” resulting in the constant dread of being laughed at. Excessive criticism of other people will prejudice the child against sociability and cooperation. So too will a father who adopts the role of family ruler, and who acts superior to the mother because he is the primary breadwinner. (See Adler, 1927/1957, p. 66; 1931/1958, pp. 135,222.) Organ Inferiority. In addition to parental errors, a physical deficiency or severe illness may cause strong feelings of helplessness (Adler, 1907/1917b). However, organ inferiority need not result in psychopathology. “Imperfect organs offer many handicaps, but these handicaps are by no means an inescapable fate. If the mind … trains hard to overcome the difficulties, the individual may very well succeed in being as successful as those who were originally less burdened” (Adler, 1931/1958, p. 35). One such example is that of Demosthenes, discussed previously. But since organ inferiorities present substantial difficulties, and since the concerned parents are likely to make matters worse by pampering the invalid, the most likely result is a destructive inferiority complex: Children who come into the world with organ inferiorities become involved at an early age in a bitter struggle for existence which results only too often in the strangulation of their social feelings. Instead of interesting themselves in an adjustment to their fellows, they are continually preoccupied with themselves, and with the impression which they make on others. (Adler, 1927/1957, p. 65; see also Adler, 1920/1973, p. 81.) One boy retained his childish soprano and lack of body hair into his late teens. “For eight years he suffered from this failure of development. … During this entire period, he was tortured with the thought that he must always remain a child.” By the time he reached his early twenties, his physical development was entirely normal, but these organ inferiorities had shattered his confidence. He tried to gain some relief by acting supremely important, and this lack of social interest destroyed his marriage. “This error, this wrong evaluation of his inferiority, colored his entire life” (Adler, 1927/1957, p. 72). Adler attributes considerable importance to a child’s position in the family. “Above all we must rid ourselves of the superstition that the situation within the family is the same for each individual child” (Adler, 1933/1964b, p. 229; see also Adler, 1927/1957, pp. 123-129; 1931/1958, pp. 144-155; 1929/1964a, pp. 96-120; 1933/1964b, pp. 228-241; 1929/1969, pp. 12-13,90-94). The oldest child enjoys a temporary period as the unchallenged center of attention. This pleasurable position is likely to involve considerable pampering, however, and it comes to an abrupt and shocking end with the arrival of a younger sibling. Unless the parents carefully prepare the oldest child to cooperate with the newcomer, and continue to provide sufficient attention after the second child is born, this painful dethronement may well cause an inferiority complex. For this reason, first-born children are the ones most likely to become neurotics, criminals, alcoholics, and perverts (Adler, 1931/1958, pp. 144, 147-148). They also express the fragility of their childhood superiority by having frequent dreams of falling. And they are likely to be politically conservative, and follow in the footsteps of the parent’s occupation. “Oldest children … often … have the feeling that those in power should remain in power. It is only an accident that they have lost their power, and they have great admiration for it” (Adler, 1929/1969, p. 91). The middle child experiences pressure from both sides. “He behaves as if he were in a race, as if someone were a step or two in front and he had to hurry to get ahead of him” (Adler, 1931/1958, p. 148). Second-born children tend to be competitive or even revolutionary, prefer to see power change hands, and have dreams of racing. They are the ones most likely to develop favorably, however, since they never occupy the pathogenic position of pampered only child. The youngest child, confronted with the presence of several older rivals, tends to be highly ambitious. Such children often follow a unique path, as by becoming the only musician or merchant in a family of scientists (or vice versa). Although they avoid the trauma of being dethroned by a younger sibling, their position as the baby of the family makes them the most likely target of pampering. Therefore “the second largest proportion of problem children comes from among the youngest” (Adler, 1931/1958, p. 151; see also Adler, 1927/1957, pp. 123-125; 1929/1969, pp. 91-92). For example, they may turn away from the challenge of competition and resort to chronic evasions, excuses, and laziness. Only children are usually pampered, develop unrealistic expectations of always being the center of attention, and form exaggerated opinions of their own importance. They also tend to be timid and dependent, since parents who refuse to have more than one child are typically anxious or neurotic and cannot help communicating their fears to the child. The third of three boys or girls often faces a most unenviable situation, namely parents who longed to have a child of the opposite sex. And a first-born boy who is closely followed by a girl will probably suffer the embarrassment of being overtaken in maturity by his younger sister, since the girl’s physiological development proceeds at a faster rate. (See Adler, 1927/1957, p. 127; 1931/1958, pp. 149-154; 1933/1964b, pp. 230, 241; 1929/1969, pp. 92-94.) Adler emphasizes that the effect of birth order is only a tendency, not a certainty. “Individual psychology is opposed to fixed rules” (Adler, 1933/1964b, p. 233). A bright first-born child may defeat a younger one and not suffer much of a dethronement, a weak oldest child may lose the mantle of leadership to the second-born, or parents may pamper a sickly middle child even more than the youngest or oldest. A child born many years after the older sibling(s) will be treated more like an only child–or, if there are younger siblings as well, an oldest child. Individual psychology advises that the best distance between the births of siblings is approximately three years, by which time the older child has matured sufficiently to accept the parents’ preparation for an addition to the family. (See Adler, 1931/1958, pp. 149, 153; 1929/1969, p. 92.) Character Typology: The Style of Life The child responds to its feelings of inferiority, birth order, and the parents’ behaviors by developing its own style of life. (See for example Adler, 1927/1957, pp. 17, 133ff; 1931/1958, pp. 12,200; 1929/1969, pp. 38-47,83.) The style of life, which is well formed by age 4 or 5, consists of the child’s chosen life goals and the methods used to strive for them. It also includes the perceptions and memories that are shaped by these goals. A pampered child may select the goal of receiving constant attention, try to achieve this aim through sulking and temper tantrums, and perceive others as potential providers. A neglected child may choose the goal of revenge, become hostile and dominating, and cast others in the role of probable enemies. Or a child given proper care and nurturing may adopt a style of life that ultimately includes a useful and rewarding occupation, a mutually satisfying marriage, and a sincere and sympathetic concern for other people. Every style of life, and every personality, is at least somewhat unique. Adler concedes that some mention of personality types is probably unavoidable, since our language lacks sufficient precision to describe all of the subtle nuances that distinguish one human being from another. Nevertheless, “we do not consider human beings types, because every human being has an individual style of life. Just as one cannot find two leaves of a tree absolutely identical, so one cannot find two human beings absolutely alike” (Adler, 1929/1969, p. 40; see also Adler, 1933/1964b, pp. 27, 127, 148). According to Adler, there are three valuable sources of information about a person’s lifestyle: character traits, physical movements, and early recollections. Character Traits. Undesirable character traits indicate that the striving for superiority has become selfish and distorted. Some of these characteristics take an aggressive form, as with vain and arrogant individuals who try to appear more important than everyone else. “No other vice is so well designed to stunt the free development of a human being as that personal vanity which forces an individual to approach every event and every fellow with the query: ‘What do I get out of this?’ ” (Adler, 1927/1957, p. 155). Since arrogance clashes so sharply with social interest, it often takes on the more acceptable guise of keen ambition, false modesty, or a pedantic emphasis on accuracy and detail. Other aggressive character traits include jealousy, avarice, and hostility. Jealousy is often expressed by blaming other people for one’s own errors and becoming excessively critical. The avaricious individual rejects social interest and “builds a wall around himself [so as] to be secure in the possession of his wretched treasures.” Powerful hostility poisons one’s interpersonal relationships, and may well lead to a criminal style of life. These misguided forms of striving for superiority are little more than “cheap tricks by which anyone can imagine whatever he wishes to believe …. [and] whereby the personal evaluation is raised at the cost of another’s misfortune” (Adler, 1927/1957, pp. 168, 181,212; see also pp. 155-184). Some undesirable character traits are nonaggressive. Shy people seek superiority and safety by turning away from society and excluding close friendships. Some individuals try to gain pity and attention by appearing helpless and anxious, while other lifestyles are characterized by laziness and pessimism. A student who becomes extremely nervous about a forthcoming examination and refuses to prepare for it has a ready-made excuse in case of failure, and avoids the pain and disappointment of trying hard but not succeeding. (See Adler, 1927/1957, pp. 167, 185-198; 1935/1979b, 1935/1979j). A healthy style of life avoids the “cheap tricks” discussed above. It is typified by such desirable character traits as social interest, cheerfulness, optimism, sympathy, and genuine modesty (Adler, 1927/1957, pp. 199,216-217). Physical Movements. The style of life is also revealed by a person’s physical movements. For example, constantly leaning on something may reflect dependency and the need for protection. Persistent slouching, remaining a great distance from other people, avoiding eye contact, and sleeping in a fetal position may indicate cowardly tendencies. However, such tentative clues should be checked against other evidence about the individual before firm conclusions are drawn. (See Adler, 1931/1958, pp. 28, 34,41,72; 1933/1964b, p. 208; 1929/1969, pp. 35, 58-62.) Early Recollections. The best way to identify someone’s style of life is by obtaining the person’s early recollections of infancy and childhood. Even inaccurate memories provide vital information, for any distortion in our recollections is deliberately (if unconsciously) designed to serve our chosen life goals (Adler, 1931/1958, p. 74). The earliest recollection is noteworthy because it reveals the person’s fundamental view of life. One man’s first memory was that of being held in the arms of his mother, only to be deposited on the ground so she could pick up his younger brother. His adult lifestyle involved persistent fears that others would be preferred to him, including extreme and unwarranted jealousy of his fiancee. Another man, whose style of life was marked by fear and discouragement, recalled falling out of his baby carriage. A woman who developed a lifestyle that emphasized the distrust of others, and the fear of being held back by them, recalled that her parents prevented her from attending school until her younger sister was old enough to accompany her. (See Adler, 1927/1957, pp. 30-31; 1931/1958, pp. 19-22,71-92; 1929/1964a, pp. 121-127; 1929/1969, pp. 44, 48-57.) In each of these cases, Adler attributes the sufferer’s problems to the faulty goals chosen in childhood and maintained in adulthood, rather than to the childhood incidents themselves. “It is not the child’s experiences which dictate his actions; it is the conclusions which he draws from his experiences” (Adler, 1931/1958, p. 123). FURTHER APPLICATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY Dream Interpretation To Adler, dreams are merely another expression of a person’s style of life. Conscious and unconscious are united in the service of our chosen life goals, rather than in opposition (as Freud would have it), so there is no need for a special key to the unconscious. In fact, the information provided by dreams can usually be obtained just as well from early recollections, character traits, and physical movements. Adler also rejects Freud’s contention that virtually all dreams deal with sexuality and wish-fulfillment; this is true only in the case of the pampered individual. However, he does agree with lung and Freud that dream theory cannot be reduced to a handbook of procedures or symbols. Every dream is at least somewhat unique because every style of life is different, so a firsthand knowledge of the dreamer is essential for accurate interpretation. “One individual’s symbols are never the same as another’s” (Adler, 1931/1958, p. 108; see also Adler, 1927/1957, pp. 92-100; 1931/1958, pp. 93-119; 1929/1964a, pp. 162-168; 1933/1964b, pp. 242-268; 1929/1969, pp. 69-79; 1931/197ge, pp. 214-216). To Adler, virtually every dream serves the purpose of self-deception. When a person protects a misguided style of life by relegating undesirable character traits to the unconscious, dreams create an emotional state that remains present upon awakening and helps to achieve those life goals that the dreamer does not want to understand. Suppose that a student’s style oflife is highlighted by cowardice and pessimism. On the eve of an important examination, the student may dream of being chased by assailants (or fighting a difficult and losing war, or standing at the edge of a terrifying abyss). This dream enables the student to awaken with feelings of discouragement and fright, emotions that support the secret goal of delaying or avoiding the examination. The student may therefore take an unexcused absence without having to recognize the distasteful personality characteristics that underlie this behavior. (See Adler, 1931/1958, pp. 103-104, 108; 1929/1969, p. 70.) However, this line of theorizing leads Adler to the dubious conclusion that some people do not dream. Included in this category are healthy people whose lifestyle involves little need for self-deception. “Very courageous people dream rarely, for they deal adequately with their situation in the daytime. . .. [I myself] stopped dreaming as soon as [I] realized what dreaming meant” (Adler, 1929/1964a, p. 164; 1929/1969, p. 76). Much research has refuted this contention by showing that everyone does dream, and people differ only in the extent to which they forget their dreams. (See, for example, Foulkes, 1966.) Furthermore, Adler seems unable to maintain his conviction that all dreams are unique. He concludes that dreams of falling, “certainly the commonest of all,” indicate that the dreamer’s delusion of being superior to other people is in imminent danger of being shattered. Dreams of flying reflect a desire to become superior to others, and are often accompanied by warning dreams of falling. And dreams about being improperly clothed express the fear of making an embarrassing mistake (Adler, 1933/1964b, pp. 263-264). Adler does make a relevant point about the teleological nature of dreams. Since dreams prepare us for the future, it is not at all surprising (or prophetic, or “synchronistic”) if they correspond with subsequent reality. For example, the ancient Greek poet Simonides dreamed that the ghost of a dead man warned him against taking an impending sea journey. He therefore remained home and, surely enough, the ship sank in a storm and all hands were lost. Adler argues that Simonides probably did not want to make the trip, since he knew that travel by sea was quite dangerous in those days, and the dream created the emotional state that made it easier for him to follow his true (but unconscious) wishes. The actual disaster was hardly unusual, if somewhat coincidental, and indicated that Simonides’s assessment of the situation was an accurate one (Adler, 1927/1957, pp. 98-99; 1929/1969, pp. 73-74). The well-adjusted individual fulfills his or her obligations to present and future generations by successfully meeting the three major challenges of life: social interest, work, and love and marriage. (See Adler, 1931/1958, pp. 239-286; 1933/1964b, pp. 13-14,42-67, 147, 167; 1929/1969, pp. 87, 100.) However, even relatively healthy people possess some undesirable and selfish character traits. Thus Adler agrees with Freud and Jung that psychopathology represents a difference in degree, rather than in kind: The psychic anomalies, complexes, [and] mistakes which are found in nervous diseases are fundamentally not different in structure from the activity of normal individuals. The same elements, the same premises, the same movements are under consideration. The sole difference is that in the nervous patient they appear more marked, and are more easily recognized …. [Therefore,] we can learn from the abnormal cases. (Adler, 1927/1957, p.16.) Adler’s theoretical differences with psychoanalysis and analytical psychology are reflected in his approach to abnormal behavior. Freud and Jung attribute psychopathology to divisive intrapsychic conflicts, but Adler’s holistic and unified conception of personality rules out this possibility. Nor can Adler accept Freud’s idea of pathogenic fixations and regressions, since he argues that all behavior is designed to serve some future purpose. “Neurosis is a creative act, and not a reversion to infantile and atavistic forms” (Adler, 1933/1964b, p. 131; see also pp. 158, 172). Instead, Adler explains psychopathology as the result of a misguided style of life. “I should compare [the pathological individual] to a man who tries to put a horse’s collar on from the tail end. It is not a sin, but it is a mistaken method” (Adler, 1931/1958, p. 272). Origins and Characteristics of Neurosis. Neurosis originates during the first few years of life. Influenced by such factors as pampering, neglect, birth order, and organ inferiorities, the child selects a misguided style of life that clashes with reality. For example, instead of receiving constant attention, pampered children find that they are expected to be cooperative and helpful-behaviors for which they have not been prepared. This unwelcome discovery acts like an “electric shock,” intensifying the child’s pathology and resulting in the two conditions typical of all neuroses: an inferiority complex and a lack of social interest. (See Adler, 1912/1917a; 1931/1958, pp. 8,49; 1930/1963; 1933/1964b, pp. 30-31, 106-107, 162-180; 1932/1979i, p. 91.) Since the neurotic feels unable to cope with the difficulties of everyday life, he or she resorts to various “cheap tricks” for gaining superiority. These include relegating unpleasant character traits to the unconscious, evading responsibilities, attempting only the easiest of tasks, imposing unrealistic demands or expectations on other people, blaming errors or shortcomings on others, avoiding others, anxiety, or any other strategy that appears to turn the apparently inescapable inferiority into an advantage. Such people often become “virtuosos of neurosis, continually extending their repertory, … [dropping] symptoms with astonishing rapidity and [taking] on new ones without a moment’s hesitation” (Adler, 1931/1958, p. 63). Even the suffering caused by their pathology is preferable to the crushing defeat of trying but failing to achieve superiority more legitimately, and having to confront their inferiority complex. “The easy way of escape is neurosis” (Adler, 1931/1958, p. 186; see also Adler, 1927/1957, pp. 133-218; 1933/1964b, pp. 111, 164, 171-174; 1929/1969, pp. 105-106; 1936/1979d, pp. 239-247; 1936/1979f, pp. 102-105). Inferiority and Superiority Complexes. One common form of neurotic evasion is to conceal the painful inferiority complex behind a superiority complex, which involves the deluded belief of being better than other people. “It is as if a man feared that he was too small, and walked on tiptoe to make himself seem larger” (Adler, 1931/1958, p. 50; see also Adler, 1933/1964b, pp. 40,120-122,173; 1929/1969, pp. 27-37, 84,104). Alternatively, a superiority complex may be hidden by manifestations of weakness. Whereas healthy striving for superiority is reflected in socially interested abilities and achievements, the superiority complex is another cheap trick. It establishes grandiose and unreachable goals that result in eventual failure, intensifying the underlying inferiority complex and leading to still greater reliance on the pathological sense of superiority. “It is as if [the sufferer] were in a trap: the more he struggles, the worse his position becomes” (Adler, 1931/1958, p. 146; see also p. 51). Masculine Protest. Psychopathology is also caused by inequalities in society, notably those concerning men and women. In contrast to Freud, who argues that a woman’s place is in the home, Adler emphasizes her right to pursue an occupation. He criticizes men who contend that helping with the housework is beneath their dignity. He regards motherhood as perhaps the highest of all forms of social interest. And he relates many unhappy marriages and personal miseries to the myth of sexual inequality: All our institutions, our traditional attitudes, our laws, our morals, our customs, give evidence of the fact that they are determined and maintained by privileged males for the glory of male domination …. Nobody can bear a position of inferiority without anger and disgust. … That woman must be submissive is… [a] superstition …. (Adler, 1927/1957, pp. 104, 202-203; 1931/1958, p. 267. See also Adler, 1927/1957, pp. 111-122; 1931/1958, pp. 122,241; 1929/1969, pp. 66–68.) When a girl perceives that men are favored, she may develop the form of superiority complex known as the masculine protest. This may include dressing like a boy, insisting on being called by a boy’s name, or turning away from heterosexual relationships and marriage. Or a boy may dress and behave like a girl because he doubts his ability to fulfill his supposedly superior role, thus also falling victim to society’s irrational stereotype of males. (See Adler, 1931/1958, pp. 191-192,276; 1929/1964a, pp. 41–45; 1929/1969, p. 68.) Adler strongly condemns all varieties of social prejudice. He wams that serious inequalities can lead not only to inferiority complexes and psychopathology, but also to such disastrous attempts at compensation as war and revolution. Varieties of Psychopathology. Although Adler draws some distinctions among the various kinds of psychopathology, he views them all in much the same way: as serious errors in living, designed to achieve an easy and distorted form of superiority. For example, paranoid behavior helps to preserve a superiority complex by blaming errors and defeats on other people. Depression is an attempt to dominate others by requiring frequent assistance and attention. Suicide is an act of anger and revenge by a pampered individual who expects too much of life, and is therefore easily disappointed. Compulsions may also express hostility, as when an unhappily married woman greatly annoyed her husband by spending entire days washing her home. Phobias may serve to control other people, as with a woman whose fear of leaving home by herself required her errant husband to remain by her side. Alcoholism provides a convenient excuse for not trying to achieve superiority in socially interested ways. Homosexuality represents the masculine protest of a fearful individual who was not properly prepared for heterosexuality during childhood, rather than an innate biological condition. Finally, as we have seen, such psychosomatic symptoms as headaches may support a pampered style of life. (See Adler, 1927/1957, pp. 55, 115-119; 1931/1958, pp. 53, 90,274-275; 1933/1964b, p. 186; 1929/1969, pp. 47, 117-118; 1920/1973, pp. 51-58, 184-207,255-260; 1931/1979c.) Adler is unique among the early personality theorists in devoting considerable attention to the problem of criminality. He regards the criminal as a coward hiding behind a weapon, thereby gaining the only triumph that the underlying inferiority complex will allow. There are no “born criminals,” but only individuals who have developed a superiority complex so lacking in social interest that they have little or no concern about the consequences of their behavior. “Crime is [another] one of the easy escapes before the problems of life, and especially before the problem of economics and livelihood …. Crime is a coward’s imitation of heroism” (Adler, 1931/1958, pp. 185, 205; see also Adler, 1931/1958, pp. 197-238; 1933/1964b, pp. 136–140; 1929/1969, pp. 8-9, 37,107). Adler strongly opposes the use of corporal punishment, arguing that this only increases the criminal’s feelings of resentment and bravery. Unlike Freud, who preferred not to have criminals as patients, Adler accepted them and achieved some significant successes. Adler attempts to explain psychosis in much the same way as neurosis. However, his interpretation of psychosis as a more severe expression of inferiority and discouragement is generally regarded as a serious oversimplification. (See for example Arieti, 1974; Fromm-Reichmann, 1950; Searles, 1965; Sullivan, 1962/1974.) Psychotherapy Theoretical Foundation. The goal of Adlerian psychotherapy is to promote a new and more socially interested style of life. For this to happen, the painful inferiority complex that underlies the patient’s selfish and cowardly mode of striving for superiority must be brought to light. “The important thing is to decrease the patient’s feeling of inferiority …. The method of individual psychology-we have no hesitation in confessing it-begins and ends with the problem of inferiority” (Adler, 1929/1969, pp. 45,131). The all-important inferiority complex is unearthed by examining the patient’s misguided life goals, and the childhood factors that influenced their selection. The patient then makes an important and encouraging discovery: His or her problems result from a deficiency in training and social interest that can be overcome with effort, rather than from an innate lack of ability. The therapist facilitates this reeducation by serving as a model of healthy behavior, and by providing a ready target for the patient’s fledgling attempts at cooperation. Therapeutic Procedures. A healthy style of life cannot be imposed by coercion, punishment, criticism, or authoritarian displays of omniscience by the therapist, for such tactics are all too likely to reinforce the patient’s exaggerated sense of inferiority. Instead, individual psychology attempts to awaken the patient’s latent social interest through encouragement and equality. Therapist and patient sit face to face, in chairs of similar size and style. The therapist takes appropriate opportunities to be informal and good-humored, whereas the patient is free to get up and move around the consultation room. Except for the early stages, the patient attends therapy only once or twice per week. And Adlerian therapy rarely lasts more than a single year, with every correctly handled case expected to show at least partial improvement by the third month of treatment. (See Adler, 1929/1 964a, pp. 73, 88; 1933/1964b, pp. 286-298; Ellenberger, 1970, p. 620.) Like Freud and lung, Adler is not overly fond of hypnosis. (See Adler, 1929/1969, p. 79.) His techniques for unveiling a disordered lifestyle include an analysis of the patient’s dreams, early recollections, and body movements, as well as key questions and verbal ploys. Often he would ask a patient: “If you did not have this ailment, what would you do?” The answer usually pointed to the life task that the patient feared, such as getting married (or divorced), making more friends, becoming more aggressive, finding a job, and so forth. Adlerian therapy consists of three stages. The first task of the therapist is to establish rapport and gain an understanding of the patient’s problems and style of life, which may take from 1 day to 2 weeks. Early recollections, dream interpretation, and “The Question” playa prominent role during this period. In the second stage of treatment, the therapist gently and gradually helps the patient become aware of his or her pathogenic lifestyle, secret goals, and inferiority complex. Here the therapist must proceed fairly slowly, for the patient is actually (albeit unconsciously) much more afraid of being proved worthless than of remaining ill. The third and final stage occurs if and when the patient decides to expend considerable effort and adopt a new and more cooperative lifestyle, with the therapist providing both emotional support and appropriate factual information. (See Adler, 1929/1964a, p. 73; 1933/1964b, pp. 165-166; Ellenberger, 1970, pp. 620-621.) In any of these stages, the therapist may use carefully chosen strategies. Adler might tell a patient, “You can be cured in two weeks if you follow this prescription, but it is difficult and I do not know if you can.” At this point he would look doubtfully at the patient, whose curiosity and attention were thereby ensured. Then he would add, “Try to think every day how you can please someone.” If the patient objected that this task was impossible, or that others were not worth pleasing, Adler would respond with his “strongest move in the game” by saying: “Then you will need four weeks …. Perhaps you had better train yourself a little thus: Do not actually do anything to please someone else, but just think out how you could do it.” If this also proved to be too difficult, Adler would suggest that at least the patient could please him by paying particular attention to dreams or early recollections and reporting them at the next session. (See Adler, 1931/1958, pp. 256-260; 1929/1964a, pp. 8, 25-26.) Adler developed therapeutic techniques for use with children, including treating them in the natural setting of the home and seeing the parents during part of each session, and he is credited as one of the originators of family and group psychotherapy. However, he stresses that prevention (in the form of proper parenting and training of children) is far easier and less costly than having to cure psychopathology. Mosak & Dreikurs, 1973, p. 37.) (See Adler, 1933/1964b, pp. 153, 299-304; Resistance and Transference. Adler rejects Freud’s approach to resistance and transference. Patients do resist and frustrate the therapist; but this reflects their inability to cooperate and lack of courage to change, and/or is a protest against the therapist’s threatening aura of superiority. Adler regards transference as the result of a therapeutic error that triggers a pampered individual’s wishes for excessive love and attention. He even concludes that transference should not occur in properly conducted Adlerian therapy, a contention that appears rather dubious in view of the established tendency to generalize behavior from one authority figure (such as a parent) to another (such as a therapist or teacher). (See Adler, 1931/1958, p.72; 1933/1964b, pp. 288-290; 1920/1973, pp. 46, 144-152.) Ideally, the patient in Adlerian therapy leams that he or she is not inferior and has the ability to overcome important problems through appropriate effort. The patient therefore abandons the selfish (and self-defeating) strivings for a cheap and easy superiority, develops a more socially interested style of life, and achieves through courage and cooperation those rewards that the real world can provide. Adler expressed keen interest in the sociological and psychological aspects of work, and was a strong advocate of humane working conditions and protective labor legislation. He recommends that the choice of vocation should be consistent with one’s style oflife and early recollections. For example, a patient’s first memory was watching through a window while others worked. This man ultimately found satisfaction as an art dealer, a career that enabled him to continue the desired role of onlooker in a socially interested way. Similarly, the earliest recollection of many doctors is a death in the family. (See Adler, 1931/1958, pp. 79, 85-86; 1929/1969, p. 52.) To Adler, the inability to select a future occupation during childhood and adolescence indicates the existence of an underlying inferiority complex. Therefore, all schoolchildren should be required to write compositions on “what I want to be later in life” to make them confront this important issue (Adler, 1931/1958, pp. 239-251; 1929/1969, pp. 100-101, 121). Adler regards “loving thy neighbor” and preferring giving to receiving as desirable expressions of social interest, and he characterizes Freud’s cynical rejection of these precepts as the selfishness of the pampered individual. But he stops well short of embracing lung’s belief in an innate religious need, and emphasizes the practical reasons for cooperating with other human beings. The primary purpose of religion is to increase social interest, God symbolizes the goal of self-perfection to which we all aspire, and reincarnation symbolizes the belief that one can change a disordered lifestyle to a healthy one. Adler does regard the Bible as a wonderful work, but he warns that teaching its contents to children may lead to fanciful and misguided strivings for superiority. For example, a psychotic may misuse religion by developing a superiority complex that involves hearing the voice of God. Or a neurotic may choose to evade the difficulties of present-day living by concentrating on an existence in the hereafter. (See Adler, 1927/1957, pp. 81, 169, 172-174, 187,207-208; 1931/1958, pp. 60-61, 253; 1933/1979g, p. 33; 1933/1979h.) Adler devotes considerable attention to the effect of education on personality development. School provides the acid test of a child’s readiness for social living, and offers perhaps the only possibility for correcting whatever parental errors may have occurred. “The school is the prolonged arm of the family …. It would be our hope, if all the teachers could be [well] trained, that psychologists would become unnecessary” (Adler, 1931/1958, pp. 156, 180; see also Adler, 1927/1957, p. 222). Unfortunately, few educators know how to help each child’s personality develop along proper lines. And classes are often far too large, making it difficult for even a skilled teacher to do much more than merely impart the prescribed curriculum. Adler sees the educator as facing the difficult and challenging task of preparing the child for cooperation, and inculcating the social ideals that enable civilization to continue. “The true purpose of a school is to build character… [and] the principal aim of education is social adjustment” (Adler, 1929/1969, pp. 82,103). The role of heredity in personality development must be minimized by the teacher, lest the child evade responsibility (and the educator excuse poor teaching) by blaming failures on genetic factors. “It may ease [the teacher's] position if he can say to a child, ‘You have no gift for mathematics,’ but it can do nothing but discourage the child” (Adler, 1931/1958, p. 170). The importance of individual ambition and competition must also be downplayed, so as to further the development of social interest. To Adler, coeducation is an excellent way to prepare the child for cooperation between the sexes. However, special classes for “slow” children should be avoided because they are all too likely to produce discouragement and inferiority complexes. “Where there are brilliant children in a class, the progress of the whole class can be accelerated and heightened; and it is unfair to the other members to deprive them of such a stimulus” (Adler, 1931/1958, p. 171). As always, Adler regards encouragement as far superior to punishment and threats. And teachers must serve as models of social interest, treat their pupils with respect, and genuinely wish to contribute to the welfare of humankind. (See Adler, 1927/1957, pp. 31, 122, 137; 1931/1958, pp. 59, 156-181; 1933/1964,’p. 55; 1929/1969, pp. 80-94.) Oversimplification. Parsimony is an appealing attribute of any theory, and Adler’s practical prescriptions for living offer a refreshing contrast to Jung’s abstruse metaphysics. However, it would seem that individual psychology seriously underestimates the complexity of human behavior. Adler’s holistic model rejects the possibility of troublesome intrapsychic conflicts, which many other theorists (including Freud, Jung, and Homey) regard as extremely important. Furthermore, Adler’s emphasis on our consciously chosen goals leads to a conception of anxiety that is at best a partial truth and at worst astonishingly naive. Anxiety often involves intense suffering, and it is hardly likely that this emotional turmoil is merely a manipulative attempt to gain the attention of other people. Psychoanalysts would argue that even if a patient consciously selects new life goals and works diligently to achieve them, these efforts may be undermined by powerful opposing unconscious forces that have not been sufficiently analyzed. Adler frequently implies that the choice of a disordered lifestyle is triggered by one or two key incidents in childhood, such as the birth of a sibling or an organ inferiority. To many psychologists, however, the causes of psychopathology are often more complicated and overdetermined. Adler’s claim that transference does not occur in properly conducted psychotherapy is also dubious. And his conclusions that heredity does not influence personality, that healthy people do not dream, and that psychosis is simply a more severe version of neurotic discouragement must be regarded as major errors. Overemphasis on Social Factors. Adler defines personality wholly in terms of interpersonal relationships. Social psychology is an important discipline, but it represents only one facet of modem psychology. Most current theorists agree that personality exists, and can be studied, in isolation from other human beings. Overemphasis on Inferiority. Yet another source of controversy concerns Adler’s contention that every neurotic, criminal, and psychotic suffers from an inferiority complex. Exaggerated feelings of powerlessness do play an important role in many disorders, but it is questionable whether the myriad varieties of psychopathology can be explained in similar terms. Adler even detects an underlying inferiority complex from such behaviors as sleeping in a curved position and craving strong black coffee, suggesting that “inferiority” is to individual psychology as “sexuality” is to psychoanalysis-a construct so pervasive as to be in danger of losing its explanatory power. Excessive Optimism. Whereas Freudian theory has been taken to task for being overly pessimistic, individual psychology may well err toward the opposite extreme. If human beings do not have any inherent destructive or illicit traits, and do possess the innate potential for social interest, how can we explain the occurrence of so many wars, murders, crimes, and other humanmade disasters? The psychological and sociological influences on growing children would have to be virulent indeed to bring about so much camage. For this reason, the less sanguine views of Freud or Jung impress some observers as more consistent with the evidence of recorded history. Other Criticisms. Adler’s work (like that of Freud and Jung) reflects a total lack of statistical analysis, with all of his conclusions justified by his own subjective observations. Nor does he establish any quantitative guidelines for distinguishing between substantial but healthy parental love and pampering, or between minimal but sufficient nurturing and neglect. In addition, Adler fails to maintain his professed belief in the uniqueness of every human personality. He makes frequent mention of character traits, types of dreams, and other similarities among human beings, and he implies that pampered (or neglected) children have lifestyles that include many common factors. Like Freud, Adler is vulnerable to criticism by those theorists who believe that personality continues to develop after the fifth or sixth year of life. Although modem psychologists have often failed to give Adler sufficient credit, he himself seems to overlook his significant agreements with Jung. Self-realization, teleology, pathology as a sick system of social relationships, and the idea that people establish much of the meaning of their own lives are all prominent in analytical psychology as well, yet there is almost no reference to Jung in Adler’s writings. Finally, although Adler’s literary style is clear and understandable, it is also extremely repetitious. Many of his books consist of unedited lectures, and suffer from an irritating verbosity and lack of organization. Empirical Research A considerable amount ofresearch has been devoted to the effects of birth order on various personality and behavioral variables. These variables range from fundamental concerns like success in school and work, peer relationships, dependency, self-confidence, and competitiveness to more singular issues like hypnotizability and handedness. The results suggest that there is a Interest: A Challenge to Mankind (1933/1964b). Among the useful secondary sources are those by Bottome (1957), Ellenberger (1970), Furtmtiller (1946/1979), Manaster and Corsini (1982), and Orgler (1963/1972). 1. THE BASIC NATURE OF HUMAN BEINGS. Social Interest: Every human being has the innate potential to relate to and cooperate with other people. Social interest establishes the guidelines for proper personality development, and enables us to tame the superior forces of nature through cooperation. It is only a tendency, however, and it is all too possible to reject our inherent social interest and become pathologically self-centered. According to Adler, heredity exerts virtually no influence on personality. Life Goals and Teleology: We select our own life goals and the means of achieving them, usually by the fifth year of life. It is these future aspirations, rather than prior causes, that determine one’s personality. Feelings of Inferiority and the Striving for Superiority: The primary goal underlying all human behavior is that of striving for superiority (or self-perfection), which is motivated by the child’s feelings of inferiority relative to the formidable environment. Healthy strivings for superiority are guided by social interest, whereas pathological strivings are characterized by selfishness and a lack of concern for others. Everyone grows up with at least some feelings of inferiority, which may stimulate socially interested forms of compensation. If the child is exposed to pathogenic conditions, however, the feelings of helplessness may become overwhelming and result in a shattering inferiority complex. 2. THE STRUCTURE OF PERSONALITY. Adler’s holistic theory treats personality as an indivisible unity, and he makes no assumptions about its structure. He does accept the existence of some sort of unconscious, which includes those unpleasant character traits that we do not wish to understand. But he views conscious and unconscious as united in the service of the individual’s chosen life goals, rather than as engaged in conflict. 3. THE DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONALITY. The mother serves as the child’s bridge to social life, and proper maternal contact is responsible for the child’s development of social interest. The father’s role is to encourage feelings of self-reliance, and to stress the need for choosing an appropriate occupation. Pathogenic Developmental Factors: Personality development is strongly influenced by such potentially pathogenic factors as pampering, neglect, and organ inferiorities. It is not so much the child’s experiences that determine personality, however, but rather the conclusions drawn from them. Birth Order: The child’s position in the family influences personality development. The Style of Life: The child responds to the various developmental factors by choosing its life goals and the means of achieving them. These goals and methods, and the corresponding perceptions and memories, are known as the style of life. Every lifestyle is unique and is reflected by a person’s character traits, physical movements, and early recollections. 4. FURTHER APPLICATIONS. Dream Interpretation: Dreams are merely another expression of an individual’s style of life. They create a self-deceptive emotional state that remains present upon awakening and furthers the chosen life goals. Psychopathology: Psychopathology always involves an underlying inferiority complex and a lack of social interest. Common symptoms include the superiority complex and masculine protest. Neurosis originates in childhood, when the various pathogenic factors lead to the selection of a misguided style of life. Psychotherapy: The goal of Adlerian psychotherapy is to facilitate the development of a new and more socially interested style of life. To this end, the painful inferiority complex that underlies the patient’s selfish and distorted mode of striving for superiority must be brought to light. The therapist is encouraging rather than stem or omniscient, and strives to appear as an equal. Other Applications: Adler expressed a keen interest in work and education. 5. EVALUATION. Individual psychology has been criticized for presenting an oversimplified picture of human behavior, placing too much emphasis on social factors and inferiority feelings, expressing an inordinate optimism about human nature, and relying on an unscientific methodology. On the other hand, many of Adler’s ideas have been incorporated into the theories of modem psychologists. He is credited with calling attention to the social determinants of personality, originating the well-known terms inferiority complex and lifestyle, championing the equality of the sexes, emphasizing the role of self-selected goals on personality development, helping to originate group and family therapy, and furthering our understanding of criminality and childrearing. 1. How might Adler’s personality and life experiences have influenced his belief that: (a) conscious and unconscious act together to serve a person’s chosen goals, and personality is not tom by painful inner conflicts? (b) introspectiveness is one of the characteristics with which the “weakling” seeks to defend himself? (c) inherited instincts are a “superstition” and have no effect on personality? (d) unhealthy character traits (such as arrogance and shyness) and anxiety are “cheap tricks” for avoiding life’s difficulties, whereas neurosis is also an “easy way of escape?” 2. Do you agree or disagree with each of Adler’s ideas in the preceding question? Why? 3. Adler argues that social interest should establish the guidelines for proper personality development, rather than a superego. (a) Is this idea likely to be readily accepted in this country? (b) Give a real-life example of a person, or group of people, whose striving for superiority is lacking in social interest and harmful to society. 4. Give an example from real life, or from a well-known novel, to show how “fictions” can strongly influence behavior. 5. “Timidity, introspectiveness, [and] distrust [are] characteristics and traits with which the weakling seeks to defend himself.” (a) Why does a person become what Adler calls a “weakling?” (b) What positive reasons might Adler have had for using a derogatory term like “weakling?” (c) How do traits such as timidity and distrust enable a person to defend himself or herself, and from what? 6. Give an example from your own life, from the life of someone you know well, or from fiction to illustrate: (a) how pampering leads to a painful inferiority complex, (b) how neglect leads to a painful inferiority complex, (c) how an inferiority complex may be concealed beneath a superiority complex, (d) how an organ inferiority can lead to a painful inferiority complex, (e) a person who rejects social interest by “[building] a wall around himself [so as] to be secure in the possession of his wretched treasures,” (f) a healthy style of life. 7. What is the difference between praising or blaming a child’s success or failure and blaming the personality of the child? Illustrate with an example. 8. Based on your own life, do you agree with Adler’s conclusions regarding birth order? Why or why not? 9. What unconscious wish of Adler’s own might have been fulfilled by his belief that he “stopped dreaming as soon as [I] realized what dreaming meant?” 10. How would Adler interpret the following dreams? (a) The “train” dream described in Chapter 2, study question 12. (b) A young man dreams that he is flying in a jet plane. Suddenly the plane goes into a steep descent and seems about to crash. He is afraid, but wakes up before it hits the ground. 11. Give two examples to illustrate views of Adler that were more equalitarian than the corresponding views of Freud. 12. Adler argues that brilliant children should be placed in regular school classes, and not in gifted classes, so they can accelerate the progress of less capable students. (a) What personal reasons might Adler have had for such a belief? (b) Do you agree? Why or why not? 13. A terrorist blows up a building in a hated foreign country. How might Adler explain this behavior? 14. The chief executive officer of a major corporation lies to his coworkers and the public, thereby defrauding them of a great deal of money while making millions for himself. How might Adler explain this behavior? Part II. Comments and Suggestions 1. Consider Adler’s painful parting with Freud and desire to develop his own theory. Recall that Freud emphasized the importance of instinctual drives, the unconscious, and intrapsychic conflicts, and was himself introspective (e.g., his self-analysis). Note that “cheap tricks” and “easy way of escape” imply that unhealthy character traits and neurosis are largely within our conscious control. 2. (a) I disagree. Both my own experience and a substantial amount of clinical evidence indicate that intrapsychic conflicts are extremely important. See section 2 and the last paragraph of section 3 of the case material in the Appendix. (b) I disagree. Freud, Jung, and even Adler himself agree that it is essential and difficult to truly know ourselves, and self-knowledge cannot be obtained without introspection. (c) Idisagree. Although the “nature-nurture” controversy is far from easy to resolve, a substantial amount of research indicates that heredity has a significant effect on personality development. (d) Idisagree. Severe anxiety is far too painful to be only a conscious “trick” for gaining sympathy and attention, although this may be one of the secondary gains. Nor is there anything “easy” about a severe neurosis. Consider that Freud found his own anxiety and neurosis to be so painful that he was driven to devise appropriate methods of treatment. 3. (a) Which is more common in our society: people who stress charity and caring for others, or people who are individualistic and highly competitive (as with the well-known sentiment, “winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing”)? (b) Consider the recent Enron scandal. 4. A fictional example of fictions: there are many instances in James Clavell’s Shogun where a belief in some sort of reincarnation influences the behavior of samurai warriors, notably their willingness to “die gloriously” in this life. A real-life parallel is that of kamikaze pilots during World War II. Of course, social pressures as well as fictions are involved in both examples. Some samurai or kamikaze pilots might well have doubted the desirability (let alone the glory) of dying for their liege lord or country, but feared the reaction of their leaders and peers. 5. (a) Consider the effects of pampering, neglect, and organ inferiorities, and the resulting life goals chosen by the individual. (b) Weakness can be overcome by building up one’s strength, as through appropriate training or learning. Conversely, attributing one’s problems to inherited influences may make them seem much more difficult or even insuperable. (c) Consider the behaviors that the person avoids because of these traits. How might it be more comforting not to try these beJIaviors, rather than to try and fail? 6. (a) See section 3 of the case material in the Appendix. (b) and (c) One of my favorite fictional examples, albeit not one that is well known, is that of Clark Fries in Robert Heinlein’s Podkayne of Mars. Clark is a precocious, unemotional, and highly intelligent ll-year-old who has been neglected by parents busy following their careers. He develops a style of life characterized by a distrust of other people and constant attempts to demonstrate his superiority, which are usually successful. For example, when a woman passenger on a spaceship acts snobbish and sarcastic toward his family, he soaks her washcloth in an undetectable chemical that causes her face to turn bright red for a few days, forcing her to confine herself to her quarters. He grudgingly tolerates his sister, a likable and apparently normal teenager, and takes pleasure in writing critical comments in her diary in invisible ink. Only at the end of the book is there a hint that Clark may some day be able to break through to his feelings and learn to care for other people. (d) See section 4 of the case material in the Appendix. (e) Two fictional examples: Ebenezer Scrooge, for obvious reasons; and Gail Wynand in Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead, who detests common people because they are so fallible and keeps a secret cellar containing precious works of art that only he can enjoy. (f) At the risk of sounding cynical, I don’t know of many such examples. I hope you do. 7. I once heard a mother (not someone I knew) bawl out a child of about age 5 with words like the following: “What’s wrong with you? Nobody good would do something like that! You’ll never amount to anything! You’re stupid!” Incidents like this are usually not isolated ones; they represent typical patterns of behavior between parent and child. As Adler points out, such attacks on the child’s personality can have extremely harmful consequences, including profound resentment and the development of an inferiority complex. Like any parent, I sometimes overreact to my daughter’s misbehaviors, but I am careful to criticize her actions and not her personality. I might say: “Don’t make so much noise! That’s not a good thing to do when mommy is trying to rest.” 8. I agree that only children tend to be pampered, expect to be the center of attention, and exaggerate their own importance. But I doubt that accurate predictions about a person’s behavior can be made solely from his or her birth order, even though there are some books that claim to be able to do so. 9. Consider Adler’s painful parting with Freud, the great emphasis placed by Freud on dreams, and the purpose of the dream of the lawyer who had once been a classmate of Freud’s (see the section on dream interpretation in Chapter 2). 10. (a) What emotions might result on awakening from this dream, and how might these emotions influence the dreamer’s behavior? (b) What warning might this dream convey about the dreamer’s personality? 11. Consider Adler’s views about women and his therapeutic procedures. 12. (a) Recall that Adler was not a particularly good student, whereas Freud was. (b) If our society needs more capable people, should we risk slowing the progress of gifted children by placing them in regular classes, where the teacher must proceed in ways that will meet the needs of the majority of students? Or should the needs of slower learners matter just as much as the needs of gifted children? 13. Would Adler attribute the terrorist’s behavior to a dark side of personality winning an intrapsychic conflict with more positive components? Why not? Why might the terrorist have developed an inferiority complex and be lacking in social interest? Why might Adler argue that the terrorist was neglected during childhood? Why might Adler regard blowing up buildings as a “cheap trick” for gaining superiority? (Which is more difficult: to blow something up, or to find solutions to important but difficult problems that will benefit everyone?) What fictions might be influencing the terrorist’s behavior? How might Adler’s warning about the dangers of social inequalities, and his statement that “nobody can bear a position of inferiority without anger and disgust,” apply to the terrorist? 14. Would Adler attribute the executive’s behavior to a dark side of personality winning an intrapsychic conflict with more positive components? Why not? Why might the executive have developed an inferiority complex and be lacking in social interest? Why might Adler regard the executive’s behavior as a “cheap trick” for gaining superiority? These explanations are the same as in question 13; what might this imply about Adler’s theory? For Karen Horney, as for Jung and Adler, scientific debate involved some painful moments of professional rejection. Horney’s time of trial occurred in 1941, when it became apparent that her approach to psychoanalysis deviated significantly from the traditional Freudian concepts being taught at the New York Psychoanalytic Institute. A vociferous staff meeting ensued, culminating in a vote tantamount with her head held high-and to her dismissal. (See Rubins, 1978, pp. 239-240.) In the dead silence of an unforgettably dramatic moment, she arose and slowly walked out went on to establish her own important theory, one that combines an Adlerian emphasis on social factors and an optimistic view of human nature with the intrapsychic conflict model that Adler specifically rejected. • To devise a theory that retains Freud’s emphasis on the unconscious but stresses the social determinants of personality, notably the child’s relationship with the parents, rather than instincts. • To dispense with Freud’s controversial (and unmeasurable) construct of libido. • To correct Freud’s pessimistic view of human nature by arguing that our inner potentials are entirely healthy. • To show that Adler was wrong about personality being a unified whole and Freud was right: Personality often becomes a house divided against itself, torn by conflicting wishes and goals. • To explain such intrapsychic conflicts without dividing personality into separate parts like id, ego, and superego. • To show that psychopathology involves the compulsive need to be protected, to dominate others, or to be alone (”neurotic solutions”), severe intrapsychic conflicts, and intense anxiety and self-hate. • To explain why the neurotic isn’t satisfied with even significant achievements and compulsively strives for more. • To correct Freud’s errors about female sexuality. Karen Danielsen Horney was born in a small village (Blankenese) near Hamburg, Germany, on September 16, 1885. Her father was a tall, dashing sea captain whose male chauvinistic views frequently clashed with those of her proud, intelligent, and beautiful mother. Her family also included an older brother, several stepsisters and stepbrothers from her father’s two other marriages, and a warm and loving stepgrandmother. (See Kelman, 1967; Rubins, 1978.) Karen was an excellent student throughout her academic career, and received her medical doctorate degree from the University of Berlin in 1915. She underwent psychoanalytic training, joined the Berlin Psychoanalytic Institute in 1918, and began her own private practice one year later. However, she ultimately split with Freudian circles over the issue of female sexuality. Karen married Oskar Horney, a businessman, on October 31, 1909. The union produced three daughters; but a near-fatal bout with meningitis and the runaway postwar inflation in Germany left the formerly successful Oskar bankrupt and withdrawn. The Horneys separated during the 1920s, and were formally divorced in 1939. Like Freud, Horney has been described as complicated and multifaceted: strong and weak, empathic and aloof, motherly and uncaring, dominating and self-effacing, fair and petty. She was a private person who confided primarily in a diary until her early twenties, kept much of herself hidden from public view, and formed few intimate relationships. Yet she also possessed an evident charisma, capable of captivating individuals and large audiences alike. Interestingly, Horney’s own behavior included all three of the neurotic solutions that form the cornerstone of her theory: the need to merge with another person and surrender to a passionate relationship with a man (moving toward people), the need to control such wishes so that she could remain independent and have power over herself and others (moving against people), and occasional desires to resign from the world during difficult periods in her life by becoming listless and aloof (moving away from people). (See McAdams, 1993, pp. 211-221; Quinn, 1988; Rubins, 1978, pp. xii-xiv, 1-4,239,302,338.) Homey emigrated from Berlin to Chicago in 1932, and joined the New York Psychoanalytic Institute in 1934. However, the differences between her theoretical views and those of orthodox psychoanalysis soon led to acrimonious disputes. Her students’ final theses were summarily rejected by the institute because they did not conform sufficiently to standard doctrine, and she suffered the aforementioned fate of being formally disqualified as an instructor and training analyst in 1941. Homey thereupon resigned from the New York Psychoanalytic Society and founded her own American Institute for Psychoanalysis, whose members for a time included Fromm and Sullivan. (They, too, ultimately resigned to pursue their own theoretical predilections.) From then on her writings (in all, six books) were destined to be stubbornly ignored by strict Freudians, while gaining widespread recognition and acclaim elsewhere. Karen Homey died in New York of cancer on December 4, 1952. Homey (pronounced “horn-eye”) agrees with Adler that our inherent nature is constructive. We strive to develop our healthy potentialities, and pathological behavior occurs only if this innate force toward positive growth (self-realization) is blocked by external, social forces: Freud’s pessimism as regards neuroses and their treatment arose from the depths of his disbelief in human goodness and human growth. Man, he postulated, is doomed to suffer or to destroy. The instincts which drive him can only be controlled, or at best “sublimated.” My own belief is that man has the capacity as well as the desire to develop his potentialities and become a decent human being, and that these deteriorate if his relationship to others and hence to himself is, and continues to be, disturbed. (Homey, 1945, p. 19. See also Homey, 1942, p. 175.) THE STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONALITY Homey shares Freud’s views about the importance of unconscious processes, including powerful and actively maintained repressions. Thus she emphatically rejects Adler’s holistic approach. “[Neurotics are] tom by inner conflicts …. Every neurotic … is at war with himself’ (Homey, 1945, p. 11; 1950, p. 112; see also Homey, 1939, pp. 20-22; 1945, p. 56). However, Homey has little to say about the structure and development of personality. “I do not consider it feasible to localize neurotic conflicts in a schematic way, as Freud does” (Homey, 1939, p. 191). She prefers to devote the majority of her writings to three major applications: neurosis, psychotherapy, and female sexuality. Homey agrees with Freud, Jung, and Adler that neurosis differs from more normal behavior in degree, rather than in kind. Life is difficult, and all of us experience conflicts at one time or another. However, there are striking differences between healthy conflicts and neurotic conflicts. Healthy conflicts may be entirely conscious and can usually be resolved, as when you must choose between going to a party and studying for the next day’s exam. Neurotic conflicts are considerably more severe, involve a dilemma that appears to be insoluble, and are always deeply repressed, so that “only slight bubbles of the battle raging within reach the surface” (Homey, 1945, p. 30; see also Homey, 1945, p. 27; 1950, p. 37). Basic Anxiety. Homey argues that neurosis results from disturbed interpersonal relationships during childhood, rather than from some instinctual or libidinal drive. The parents may behave in such pathogenic ways as domination, overprotectiveness, overindulgence, humiliation, perfectionism, hypocrisy, inconsistency, partiality to other siblings, blind adoration, or neglect: [These errors] all boil down to the fact that the people in the environment are too wrapped up in their own neuroses to be able to love the child, or even to conceive of him as the particular individual he is; their attitudes toward him are determined by their own neurotic needs and responses …. As a result, the child does not develop a feeling of belonging, of “we,” but instead a profound insecurity and vague apprehensiveness, for which I use the term basic anxiety. (Homey, 1950, p. 18; see also Homey, 1945, p. 41; 1950, pp. 202, 221-222, 275.) This feeling of being alone in an unfriendly and frightening world (basic anxiety) prevents the child from relating to people in a normal way. “His first attempts to relate himself to others are determined not by his real feelings, but by strategic necessities. He cannot simply like or dislike, trust or distrust, express his wishes or protest against those of others, but [must] devise ways to cope with people and to manipulate them with minimum damage to himself’ (Homey, 1945, p. 219). To alleviate the painful feelings of anxiety, the child abandons the healthy drive for selfrealization in favor of an all-out quest for safety. The child seeks safety by exaggerating one of the three main characteristics of basic anxiety: helplessness, aggressiveness, or detachment. The neurotic solution of helplessness is denoted by excessive desires for protection (moving toward people), the aggressive orientation leads to attempts at domination and mastery (moving against people), and the detached solution emphasizes the avoidance of others (moving away from people). Each of these three neurotic solutions is compulsive and inflexible. Unlike the healthy individual, who can move toward, against, or away from people as circumstances dictate, the neurotic rarely deviates from the chosen orientation. At times, however, exceptions do occur. The two orientations that are consciously underemphasized remain powerful in the unconscious, and they occasionally break through to influence overt behavior. Moving Toward People. The neurotic who moves toward people tries to reduce anxiety and gain safety by being cared for and protected. The sufferer acts as though others “must love me, protect me, forgive me, not desert me because I am so weak and helpless.” This feeling of “poor little me” is rather like “Cinderella bereft of her fairy godmother” (Homey, 1945, p. 53; see also Homey, 1945, pp. 48-62; 1950, pp. 214-258). Such individuals consciously believe that they are sincerely interested in other people and want to be helpful and compliant. They are unaware that they are repressing powerful hostility, selfishness, and healthy self-assertiveness. “Where [this] patient errs is in claiming that all his frantic beating about for affection and approval is genuine, while in reality the genuine portion is heavily ov~rshadowed by his insatiable urge to feel safe …. [The patient who moves toward people has strongly repressed a] callous lack of interest in others, attitudes of defiance, … [the desire] to control and manipulate others, [and] relentless needs to excel or to enjoy vindictive triumphs” (Horney, 1945, pp. 51, 55). Moving Against People. The neurotic who moves against people regards life as a Darwinian jungle where only the fittest survive, and tries to reduce anxiety and gain safety through mastery and domination. Like the neglected child in Adlerian theory, the sufferer regards most people as potential enemies. “Any situation or relationship is looked at from the standpoint of ‘what can I get out of it?’ … To [this individual] ruthlessness is strength, [a] lack of consideration for others [is] honesty, and a callous pursuit of one’s own ends [is] realism” (Horney, 1945, pp. 65, 68; see also Horney, 1945, pp. 63-72; 1950, pp. 187-213). Such individuals consciously believe that they are strong and dominating. They are unaware that they are repressing powerful feelings of helplessness and a healthy need for love, and they may behave sadistically toward those who are weak because this serves as an unpleasant reminder of what they most dislike about themselves. Horney (1945, pp. 115-130) refers to this as the externalization of unconscious material, a construct that is similar to Freudian and Jungian projection (and one that occurs in all forms of neurosis). Moving Away From People. The neurotic who moves away from people tries to reduce anxiety and gain safety by avoiding contact with others. “He is like a person in a hotel room who rarely removes the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign from his door” (Horney, 1945, p. 76; see also Horney, 1945, pp. 73-95; 1950, pp. 259-290). Such individuals consciously believe that they are completely self-sufficient, and that no other person or thing is indispensable. They sustain this belief by unconsciously limiting their needs, numbing their emotions, and overestimating their uniqueness and superiority. They rarely ask for help, even if this means not getting what they want. And they are likely to regard the need to give a birthday gift or be on time for an appointment, the physical pressure of a tight collar or necktie, or the slightest possibility of an emotional attachment to another person as an unwarranted and hostile intrusion from the outside world. They do not realize that no person is an island, and that they are repressing powerful wishes to be dependent and healthy desires for affiliation and love. The Idealized Image. The repressed aspects of the neurotic’s personality and the painful inner conflicts are further concealed through the development of a glorious idealized image (Horney, 1945, pp. 96-114,139; 1950, pp. 22-23, 86-109). A compliant neurotic may believe that she is so unselfish and attractive as to deserve undying love. An aggressive neurotic may think that he always knows best and never makes a mistake. Or a detached neurotic who actually craves affection may believe that she is so capable and self-sufficient as never to need anything from anyone. Despite its implausible aspects, the idealized image appears quite realistic to its creator. The result is a vicious circle. The idealized image establishes unattainable standards that either bring about eventual defeat, or cause the sufferer to shrink from the acid test of reality. Such failures increase the hate for and alienation from the fallible true self (self-contempt), and this intensifies the inner conflicts and the dependence on the idealized image. (See Figure 5.1.) As this image becomes increasingly unrealistic, the individual feels compelled to bolster it with still greater triumphs (glory). (See Horney, 1945, p. 98; 1950, pp. 39, 118, 154-155,367.) Like Faust, neurotics “sell their soul to the devil” by abandoning their real desires in favor of the idealized image. And like Frankenstein, their creation arises to destroy them. For the Parental pathogenic behaviors: Jominalion. uvcrprOlectivcness. overinJulgence. humiliation, etc. Safelv replaces self· realization as chilo’s primary goal Increaseo anxiety, contempt real self for Chilo tries to achieve safety bv moving toward. against. or awav from people Unrealistic, unattainable stanoaros; ·’sholilos” Greater neeo for ioealizeo self· image r—-: I ——-, : .J I L Repression of other two OrIentations FIG. 5.1. The vicious circle produced antecedents. by the idealized image, and its battle between the pathological idealized image and the healthy but apparently weak and humiliating real self proves to be the most serious inner conflict of all: Roughly speaking, a person builds up an idealized image of himself because he cannot tolerate himself as he actually is. The image apparently counteracts this calamity; but having placed himself on a pedestal, he can tolerate his real self still less and starts to rage against it, to despise himself and to chafe under the yoke of his own unattainable demands upon himself. He wavers then between self-adoration and self-contempt, between his idealized image and his despised image, with no solid middle ground to fall back on …. The godlike [self] is bound to hate his actual [self] …. [and this is] the central inner conflict. (Homey, 1945, p. 112; 1950, pp. 112,368.) The idealized image bears some similarity to the Adlerian superiority complex, since both conceal feelings of weakness from oneself. But the grandiose idealized image is at war with the fallible real self, which differs sharply from Adler’s holistic and unified conception of personality. “It was Adler’s great contribution to realize the importance for neuroses of drives for power and superiority. Adler, however … stayed too much on the surface of the problems involved …. [and] is in fact a good example of how even a productive insight into psychological processes can become sterile if pursued onesidedly and without foundation in the basic discoveries of Freud” (Homey, 1950, p. 372; 1937, p. x; see also Homey, 1937, pp. 186-187; 1939, p. 268). Claims and Shoulds. The idealized image often converts wishes into unrealistic claims, which supposedly entitle the sufferer to triumph and glory. A lonely individual who unconsciously feels unlovable may make no effort to alleviate this painful situation, and The feeling of being alone in an unfriendly and frightening world. The three main characteristics of basic anxiety are helplessness, aggressiveness, and detachment. Unrealistic demands and expectations that the neurotic imposes on other people. Experiencing intrapsychic processes as occurring outside oneself; similar to projection. Grandiose feelings of triumph because one appears to have fulfilled the demands of the idealized image. However, the neurotic quest for glory is compulsive and insatiable. A grandiose, glorious self-image that conceals one’s weak and hated real self. Moving against people (mastery) A neurotic attempt to reduce anxiety and gain safety by dominating and mastering other people, while repressing feelings of helplessness and detachment and healthy needs for love. One of the three neurotic solutions to the problem of basic anxiety. A neurotic attempt to reduce anxiety and gain safety by avoiding other people and trying to be completely self-sufficient, while repressing feelings of helplessness and aggressiveness and healthy needs for friendship and love. One of the three neurotic solutions to the problem of basic anxiety. A neurotic attempt to reduce anxiety and gain safety by being cared for and protected, while repressing feelings of aggressiveness and detachment and healthy self-assertiveness. One of the three neurotic solutions to the problem of basic anxiety. An unconscious intrapsychic clash between healthy and neurotic drives, or between opposing neurotic drives. Hating one’s true abilities, feelings, and wishes because they differ from (and seem much worse than) the glorious idealized image. Developing one’s healthy innate potentials and abilities. Commands to conform to the idealized image that come from one’s own personality, but may be externalized and appear (incorrectly) to be imposed by other people. Moving away from people (detachment) Moving toward people (compliance) Neurotic conflict (inner conflict) Self-contempt (self-hate) Self-realization Shoulds expect to be invited out by someone incompetence may claim to deserve else. A neurotic with repressed feelings of professional a better job without earning it, or even asking for it. Or patients may expect great gains from psychotherapy without having to work at their problems (Homey, 1950, pp. 40-63). The neurotic is also driven by self-imposed inner commands that are designed to satisfy the idealized image, which Homey calls “the tyranny of the should.” This may involve the belief that one should be world famous, totally unselfish, always right, always victorious, a perfect lover or spouse, and so forth. Shoulds may be externalized and appear (incorrectly) to be imposed by other people, such as one’s parents or boss. Unlike the Freudian superego, shoulds are always a neurotic force “exactly p. 67; see also pp. 64-85, 123). like political tyranny in a police state” (Homey, 1950, Other Neurotic Symptoms. Because the sufferer is pulled in opposite directions by the painful inner conflicts, he or she is likely to behave in ways that are inconsistent and indecisive. A neurotic who moves toward people may occasionally express her healthy selfassertiveness, fear that she will lose the protection of other people, and become even more compliant. Or a detached neurotic may heed dimly sensed desires for love and affection by going to a party, only to leave quickly because the need to move away from people becomes paramount. Such behavior resembles a car that is driven with one foot on the gas pedal and the other foot on the brake, with sufferer lurching first one way and then the other. Inner conflicts between the neurotic’s repressed true desires and the demands of the idealized image may turn relatively minor decisions into major and exhausting crises, such as whether to attend a social function or what to order for dinner in a restaurant. Other common symptoms of neurosis include hopelessness and despair about ever getting well, caused by the impossibility of satisfying the idealized image, and fatigue, which results from wasting substantial energy on the severe inner turmoil. Like Adler, Homey regards the Oedipus complex as a symptom that results from improper childrearing, rather than as a universal phenomenon. (See Homey, 1937, pp. 79-84,159-161; 1939,pp. 79-87; 1945,pp. 143-190; 1950,p. 143.) Psychotherapy Theoretical Foundation. The goal of Homeyan psychotherapy is to unearth and resolve the patient’s deeply repressed inner conflicts, thereby freeing the innate constructive forces to grow and develop. (See Homey, 1939, pp. 276-305; 1945, pp. 217-243; 1950, pp. 333-365.) Ideally, the patient makes two important discoveries about the supposedly lifesaving neurotic solution: It actually produces increased frustration and self-contempt, and it conceals powerful opposing forces. The neurotic who moves toward people discovers the hostility and selfishness that underlie the excessive desires to please others. The neurotic who moves against people becomes aware of powerful feelings of helplessness. And the neurotic who moves away from people recognizes the strong dependency needs that conflict with the desire to avoid others. The patient must then bring the central inner conflict to light, relinquish the alluring idealized image, and opt for the substantial satisfaction (and challenge) of actualizing the real self. To be effective, however, such insights must be apprehended emotionally as well as intellectually: [The patient's] know ledge of himself must not remain an intellectual know ledge, though it may start this way, but must become an emotional experience …. The mere intellectual realization is in the strict sense of the word no “realization” at all: it does not become real to him; it does not become his personal property; it does not take roots in him. (Homey, 1950, pp. 342-343.) Therapeutic Procedures. Like Freud, Homey makes extensive use of free association and interpretation. However, she is more active than the typical Freudian analyst. Also, like Adler, Homey seeks to change the patient’s chosen objectives and expectations. In response to a patient’s profound feelings of hopelessness, the therapist may say: “Of course the situation is difficult. But what makes it hopeless is your own attitude toward it. If you would consider changing your claims on life, there would be no need to feel hopeless” (Homey, 1945, p. 186). If a patient suffers from powerful fears of being humiliated by others, the therapist may interpret this as an extemalization of intense self-contempt. “It is a long and hard lesson for anybody to learn that others can neither hurt nor establish self-esteem” (Homey, 1950, p. 136). Unlike Freud, Homey often encourages patients to engage in self-analysis. And she warns that an overemphasis on childhood events may encourage patients to wallow in the memory of past hurts instead of working at the arduous task of therapy. (See Homey, 1942; 1945, pp. 8, 14,127-129,177-178; 1950, p. 351.) Dream Interpretation. Homeyan psychotherapy derives valuable information from a patient’s dreams. Unlike Adler, Homey regards dreams as indicative of our true feelings, rather than as an attempt at self-deception. Dreaming of misplacing one’s passport, or of a picture frame that encloses an empty canvas, expresses the loss of the dreamer’s real self. As in individual psychology, dreams of falling reveal the insecurity that underlies the patient’s conscious conceit; and as in analytical psychology, dreaming of being a tramp or idiot may serve as compensation for conscious arrogance. A nightmare of being trapped in a room with a murderer reflects intense selfcontempt, whereas dreaming of tenderly cultivating a growing plant suggests self-concern and sympathy. A dream of making a long-distance telephone call to the therapist indicates the wish to maintain a detached orientation, and dreaming of the analyst as a jailer reveals a desire to blame one’s difficulties on others through extemalization. (See Homey, 1939, pp. 31-32; 1945,pp.87, 129; 1950,pp.31, 152-153, 188,318,349-350.) Resistance and Transference. Homey shares Freud’s belief that patients have powerful unconscious resistances to psychotherapy. But Homey argues that patients defend their neurotic solutions and deny the existence of their inner conflicts in order to preserve a sense of personal unity, avoid the frightening prospect of change, and cling to the only apparently successful mode of adjustment that they have ever known. However, resistances are not entirely harmful. They provide clues about important unconscious issues that the patient wishes to avoid, and they afford protection when the therapist offers interpretations that are too threatening. (See Homey, 1942, pp. 267-285; 1945, pp. 187-189; 1950, pp. 201, 334, 340; Singer, 1970, pp. 223-248.) In marked contrast to Adler, Homey regards transference as Freud’s greatest discovery. However, she argues that transference occurs because the therapist becomes a ready target for the patient’s habitual attempts to move toward, against, or away from people. The aggressive neurotic tries to dominate the therapist, the detached neurotic waits like a bystander for the therapist to provide miraculous cures, and the compliant neurotic uses pain and suffering to justify expectations of instant help (Homey, 1939, pp. 154-167; 1950, p. 338). Homey cautions that the goals of therapy are never completely achieved. “It does not lie within the power of the analyst to turn the patient into a flawless human being. He can only help him to become free to strive toward an approximation of these ideals …. The aim of analysis is not to render life devoid of risks and conflicts, but to enable an individual eventually to solve his problems himself’ (Homey, 1939, p. 305; 1945, p. 243). Female Sexuality Although Homey regards herself as a neo- Freudian, her theory of female sexuality hews more closely to Adler. Her early writings do concede the existence of penis envy; but she emphatically rejects Freud’s contention that healthy women crave a boy baby as a disguised penis substitute, and that the lack of a penis produces greater self-contempt and a weaker superego. According to Homey, an organism biologically built for female functions cannot be ruled psychologically by a wish for masculine attributes. She points out that Freudian psychoanalysis is based primarily on studies by male therapists of male patients, which may well have obscured the joys of motherhood and other uniquely feminine superiorities. (See Horney, 1939, pp. 104-105; 1923-1937/1967,pp.38,53-55,60,63.) Instead, Horney emphasizes cultural influences on female behavior. If society regards strength, courage, independence, and sexual freedom as masculine characteristics, while depicting frailty and dependence as inherently feminine, women will tend to believe that they deserve a subordinate position. “The view that women are infantile and emotional creatures, and as such, incapable of responsibility and independence is the work of the masculine tendency to lower women’s self-respect” (Horney, 1923-1937/1967, p. 146). Horney argues that envy works both ways, with men unconsciously jealous of women’s breasts, passivity, and ability to bear children. She also warns that the concept of penis envy may encourage female patients to externalize their problems by blaming them on nature, rather than on their own neurotic behavior. “Every person belonging to a minority group or to a less privileged group tends to use that status as a cover for inferiority feelings of various sources” (Horney, 1939, p. 109). Horney has been criticized for borrowing too freely from individual psychology and/or Freudian psychoanalysis, and for failing to introduce many new and important constructs. Despite her protestations, externalization is virtually indistinguishable from projection; the idealized image is hardly a radical departure from the superiority complex; shoulds operate much like an overly severe superego; and the idea of intrapsychic conflicts between such opposites as aggressiveness and helplessness closely resembles the defense mechanism of reaction formation. In addition, self-realization is a concept of Jungian origin. Scientific judgment can be unkind to those who merely revise the ideas of others, as Horney herself has observed. “[Many successors] fail to give Freud sufficient credit for pioneering work. It is easy enough to modify, but it takes genius to be the first to visualize the possibilities” (Horney, 1939, p. 154). Nor has her theory stimulated much empirical research. Perhaps most importantly, Horney’s emphasis on neurosis causes her to neglect normal personality development. Since she regards neurosis as a matter of degree, and uses the term neurotic only in the sense of “a person to the extent that he is neurotic” (Horney, 1945, p. 27), her theory is applicable to more healthy individuals as well. Yet all too many critics have taken her writings at surface value and characterized her primarily as a clinician, seriously underestimating her importance as a personality theorist. Horney’s writings represent the views of a skilled and experienced psychotherapist, and are presented clearly enough to facilitate self-analysis and understanding. Her attempt to modify Freudian psychoanalysis in an Adlerian direction is sufficiently original to be worthy of serious consideration; and it offers a viable alternative for those who accept some of Adler’s tenets and reject Freud’s libido theory, yet wish to retain the idea of intrapsychic conflict. Her approach to anxiety and transference is considerably more insightful than Adler’s, whereas her equalitarian view of women accords well with modern opinion. And Horney provides valuable and wellreasoned insights into the meaning and dynamics of the most common form of psychopathology, neurosis. Although there are those who would regard Horney as outdated, her major works should be required reading for anyone who wishes to acquire a better understanding of the human personality. Homey’s most important books are her last two, Our Inner Conflicts (1945) and Neurosis and Human Growth (1950), which present her theory in its final form. The Neurotic Personality of Our Time (1937) is also well regarded, and Feminine Psychology (1923-1937/1967) is of interest because it presents her early work on female sexuality, but neither of these captures the true spirit of her ultimate ideas. For a biography of Homey, see Rubins (1978). 1. THE BASIC NATURE OF HUMAN BEINGS. Karen Homey is optimistic about human nature, and concludes that we have the capacity as well as the desire to develop our healthy potentials and become decent individuals. Pathological behavior occurs only if this innate tendency toward self-realization is blocked by external, social forces. 2. THE STRUCTURE OF PERSONALITY. Homey stresses the importance of unconscious processes, powerful and actively maintained repressions, and painful intrapsychic conflicts. However, she prefers not to use specific structural constructs. 3. THE DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONALITY. Homey has little to say about normal personality development. She attributes neurosis to disturbed relationships with the parents during childhood. Parents who are too wrapped up in their own neuroses to respond to the child’s needs engage in such pathogenic behaviors as domination, overprotectiveness, overindulgence, humiliation, neglect, and others. The child therefore develops a sense of being alone in an unfriendly and frightening world (basic anxiety), 4. FURTHER APPLICATIONS. Neurosis: The child tries to alleviate painful basic anxiety by exaggerating one of its three main characteristics: helplessness, aggressiveness, or detachment. This results in a pathological overemphasis on moving toward, against, or away from people. The sufferer also forms an idealized image that conflicts with the real self, conceals the true wishes and feelings, and establishes unrealistic and unattainable standards. These standards ensure subsequent failure, which increases the hate for the real self (self-contempt) and dependence on the idealized image. Neurosis is also typified by claims, shoulds, the quest for glory, and other symptoms indicative of severe inner conflicts. Psychotherapy: Horneyan psychotherapy strives to unearth and resolve the patient’s deeply repressed inner conflicts. The patient must learn that the supposedly lifesaving neurotic solution is actually self-defeating, and that it conceals both powerful opposing forces and the sufferer’s true desires and feelings. Procedures include free association, interpretation, more active participation by the therapist than in Freudian psychoanalysis, and dream interpretation. Female sexuality: Homey rejects Freud’s contention that women have greater self-contempt and a weaker superego because they lack the male genital organ. She argues that cultural influences cause women to see themselves as inferior and subordinate, and that men envy certain characteristics of women. 5. EVALUATION. Homey has been criticized for adhering too closely to the ideas of Freud and Adler, and for failing to develop a comprehensive theory of her own. But since neurosis represents a difference in degree, rather than in kind, her insights into this disorder contribute significantly to a better understanding of the human personality. In particular, her attempt to modify Freudian psychoanalysis in an Adlerian direction is sufficiently original to be worthy of serious study. 1. Give an example from your own life, from the life of someone you know well, or from fiction to illustrate painful inner conflicts and one of the three neurotic “solutions” (moving toward, against, or away from people). Explain how the idealized image in this case produces a vicious circle where matters keep getting worse, and why there is a conflict between the idealized image and this person’s real self and wishes. Summarize the key points of this case in a diagram similar to Figure 5.1. 2. Give a real-life example of a person who becomes angry toward someone who is weak because this weakness is a threatening reminder of what the person most dislikes about himself or herself. 3. In Figure 5.1, why do “unrealistic, unattainable standards” lead only to failure? Might they not sometimes lead to success? 4. Give an example from your own life, or from the life of someone you know well, to illustrate: (a) the “tyranny of the should,” (b) the neurotic symptoms of inconsistent and indecisive behavior. 5. Give an example from your own life, or from the life of someone you know well, to support Homey’s view that “it is a long and hard lesson for anybody to learn that others can neither hurt nor establish self-esteem.” 6. How would Homey interpret each of the following dreams? (a) The dreamer looks in a mirror, but doesn’t see any reflection. (b) The dreamer sends a long telegram to his or her psychotherapist. (c) The airplane dream described in Chapter 4, study question lOb. (d) The “train” dream described in Chapter 2, study question 12, assuming that the dreamer got to the station too late because the taxi driver insisted on going much too slowly. 7. With regard to women, Homey argues that an organism biologically built for female functions cannot be ruled psychologically by a wish for masculine attributes. Do you agree or disagree? Why? 8. Give a real-life example to support Homey’s argument that “Every person belonging to a minority group or to a less privileged group tends to use that status as a cover for inferiority feelings of various sources.” 9. What evidence would indicate that Homey’s construct of the idealized image is different from (and more useful than) Adler’s construct of the superiority complex? 10. A student who works very hard in order to maintain a “straight A” average complains that her parents are pressuring her to be perfect. If in fact her parents aren’t pressuring her, how might Homey explain the student’s behavior? 11. A professional athlete wins his first world championship. His satisfaction lasts for only a short time, however, and he feels that he “has to” win a second championship in order to be respected. How might Homey explain the athlete’s behavior? 12. A terrorist blows up a building in a hated foreign country. How might Homey explain the terrorist’s behavior? Part II.Comments and Suggestions 1. Consider the case history described in the Appendix. The patient suffers from a severe inner conflict between moving toward people and moving away from people, with the latter having been chosen as the neurotic solution. (He is able to describe his conflict because he has made progress in bringing it to consciousness through psychotherapy; otherwise it would be too deeply repressed.) The idealized image sets unattainable standards, such as never needing other people, which are diametrically opposed to (and thus in conflict with) his needs for love and affection. When he does occasionally try to relate to other people, his efforts are awkward and unsuccessful because he is unpracticed in social skills. These failures are threatening reminders that the idealized image is a fiction, and that the real self is all too capable of error. So the failures (and the real self and wishes) are concealed by emphasizing the idealized image even more, which leads to more unrealistic and unattainable standards, which lead to more failure, and so on. 2. Consider the movie Patton, and the well-known scene where the general slaps a soldier who is suffering from battle fatigue. This is rather extreme behavior even for a hardened military leader, and Patton is subsequently disciplined. Might this behavior indicate that Patton unconsciously detested weakness in himself? Is his love for war sufficient evidence to classify him as “moving against people,” an orientation where helplessness is repressed because it is incompatible with the desire for mastery? Patton’s ill-advised clashes with his superiors did him more harm than good; might this suggest the lack of flexibility that is typical of the neurotic solutions, namely an inability to abandon the “moving against” orientation even when it would have been to his advantage to do so? 3. The standards set by the idealized image are far more demanding than trying to do your best. They are perfectionistic demands that are virtually impossible to satisfy. Even if there is some temporary “success” (e.g., the person writes a novel and becomes world famous or wins an Academy Award), any satisfaction does not last long because the real problem has not been resolved: the person hates his or her real self, and has abandoned his or her true desires in order to satisfy the demands of the idealized image for glorious triumphs. So the person concludes that the fame or award simply isn’t enough, and compulsively pursues still greater triumphs-a course that must eventually end in failure. 4. (a) See section 5 of the case material in the Appendix. (b) Using this case history as an illustration: The patient behaves inconsistently by expressing a desire for love and affection (which reflects the dimly sensed healthy needs), while usually avoiding other people (this being the chosen neurotic solution to the problem of basic anxiety). He has great difficulty making such decisions as whether or not to go to a party, which reflects the conflict between his need for love and the usual course of moving away from people. (Since this decision is typically made when he is alone, his anxiety about being with people is not as great, and his true wishes are somewhat more accessible.) 5. When I was younger, I believed that other people could raise or lower my self-esteem. Praise or a favorable book review made me feel like a worthwhile person, whereas criticism or an unfavorable review suggested that there was something wrong with me. However, I now agree with Homey: self-esteem comes from within, and praise or criticism does not determine one’s worth as an individual. I still care about the opinions of other people, because I can learn from them, but I am usually able to prevent these opinions from manipulating my self-esteem. It isn’t easy to strike a balance between giving proper consideration to the opinions of others and taking these opinions too seriously, and I’m not always successful. But often I am-and it helps to keep Homey’s statement in mind. 6. It is difficult to arrive at a valid interpretation from a single dream, let alone dream fragments such as these, especially without knowing anything about the dreamer. But I suspect Homey would argue as follows: (a) The dream reflects the loss of the dreamer’s real self. (b) The dreamer wishes to maintain the basic orientation of moving away from people, as expressed by the considerable distance between the dreamer and the therapist. (c) As in Adlerian theory, this dream of falling expresses the insecurity that underlies the dreamer’s conscious conceit. (d) The dreamer uses extemalization to blame other people, here the taxi driver, for her problems. 7. I would consider this a valid criticism of theories derived primarily by male psychotherapists treating male patients (e.g., Freud’s). 8. Consider the complaint of a person who has committed a crime or done something wrong and then says, “You’re only against me because I’m —.” (Fill in the name of any minority group.) 9. If neurotics are much more fatigued than more healthy individuals, this would suggest that they are expending considerable amounts of energy on intrapsychic conflicts. If neurotics behave inconsistently much more often than more healthy individuals, as by going to several parties but leaving each one ten minutes after they arrive because they are anxious and uncomfortable, this would suggest that they are being pulled in opposing directions by conflicting wishes. If instead Adler is correct, and personality is always a peaceful and unified whole, the preceding is less likely to be true. 10. What negative feelings might the student have about herself? Why might she want to conceal these feelings from herself? How might an idealized image help her to do so? What “shoulds” might the idealized image demand of her? How might she externalize these shoulds? 11. What might the athlete’s idealized image be? Why might he have such an idealized image? Why is it impossible to satisfy the demands of the idealized image? 12. Would Homey attribute the terrorist’s behavior to a destructive instinct? Why not? Why might the terrorist have developed basic anxiety during childhood? What neurotic solution has the terrorist chosen? What opposing feelings and wishes might the terrorist be repressing?

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Throughout the course of history, scientists have dealt three great shocks to our feelings of self-importance. Nicolaus Copernicus demonstrated that the Earth is not the center of all creation, but merely one of several planets that rotate around the sun. Charles Darwin showed that humans are not a unique and privileged life form, but just one of many animal species that have evolved over millions of years. Sigmund Freud emphasized that we are not even the masters of our own minds, but are driven by many powerful unconscious processes (wishes, fears, beliefs, conflicts, emotions, memories) of which we are totally unaware. (See Freud, 1917a; 1916-1917/1966, pp. 284-285.) Theories that minimize our role in the general scheme of things, and attack widely held beliefs, will not find ready acceptance. Galileo, a follower of Copernicus, was forced to recant his beliefs about the solar system in order to avoid being burned at the stake; while John Thomas Scopes was fired in 1925 for daring to teach evolutionary theory in an American high school, precipitating the famous “Monkey Trial.” Freud’s theory of personality has also provoked strong resistance, but here there are additional reasons for controversy. Early in Freud’s career, three men whom he admired gave him similar (and startling) bits of information. Josef Breuer, with whom Freud later coauthored the landmark Studies on Hysteria (Freud & Breuer, 1895/1966), remarked that neurotic behaviors were always concerned with secrets of the marital bed. Jean-Martin Charcot emphatically proclaimed to an assistant that certain nervous disorders were “always a question of the genitals:’ a conversation Freud overheard. And the distinguished gynecologist Rudolf Chrobak advised Freud that the only cure for a female patient with severe anxiety and an impotent husband could not be prescribed: “Rx: A normal penis, dose to be repeated” (Freud, 1914/1967, pp. 13-15; E.Jones, 1953/1963a, p. 158). Although Freud was somewhat shocked by these radical notions and dismissed them from his mind, they later emerged from his preconscious to form the cornerstone instinct. of this theory-one that attributes virtually all human behavior to the erotic • To devise the ftrst theory of personality and the ftrst psychotherapy, which he needed to treat his patients (and himself). • To explore the unconscious, a vast hidden realm within every personality, so he could better understand his patients (and himself). • To show that we do not want to understand important aspects of our own personality, and to explain how and why we conceal such information from ourselves. • To devise methods for bringing unconscious material to consciousness, including the interpretation of dreams. • To explain why personality often becomes a house divided against itself, torn by severe intrapsychic conflicts. • To show that sexuality underlies virtually all human behavior, and the failure to resolve the Oedipus complex is the primary cause of psychopathology. • To emphasize that childhood is extremely important for personality development, and is when psychopathology originates. • To warn that we are born with malignant instincts, which we must learn to sublimate into socially acceptable (but less satisfying) behaviors. • To urge us to know ourselves and discover our hidden wishes, fears, beliefs, and conflicts, difficult though this may be. • To apply psychoanalytic theory to many areas, including religion, work, and literature. Sigmund Freud was born on May 6, 1856, at Freiberg, Moravia (now Czechoslovakia). His father was a wool merchant, his parents Jewish. Freud spent nearly all of his life in Vienna, where his family moved in 1860, and gradually rose from the lower middle class to the heights of society and world fame-though not without considerable physical and psychological suffering. Freud was an excellent student throughout his academic career, receiving his medical degree from the University of Vienna in 1881. He was not overly enthusiastic about becoming a practicing physician, a slow route to economic security in those days, and longed for the brilliant discovery that would bring rapid fame. After graduation he continued to work in the physiology laboratory of his teacher, Ernst Briicke, and performed some high-quality research in microscopic neuroanatomy. Ironically, Freud narrowly missed out on the renown that he sought by failing to appreciate the full significance of some of his findings. Freud’s future at this time was highly uncertain. His finances were meager, his job did not pay well, and two senior assistants blocked his chances for advancement. When he became engaged to Martha Bernays in 1882, he accepted Briicke’s friendly advice to seek his fortune elsewhere. He spent the next 3 years as an assistant to two noted medical scientists, Hermann Nothnagel and Theodor Meynert, won a travel grant to study for a few months with Charcot in Paris, and at last ended a 4 year courtship by marrying Martha on September 30, 1886. Freud’s letters to his betrothed show him to have been an ardent and devoted lover, if at times jealous and possessive, and the marriage was for some time a happy one. The Freuds had six children, three boys and three girls, with the youngest (Anna) becoming a prominent child psychoanalyst and ultimately assuming the leadership of the Freudian movement. Interestingly, the man who emphasized sexuality so heavily in his theories was in all probability celibate until his marriage at age 30. Also, while Freud normally declined to practice his psychological ideas on his wife and children, he did create a rather bizarre Oedipal situation by psychoanalyzing Anna himself; and no doubt due in part to this unusual emotional involvement with her father, she never married, devoted her life to the cause of psychoanalysis, and eventually replaced Martha as the most important woman in Sigmund’s life (Roazen, 1975/1976b, pp. 58-59,63,439-440). Freud’s own life provided him with a great deal of psychological data. He was himself Oedipal, had powerful unconscious hostility toward his father, and was quite close to his mother (who was some nineteen years younger than her husband and devoted to her “golden Sigi”). Freud suffered from a severe neurosis during the 1890s yet did strikingly original work during this time, as though the pressure of his own emerging psychopathology drove him to new heights (E. Jones, 1953/1963a, p. 194). Ellenberger (1970, pp. 447ff.) has described this syndrome as a “creative illness.” The sufferer undergoes agonizing symptoms that alternately worsen and improve, exaggerated feelings of isolation, and intense self-absorption, and emerges from this ordeal with a permanently transformed personality and the conviction of having discovered profound new truths. During this period Freud also began his self-analysis (1897), probing the depths of his own mind with the psychological techniques that he developed. Though his creative illness ended by 1900, he continued the self-analysis for the remainder of his life and reserved the last half-hour of each day for this purpose. Personally, Freud was highly moral and ethical–even puritanical. Some found him cold, bitter, rejecting, the kind of man who does not suffer fools gladly, and more interested in the discoveries to be made from his patients than in themselves. Others depicted him as warm, humorous, profoundly understanding, and extremely kind. (See, for example, Ellenberger, 1970,pp. 457-469; E. Jones, 1953/1963a; 1955/1963b; 1957/1963c;Reik,1948/1964,p.258; Rieff, 1959/1961; Roazen, 1975/1976b; Schur, 1972.) Some colleagues remained devotedly loyal to Freud throughout their lives, whereas others (including Josef Breuer, Wihelm Fliess, Carl Jung, and Alfred Adler) engaged in acrimonious partings because of Freud’s adamant emphasis on sexuality as the prime mover of human behavior. Freud’s professional life had many interesting highlights, and also a few major blunders. In 1884, his friend Ernst Fleischl von Marxow suffered an extremely painful illness and became addicted to morphine, which he took as medication. Freud recommended a “harmless” substitute–eocaine-and even published an article praising the new drug. Unfortunately, cocaine also proved to be highly addictive, and Freud was justifiably criticized. In 1896, Freud announced that most of his psychoanalytic patients had been seduced by immoral adults during their childhood. A year later he concluded to his chagrin that these incidents were imaginary, and that the unconscious cannot distinguish between memory and fantasy. However, successes far outnumbered failures. Freud and Breuer culminated a decade of work by publishing Studies on Hysteria in 1895, which described the psychological treatment of behavior disorders (paralyses, headaches, loss of speech, and so forth) that had no physical cause. The Interpretation of Dreams, the cornerstone of Freud’s theory, appeared in 1900. Fame was far from instant, and this classic took 8 years to sell all of 600 copies. By now Freud had completed his break with official medicine, however, and was more self-assured as the leader of an established movement. There were some vitriolic accusations that psychoanalysts were obscene sexual perverts, and Freud clearly identified with the role of the lonely hero struggling against insuperable odds, but the belief that he was ostracized by Vienna is one of the unfounded legends that surround his life. Rather, his position and fame continued to improve. (See Ellenberger, 1970, p. 450; Freud, 1927/1961c, p. 36; 1925/1963a, pp. 44, 91; 1933/1965b, pp. 8, 60,137; E. Jones, 1955/1963b, pp. 237, 291.) In 1909, Freud received an invitation to visit the United States and deliver a series of lectures at Clark University. They were well received, but he left with the impression that “America is a mistake; a gigantic mistake, it is true, but none the less a mistake” (E. Jones, 1955/1963b, p. 263). World War I impressed on him the importance of aggression as a basic human drive, and the ensuing runaway inflation cost him his life savings (about $30,000). Fortunately his reputation was sufficient to attract English and American patients, who paid in a more stable currency, but his hardships were not over. During the last 16 years of his life, Freud was afflicted with an extremely serious cancer of the mouth and jaw. This required no fewer than thirty-three operations, forced him to wear an awkward prosthesis to fill the resulting gap between what had been the nasal and oral cavities, and prevented him at times from speaking and swallowing, yet he bore this ordeal with his customary stoic courage. Nor did he curtail his prolific and literate writings, which fill twenty-three volumes and won the Goethe Prize in 1930. Still one more trial was in store: the Nazi invasion of Vienna in 1938, during which Anna was detained by the Gestapo but eventually released. Freud and his family successfully escaped to London, where he was received with great honor. There he finally succumbed to the cancer on September 23, 1939. Freud’s death took the currently controversial form of an assisted suicide: he reluctantly decided that his suffering had reached the point where going on made no sense, and his doctor administered a dose of morphine that produced a peaceful sleep from which Freud never awoke (Schur, 1972). Freud named his theory psycho-analysis. (Most modem writers omit the hyphen.) This term is also used to denote the form of psychotherapy that Freud originated. Instincts and Psychic Energy Drive Reduction. Freud concludes that human beings are motivated by powerful innate forces (instincts). An instinct becomes activated when your body requires sustenance, such as food or water. The activated instinct (need) produces a psychological state of increased tension or arousal (drive) that you experience as unpleasant, such as hunger or thirst. According to Freud, the goal of all behavior is to obtain pleasure and avoid unpleasure or pain (the pleasure principle, to be discussed later in this chapter). So you take action to reduce the unpleasant tension (the drive), as by eating or drinking, which satisfies your body’s need. Drive reduction restores the body to a previous state of equilibrium where no needs are active (homeostasis), and is our primary way of achieving pleasure. (See Freud, 1911/1963c, p. 22; 1916-1917/1966, p. 356; 1926/1969b, pp. 25-26.) Freud does concede that drive increases may sometimes be pleasurable, as in the case of excitement during sexual intercourse, but he regards this as an awkward contradiction that cannot readily be reconciled with his theory (l924/1963h, p. 191). Insofar as the specific nature of instincts is concerned, Freud changed his mind several times. At one point he distinguished between sexuality and those instincts that serve the goal of self-preservation (such as hunger and thirst). However, the ultimate version of his theory states that we are motivated by two instincts: sexual and destructive (aggressive). The Sexual Instinct (E.ros). In Freudian theory, sexuality has an unusually wide meaning: it signifies the whole range of erotic, pleasurable experience. In addition to the genitals, the body has many parts capable of producing sexual gratification (erotogenic zones); “in fact, the whole body is an erotogenic zone” (Freud, 1940/1969a, p. 8; see also Freud, 1905/1965d, pp. 58ft). To emphasize that sexuality refers to far more than intercourse and reproduction, Freud frequently uses the name Eros (the ancient Greek god of love) as a synonym for this instinct. Such self-preservative behavior as eating and drinking involves the sexual instinct because the mouth is one of the major erotogenic zones, and because we preserve ourselves out of selflove (narcissism) and the wish to continue gaining erotic pleasure. The Destructive Instinct. One of Freud’s more radical conclusions (reached toward the latter part of his career) is that life itself aims at returning to its previous state of nonexistence, with all human beings driven by a “death instinct” (Freud, 1920/1961a, pp. 30ff; see also Freud, 1923/1962, pp. 30-37). The concept of a death instinct remains controversial even among psychoanalysts, however, since it is incompatible with the accepted evolutionary principle of survival of the fittest. A more widely accepted interpretation of Freud’s later ideas is that there are two primary human drives, sexual (Eros) and destructive or aggressive (e.g., Brenner, 1973/1974). These two types of instincts are fused together, though not necessarily in equal amounts. Thus any erotic act, even sexual intercourse, is also partly aggressive, whereas any aggressive act, even murder, is partly erotic. Both the sexual and destructive instincts are present at birth. E.xternal and Internal Conflict. Freud (l927/l961c, p. 10) is extremely pessimistic about human nature. He argues that we are inherently uncivilized, and that the sexual and destructive instincts include the desire for incest and the lust for killing. Since other people will not tolerate such behavior, conflict between the individual and society is inevitable. And this also implies that intrapsychic conflict is unavoidable, for we must reluctantly learn to channel these strong but forbidden impulses into compromise activities that are socially acceptable (sublimate them). For example, destructive and sadistic impulses may be sublimated by becoming a football player. Although we may try to make these compromises and substitutes as close to the original goal as society will permit, they are not as satisfying. We are all left with some unpleasant psychological tension, which is the price we must pay for living in a civilized society (Freud, 1908b; 1930/1961b). Psychic Energy (Libido) and Cathexis. Just as overt actions are powered by physical energy, mental activity involves constant expenditures of psychic energy. Psychic energy is unobservable and has no known physical correlates, despite Freud’s belief that underlying neurological functions would ultimately be discovered. It should be considered a hypothetical construct, rather than an actual entity. Each of us possesses a more or less fixed supply of psychic energy. If a relatively large amount is usurped by one component of personality, or is expended in pathological forms of behavior, less will be available for other components or for healthy activities. Freud refers to the psychic energy associated with the sexual instinct as libido, but offers no name for aggressive energy. Since virtually all behavior involves a fusion of sexuality and destructiveness, however, libido may be considered to refer to both varieties of psychic energy (Brenner, 1973/1974, p. 30). Libido is wholly intrapsychic, and never flows out of the mind into the outside world. It attaches itself to mental representations of objects that will satisfy instinctual needs, a process known as cathexis (plural, cathexes). For example, an infant soon learns that its mother is an important source of such instinctual satisfactions as feeding, oral stimulation, and physical contact. The infant therefore develops a strong desire for her and invests a great deal of psychic energy (libido) in thoughts, images and fantasies of her. In Freudian terminology, the infant forms a strong cathexis for its mother. Conversely, a visiting stranger is not greatly desired and is only weakly (if at all) cathected with libido. The hungrier you are, the more libido you expend in thoughts of food. And an individual who devotes more libido to unresolved Oedipal desires will have less available to fuel such activities as finding a suitable wife or husband. Psychic Determinism and Parapraxes Psychoanalytic theory states that nothing in the psyche happens by chance; all mental (and physical) behavior is determined by prior causes. Apparently random thoughts, the inability to recall a familiar word or idea, saying or writing the wrong words, self-inflicted injuries, and dreams all have underlying reasons, which are usually unconscious. This principle is known as psychic determinism, and Freud (l90l/1965c) presents many examples of such parapraxes (erroneous actions; singular, parapraxis). One famous illustration of motivated forgetting (repression) occurred when a friend tried to convince Freud that their generation was doomed to dissatisfaction. The friend wished to conclude his argument by quoting a phrase from Virgil that he knew well, “Exoriar(e) aliquis nostris ex ossibus ultor” (”Let someone arise from my bones as an avenger”), but could not recall the word “aliquis” and became hopelessly confused. After supplying the correct quotation, Freud advised his friend to think freely and uninhibitedly about the “forgotten” word (the technique of free association). This led to the discovery of numerous unconscious connections-the division of the word into “a” and “liquis,” liquidity and fluid, blood and ritual sacrifices, and a miracle of flowing blood alleged to have taken place at Naples-and eventually to the friend’s fear that a woman with whom he had enjoyed a romantic affair in Naples had become pregnant (that is, her menstrual blood had stopped flowing). The word “aliquis” was deliberately forgotten (repressed) because it was a threatening reminder of an important inner conflict: a wish for (avenging) descendants, as indicated by the Virgil quotation, and a stronger opposing desire not to be embarrassed by any out-of-wedlock offspring (Freud, 1901-1965c, pp. 9-11, 14). Forgetting (or arriving late at) an appointment or college examination happens for definite reasons. The explanation of these parapraxes may be fairly simple, such as anger at the person to be met or fear of failing the exam. The causes of important psychic phenomena, however, are usually numerous (overdetermined) and more complicated. For example, the forgetful student may also be motivated by an unconscious wish to punish parents who are applying too much pressure to excel-and to punish herself because she feels guilty about her strong hostility toward them. “Freudian slips” of the tongue or pen are also parapraxes that reflect unconscious motivation. A politician who expected little good from a meeting began it with the statement, “Gentlemen: I take notice that a full quorum of members is present and herewith declare the sitting closed!” Only when the audience burst into laughter did he become aware of his error. A German professor, intending a modest observation that he was not geeignet (qualified) to describe an illustrious rival, exposed his true jealousy by declaring that he was not geneigt (inclined) to talk about him. Another expert with an exaggerated sense of self-importance declaimed that the number of real authorities in his field could be “counted on one finger-I mean on the fingers of one hand.” A young man who wished to escort (begleiten) a lady acquaintance, but feared that she would regard his offer as an insult (beleidigen), revealed his true feelings by unconsciously condensing the two words and offering to “insort” (beg Ieitdigen) her (Freud, 1901/1965c, pp. 59, 68-69, 79). Self-inflicted injuries are likely to be caused by unconscious guilt that creates a need for punishment. A member of Freud’s family who bit a tongue or pinched a finger did not get sympathy, but instead the question: “Why did you do that?” (Freud, 1901/1965c, p. 180). Brenner (1973/1974, p. 139) relates the case of a female patient who was driving her husband’s car in heavy traffic, and stopped so suddenly that the car behind crashed into and crumpled one of the rear fenders. Her free associations indicated that this parapraxis was due to three related, unconscious motives: anger toward her husband because he mistreated her (expressed by smashing up his car), a desire to be punished for such unwifely hostility (which was certain to be satisfied once her husband learned of the accident), and powerful repressed sexual desires that her husband was unable to satisfy (which were symbolically gratified by having someone “bang into her tail”). Thus apparently bungled actions may prove to be quite skillful displays of unconscious motivation. The common occurrence of parapraxes implies that much of personality is beyond our immediate awareness. Freud concludes that most of personality and mental activity is unconscious and cannot be called to mind even with great effort. Information that is not conscious at a given moment, but which can readily become so, is described as preconscious. The preconscious is much closer to the conscious than to the unconscious because it is largely within our control. (See Freud, 1923/1962, pp. 5, 10; 1915/1963g, pp. 116-150.) Freud originally defined the structure of personality in terms of the unconscious, preconscious, and conscious (the topographic model). However, he found that this straightforward approach left much to be desired. The topographic model states that the act of relegating material to the unconscious (repression) originates from the preconscious or conscious, and should therefore be accessible to awareness. Yet Freud found that his patients often engaged in repression without having any conscious knowledge that they were doing so. He was therefore forced to conclude that “all that is repressed is unconscious, but not all that is unconscious is repressed” (1923/1962, p. 8; see also Freud, 1915/1963f, pp. 104-115; 1916-1917/1966, pp. 294ff). To overcome such difficulties, Freud developed a revised theory (the structural model) that describes personality in terms of three constructs: the id, the ego, and the superego (Freud, 1923/1962). These concepts, and their relationship to the topographic model, are illustrated in Figure 2.1. (”Pcpt.-cs.” refers to the “perceptual-conscious,” which is the outermost layer of consciousness.) Freud emphasizes that the id, ego, and superego are not separate compartments within the mind. They blend together, like sections of a telescope or colors in a painting. For purposes of discussion, however, it is necessary to treat these interrelated constructs one at a time. The id (das Es; literally, the “it”) is the only component of personality that is present at birth. It therefore includes all of the instincts, and the total supply of psychic energy. The id is entirely unconscious and represents “the dark, inaccessible part of our personality … a chaos, a cauldron full of seething excitations” (Freud, 1933/l965b, p. 73). The id transforms biological needs into psychological tension (drives). Its only goal is to gain pleasure by reducing these drives (the aforementioned pleasure principle). The id is totally illogical and amoral, however, and has no conception of reality or self-preservation. Its only resource is to form mental images of what it wants, a process called wish-fulfillment. The id is like an impulsive child that wants pleasure right away, so it demands an immediate FIG.2.1. Freud’s structural model of personality. “The space occupied by the unconscious id ought to have been incomparably greater than that of the ego or the preconscious. I must ask you to correct it in your thoughts:’ (Freud; 1933/1965b, pp. 78-79.) substitute if its initial choice is frustrated. For example, an infant deprived of the bottle may cathect its thumb and discharge tension by sucking. The id’s irrational, impulsive, and image-producing mode of thought is known as the primary process (Freud, 1911/1963c). The primary process permits opposites to coexist side by side, represents ideas by parts that stand for the whole, and condenses related concepts into a single entity. It has no sense of time and is not affected by experience, so childhood instinctual impulses and repressions exist in the adult id as strongly as though they had just occurred. The primary process plays a prominent role in parapraxes, such as the word “insort” produced by condensation or the association of opposites by the chairman who began a meeting by declaring it “closed.” (See Freud, 1933/1965b, pp. 15-16; 1940/1969a, p. 29.) Starting at about age 6 to 8 months, the ego (das Ich; literally, the “I”) begins to develop out of the id. The formation of the ego is aided by experiences that help the infant to differentiate between self and not-self, notably those concerning its own body. When the infant touches itself, it also experiences the sensation of being touched, which does not happen with other objects. And the infant’s body is a source of pleasure (and pain) that cannot be taken away, unlike the bottle at feeding time. The images produced by the id cannot reduce drives or satisfy biological needs, since these images are only mental pictures of what the infant wants. However, the maturing child makes an important discovery: the environment contains objects that can satisfy the demands of the id. Mental representations of these objects are incorporated in the ego, and the growth of the ego increases the child’s capacity to deal with reality. The ego is “a kind of facade of the id … like an external, cortical, layer of it” (Freud, 1926/1969b, pp. 18-19). Unlike the id, however, the ego spans the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious. The ego is the only component of personality that can interact with the environment. It is logical and rational, and forms realistic plans of action designed to satisfy the needs of the id. Although the ego is also interested in pleasure, it suspends the pleasure principle in favor of the reality principle and delays the discharge of tension until a suitable object can be found. This makes it possible to avoid errors, such as drinking from a bottle of bleach when you are thirsty; to avoid punishment, like a parental slap for trying to eat a forbidden object; and to increase pleasure, as by rejecting an edible but unappetizing object and waiting for a tastier one. The rational, pleasure-delaying, problem-solving, and self-preservative mode of thought representative of the ego is known as the secondary process (Freud, 1~11/1963c; see also Freud, 1940/1969a, p. 55). The relationship between the ego and the id is intimate and complex. The ego may be servile and try at all costs to remain on good terms with the id. Or the ego’s concern with selfpreservation may cause it to contest the impulsive id: … in its relation to the id [the ego] is like a man on horseback, who has to hold in check the superior strength of the horse; with this difference, that the rider tries to do so with his own strength while the ego uses borrowed forces. The analogy may be carried a little further. Often a rider, if he is not to be parted from his horse, is obliged to guide it where it wants to go; so in the same way the ego is in the habit of transforming the id’s will into action as if it were its own. (Freud, 1923/1962, p. 15. See also Freud, 1923/1962, p. 46; 1933/1965b, p. 77) Freud regards decisions about when to bridle the id’s passions and bow before reality, and when to side with them and take arms against the external world, as “the ego’s highest function …. such decisions make up the whole essence of worldly wisdom” (l926/1969b, p. 27). Anxiety. The ego’s task is a difficult one because it is “a poor creature owing service to three masters and consequently menaced by three dangers: from the external world, from the libido of the id, and from the severity of the superego” (Freud, 1923/1962, p. 46; see also Freud, 1933/1965b, p. 77). The ego responds to such threats with anxiety, a highly unpleasant emotion that is similar to intense nervousness. Anxiety does serve a self-preservative function, however: it readies the individual for appropriate action, so a limited amount is both normal and desirable. Freud identifies anxiety by its source, or which of the ego’s three masters is responsible. Realistic (or objective) anxiety is caused by danger in the environment, such as an ominouslooking individual coming your way on a deserted street. In addition to such immediate threats, memories of previous traumatic experiences may enable the ego to respond with anxiety as a signal of future danger. A knowledgeable sailor may react with signal anxiety to a cloud on the horizon because it indicates the approach of a hurricane, or a satiated infant may grow upset at the mother’s departure because it has leamed that becoming hungry in her absence will mean frustration and discomfort (Freud, 1926/1963j, pp. 76-77; 1916-1917/1966, p. 394). Such realistic anxiety may cause the pedestrian to flee or call for help, the sailor to batten down the hatches, and the child to try to get its mother to stay by crying. Neurotic anxiety concerns the harm that will result from yielding to a powerful and dangerous id impulse. Moral anxiety is caused by acts or wishes that violate one’s standards of right and wrong (the superego, discussed later) and includes feelings of shame and guilt. These two sources of anxiety are more difficult to deal with because they are intrapsychic, and cannot be escaped by such simple physical actions as running away. The Defense Mechanisms. To cope with severe threats from the id (or from the superego or external world) and with the associated anxiety, the ego may resort to various defense mechanisms. Perhaps the most important of these is repression (Freud, 1915/1963f), which (as we have seen) consists of unconsciously eliminating threatening material from awareness and being unable to recall it on demand. We are not aware of using repression because it originates from the unconscious part of the ego, which expends psychic energy in order to prevent a dangerous id impulse from surfacing (a process called anticathexis or countercathexis, since it opposes a cathexis of the id). So long as the ego’s anticathexis is stronger than the id’s cathexis, repression succeeds and the dangerous material does not reach consciousness. Therefore, repressed material cannot be brought to consciousness simply by trying to do so; special methods are needed (as we will see). During sleep, however, the ego’s anticathexes weaken and allow repressed material to emerge in the form of dreams. This may also happen during such waking states as alcohol intoxication or extreme temptation. All important repressions occur during early childhood, when the immature and relatively powerless ego needs special methods to cope with danger (Freud, 1926/1963j, pp. 97-99; CAPSULE SUMMARY Some Important Psychoanalytic Terminology (I) Anticathexis (countercathexis) Anxiety Psychic energy that is used by the ego to oppose a dangerous or immoral cathexis. A highly unpleasant emotion similar to intense nervousness. The three types are realistic or objective anxiety (related to threats in the external world), neurotic anxiety (related to powerful id impulses), and moral anxiety (related to the superego’s standards of right and wrong). The boy’s fears that his sexual organ will be removed as punishment for his Oedipal wishes. Psychic energy that is invested in a mental representation of an object. The stronger the cathexis, the greater the amount of psychic energy and the more the object is desired . . Conscious Drive The part of personality that includes material of which one is aware. (1) A psychological state of tension and discomfort that is caused by a physiological (bodily) need. (2) Sometimes used as a synonym for instinct. Eliminating or decreasing the discomfort and tension of a drive, which satisfies the underlying physiological need. To Freud, the major source of pleasure. Eros Erotogenic zone A synonym for the sexual instinct. An area of the body that is capable of producing erotic gratification when stimulated. An innate motivating force that is activated by a need. The two types are sexual and destructive (aggressive). The psychic energy associated with the sexual instinct; sometimes used to refer to both sexual and destructive energy. Narcissism Object Self-love; the investment of one’s own self with libido. Whatever will satisfy an activated instinct. May be an inanimate entity, a person, or even something fanciful and irrational. Powerful feelings of love for the parent of the opposite sex and hostile jealousy for the parent of the same sex, together with powerful feelings of love for the parent of the same sex and hostile jealousy for the parent of the opposite sex. The former set of attitudes is usually, but not always, the stronger. Overdetermination Parapraxis Penis envy j A term referring to the numerous, complicated causes of most behavior. An apparent accident that is caused by unconscious mental processes, and therefore indicates one’s real feelings and beliefs; a “Freudian slip.” The girl’s jealousy of the boy’s protruding sexual organ. The goal underlying all human behavior, to achieve pleasure and avoid unpleasure (pain). The part of personality that includes material that is not within one’s awareness, but can readily be brought to mind. Pleasure principle Primal scene Primary process Psychic determinism Psychic energy • Psychoanalysis Observing one’s parents’ sexual intercourse. The chaotic, irrational mode of thought representative of the id. The principle that nothing in the psyche happens by chance; all mental activity has a prior cause. The “fuel” that powers all mental activity; an unobservable, abstract construct. (1) The name Freud gave to his theory of personality. (2) The method of psychotherapy devised by Freud. Delaying the discharge of tension until a suitable object has been found; a function of the ego. The logical, self-preservative, representative of the ego. problem-solving mode of thought The part of personality that includes material that is not within one’s awareness and cannot readily be brought to mind. To Freud, most of personality is unconscious. Forming a mental image of an object that will satisfy a need; a function of the id. 1926/1969b, pp. 30-31). Although repression can help to keep the id under control, it often creates more problems than it solves. Fleeing from an external threat can be a wise choice, but there is no good way to escape one’s own psyche. The id impulses continue to demand satisfaction, forcing the ego to use some of its limited supply of psychic energy in order to maintain the anticathexis. Repressed material is not affected by experience, since it is under the aegis of the id. So it remains at a childish level, which makes immature behavior more likely (such as a temper tantrum by an adult). And since repressions operate unconsciously, they cannot be undone when they are no longer needed. Self-deception provides relief, but at a price: an inability to perceive that the danger has disappeared, or that one is now old enough to deal with it effectively. Childhood repressions therefore persist into adolescence and adulthood, where they prevent true self-knowledge and may even lead to the development of troublesome neurotic symptoms. Repression often occurs in combination with other defense mechanisms. One of these is reaction formation (Freud, 1926/l963j, p. 30; 1905/1965d, pp. 72-73), where threatening emotions, beliefs, or motives are repressed and are unconsciously replaced by their opposites. A child who is afraid to confront an all-powerful parent may repress her intense anger, and feel only constant affection. Or a man may repress strong feelings of self-hate that originated in childhood, and believe that he is superior to everyone else. In each case, overemphasizing the opposite emotion (love) reduces anxiety and helps to maintain the repression of the true but threatening emotion (hate). Similarly, an extremist may crusade against sexual immorality in order to conceal his own deviant sexual desires from himself. Although reaction formations may seem sincere, they can usually be identified by their extreme and compulsive nature. This defense mechanism also operates unconsciously, making possible the primary goal of self-deception. The defense mechanism of displacement involves the transfer of feelings or behaviors from a dangerous object to one that is less threatening. A person who is angry with the boss may maintain a discreet silence, then go home and shout at a family member. Or aggressive impulses may be unconsciously diverted from a frightening object (such as a parent) to oneself, which may lead to self-inflicted injuries or even to suicide. Anxiety may also be displaced, as when a child who is victimized by abusive parents shies away from people in general. In contrast, the defense mechanism of projection conceals dangerous impulses by unconsciously attributing them to other people or things (Freud, 1912-1913/1950, pp. 61ff; 1922/1963m). For example, projected anger may lead to the belief that you are disliked, hated, or being persecuted by other people. In displacement, you know that you are angry and choose a safer target; in projection, you repress your anger and believe that other people are angry at you. Also, projection always operates unconsciously, whereas some displacements may be conscious. Although projection plays a significant role in the development of paranoid behavior, it is a normal way for very young children to deny their mistakes (A. Freud, 1936/1966, p. 123). The ego may also protect itself by refusing to face an unpleasant truth (denial of reality). Denial differs from repression in that the threat occurs in the external world, rather than within your own psyche (A. Freud, 1936/1966, p. 109). For example, a child who resents the birth of a sibling may keep repeating “no baby, no baby.” Or parents who are confronted with evidence that their son has committed a serious crime may refuse to believe it and insist that “he is a good boy.” The terrifying specter of death is a frequent cause of denial, for it is very difficult to accept the fact that we and our loved ones will someday be gone (Becker, 1973). Denial is often accompanied by another defense mechanism, fantasy, where unfulfilled needs are gratified in one’s imagination. A child may deny weakness not only by playing with reassuring symbols of strength like toy guns or dolls, but also by daydreaming about being a famous general or worthy parent (A. Freud, 1936/1966, pp. 69ft). Virtually everyone daydreams to some extent. As with denial, however, an excessive amount of fantasy prevents the ego from fulfilling its main function-perceiving and dealing with reality. CAPSULE SUMMARY Some Important Psychoanalytic Defense mechanism Terminology (II) A method used by the ego to ward off threats from the id, superego, or external world, and to reduce the corresponding anxiety. Most defense mechanisms operate unconsciously, making possible the primary goal of self-deception. Refusing to believe, or even to perceive, some threat in the external world; a defense mechanism. Transferring behaviors or emotions, often unconsciously, from one object to another that is less threatening; a defense mechanism. Gratifying unfulfilled needs by imagining situations in which they are satisfied; a defense mechanism. (1) Reducing painful feelings of self-contempt by becoming like objects that are illustrious and admired, such as idols, aggressors, or lost loves; a defense mechanism that may be partly or wholly unconscious. (2) The healthy desire to become like one’s parents. Unconsciously separating threatening emotions from the associated thoughts or events and reacting on only an intellectual level; a defense mechanism. Unconsciously incorporating one’s own personality. someone else’s values or personal qualities into Denial of reality Displacement Fantasy (daydreaming) Identification Intellectualization Introjection Projection Rationalization Reaction formation Regression Unconsciously attributing one’s own threatening impulses, emotions, or beliefs to other people or things; a defense mechanism. Using and believing superficially plausible explanations in order to justify illicit behavior and reduce feelings of guilt; a defense mechanism. Repressing threatening beliefs, emotions, or impulses and unconsciously replacing them with their opposites; a defense mechanism. (1) Unconsciously adopting behavior typical of an earlier and safer time in one’s life; a defense mechanism. (2) A reverse flow of libido to an object previously abandoned, or to an earlier psychosexual stage. Unconsciously eliminating threatening material from consciousness and using anticathexes to prevent it from regaining consciousness, thus being unable to recall it; a defense mechanism. Unconsciously channeling illicit instinctual impulses into socially acceptable behavior. A form of displacement, but one that represents ideal behavior. Unconsciously adopting ritualistic behaviors that symbolically negate previous actions or thoughts that cause feelings of guilt; a defense mechanism. Repression Sublimation Undoing Rationalization consists of using and believing superficially plausible explanations in order to justify unacceptable behavior (E. Jones, 1908). Unlike excuses, which are designed to persuade someone else, rationalizations reduce anxiety by concealing the truth from the person who uses them. For example, a man who abuses his wife may convince himself that he is in some way the real victim. A poorly prepared student who fails an examination may decide that the grading system was unfair. An inferior teacher may conclude that the students lack ability. Or a politician who spends tax money on personal vacations, engages in sexual harassment, or accepts favors from businesses that his committee regulates may believe that his august position entitles him to bend the rules. Threatening emotions may unconsciously be separated from related thoughts or memories, a defense mechanism known as intellectualization. Some patients in psychotherapy seek relief by repressing their pain and talking unemotionally about their problems, thereby failing to make progress because they do not feel what they are saying. Another defense mechanism, undoing, involves rituals that symbolically negate a previous act or thought that causes feelings of guilt (Freud, 1926/1963j, pp. 53ft). A well-known literary example is that of Lady Macbeth, who murders the king and later tries to undo this heinous act (”get the blood off her hands”) with compulsive handwashing gestures. It is normal for children to identify with their parents and want to become like them. However, identification can also be used as a defense mechanism. A child upset by the death of a beloved pet kitten may alleviate her pain by becoming like the lost object, claiming to be a cat, and crawling around on all fours. Or a student criticized by a domineering instructor may try to gain some feelings of strength by unconsciously adopting his aggressor’s facial expressions (A. Freud, 1936/1966, p. 110; S. Freud, 1921/1959, p. 41). Teenagers who dress like their favorite rock stars, and adults who wear jerseys with the names of famous athletes, feel more positive about themselves by identifying with people whom they admire. The defense mechanism of regression involves a return to behavior that is typical of an earlier and safer time in one’s life. The birth of a sibling may cause a child to resume actions long since discarded, like thumb sucking or bed wetting, as a reassuring reminder of the time when no threatening rivals were present. Or an adult faced with a traumatic divorce may regress to childish behavior and become dependent on her parents. Finally, sublimation serves defensive purposes by unconsciously channeling illicit impulses (such as murder) into more socially acceptable outlets (like contact sports). However, sublimation differs from true defense mechanisms in that it cannot be used to excess. Sublimation represents ideal behavior-the solution to our having inborn illicit and antisocial instincts, yet also needing the benefits of society. The defensive capacities of the ego are fortunate in view of the dangers that it faces. But since self-deception is beyond our conscious control, defense mechanisms can all too easily become excessive and self-defeating: … the news that reaches your consciousness is incomplete and often not to be relied on …. Even if you are not ill, who can tell all that is stirring in your mind of which you know nothing or are falsely informed? You behave like an absolute ruler who is content with the information supplied him by his highest officials and never goes among the people to hear their voice. Turn your eyes inward, look into your own depths, learn first to know yourself! (Freud, 1917a, p. 143.) The Superego According to psychoanalytic theory, infants have no sense of right and wrong. (Recall that only the amoral id is present at birth.) At first this function is carried out by the parents, on whom the helpless child must depend for many years. They reward certain behaviors, a gratifying reassurance of their presence and affection. But they also punish other actions, a threatening sign that the child has lost their love and is now at the mercy of an awesome and dangerous environment. Partly to protect itself from such disasters, and partly because it identifies with the allpowerful parents, the ego begins to internalize (introject) their standards. This leads to the formation of the superego (das Uberich; literally, the “over I”), a special part of the ego that observes and sits in judgment above the rest. The superego is partly conscious and partly unconscious. It starts to develop out of the ego during the third to fifth year of life and continues to introject characteristics of teachers, teenage idols, and other authority figures, though these usually remain of secondary importance. Since the parents indirectly reflect the demands of society, the superego helps perpetuate the status quo (Freud, 1923/1962, p. 25; 1940/1969a, p. 3). The superego includes two components: the conscience punishes illicit thoughts and actions, and the ego ideal rewards desirable behavior. A person who refuses to cheat or steal even though no one else is watching, or who strives to do the best possible job without being supervised, is responding to the dictates of the superego. For behaving in such acceptable ways, the superego rewards the ego with feelings of pride and virtue. Unfortunately, psychic life is rarely this pleasant. Much of the superego lies in the unconscious, where it is intimately related to the id. It condemns the id’s illicit impulses as severely as actual misdeeds, but can directly influence only the ego. Therefore, both forbidden impulses and unacceptable behaviors cause tension to be generated between the superego and the CAPSULE SUMMARY The Structure of Personality (Freud) Develops out of the id at about age 6-8 months. Results from experience with one’s body and with the outside world. Partly conscious, partly preconscious, partly unconscious. Operates by the primary process: Is chaotic, irrational, amoral, has no sense of time or logic, is capable only of producing wish-fulfilling images. Motivated entirely by the pleasure principle. Transforms biological needs into psychological tensions. Contains all innate instincts, which differ in strength from person to person. May be too powerful and cruel (or too weak), resulting in psychopathology. In a sense, the biological component of personality. Operates by the secondary process: Is logical, self-preservative, problem-solving. Develops out of the ego at about age 3-5 years. Results from introjections of parental standards and the resolution of the Oedipus complex. Partly conscious, partly unconscious. Operates by introjected moral imperatives. May or may not be realistic and self-preservative. Motivated by the reality principle. Delays the discharge of tension until a suitable object is found in order to avoid errors, dangers, punishment. The locus of all emotions, including anxiety. Uses defense mechanisms. The stronger the ego, the healthier the personality. In a sense, the psychological executive of personality. Motivated by the energy bound in its formation. Enforces its standards by stimulating the ego’s feelings of guilt or pride. Includes the ego ideal (standards of what is right) and the conscience (standards of what is wrong.) May be too powerful and cruel (or too weak), resulting in psychopathology. In a sense, the social component of personality. ego, and this is experienced by the ego as guilt or moral anxiety. (Thus Freudian theory regards the idea of a “guilty conscience” as a misnomer. Emotions occur only in the ego, so the conscience causes the ego to feel guilty.) You feel guilty and anxious not only when you do something wrong, but also when you want to do something wrong, even if your illicit wishes are beyond your awareness. Even though the ego may be unaware of the reasons for these unpleasant feelings, it is obliged to do something about them. It can obtain relief by substituting more acceptable thoughts or actions, or by resorting to defense mechanisms. It is possible for the superego to be underdeveloped, leaving the individual without effective inner guidelines. Children brought up without love do not introject proper standards, lack appropriate tension between the ego and superego, and have few qualms about aggressing against others (Freud, 1930/l96lb, p. 77n). More often, however, the superego proves to be a harsh master-and another potential source of danger. It may become so perfectionistic and unrealistic that genuine achievements seem worthless. For example, a student who gives an excellent speech before a large group may feel little satisfaction because she made a few minor errors. Or the superego may overstep its bounds and punish legitimate behavior: … the superego … can be supermoral and then become as cruel as only the id can be …. [It then] becomes over-severe, abuses the poor ego, humiliates it and ill-treats it, threatens it with the direst punishments, [and] reproaches it for actions in the remotest past which had been taken lightly at the time …. (Freud, 1923/1962, p. 44; 1933/l965b, p. 61.) Intense unconscious guilt can be the cause of illicit or self-destructive behavior, rather than the result. A person may commit a crime, suffer an injurious parapraxis, fail at work or school, or take a turn for the worse when praised by the psychoanalyst in order to gain relief by being punished (Freud, 1923/1962, pp. 39ff). The superego may become relentless even though the parental upbringing was relatively mild and kindly. One reason is that the formation of the superego is a complicated process. It involves not only the introjection of parental standards, but also the resolution of the child’s Oedipus complex-a major Freudian construct that will be discussed in the following section. Psychosexual Stages To Freud, personality development consists of a series of psychosexual stages. Each stage is characterized by a particular erotogenic zone that serves as the primary source of pleasure. The Oral Stage. During the first 12 to 18 months of life, the infant’s sexual desires center around the oral region (mouth, tongue, and lips). Sucking at the breast or bottle provides not only nourishment, but erotic pleasure as well: Primarily, of course, [oral] satisfaction serves the purpose of self-preservation by means of nourishment; but physiology should not be confused with psychology. The baby’s obstinate persistence in sucking gives evidence at an early stage of a need for satisfaction which … strives to obtain pleasure independently of nourishment and for that reason may and should be termed sexual …. No one who has seen a baby sinking back satiated from the breast and falling asleep with flushed cheeks and a blissful smile can escape the reflection that this picture persists as a prototype of the expression of sexual satisfaction in later life. (Freud, 1905/l965d, pp. 76-77; 1940/l969a, p. 11.) Pleasure is only part of the story, however. Frustration and conflict are inevitable because food does not always appear when the child is hungry, and because the child must eventually be weaned from the breast and taught to stop sucking its thumb. These are the first of many lessons about the need to sublimate instinctual urges and satisfy the demands of society. Toward the latter part of this stage, orality takes an aggressive turn when the teeth emerge and biting becomes possible. At about age 1 to 11/2 years, the infant gains some control over its anal expulsions. Most of the libido detaches from the oral zone and cathects the anus, with the child gaining erotic gratification from the bodily sensations involved in excretion. In addition, the child can now exert control over the environment by contributing or withholding the feces. The former becomes an expression of compliance, similar to the giving of a gift, whereas the latter is a form of disobedience. Frustration and conflict center about the issue of toilet training, a difficult exercise in self-control. Once again, the child must learn to sacrifice pleasure in order to meet parental demands. (See Freud, 1908a; 1917b; 1933/1965b, pp. 99-102; 1905/1965d, pp. 81-83,96.) The Anal Stage. The Urethral Stage. The urethral stage is not clearly distinct from the anal stage, and Freud has relatively little to say about it. The canal carrying urine from the bladder now becomes an erotogenic zone, the child must learn to control urinary urges, and conflict arises from the problem of bed wetting. (See Freud, 1908a; 1905/1965d, pp. 104 n. 2,144 n. 1.) The Phallic Stage. At about age 2 to 3 years, the boy learns to produce pleasurable sensations by manually stimulating his sexual organ. This has a powerful effect on his cathexis for his mother: He becomes his mother’s lover. He wishes to possess her physically in such ways as he has divined from his observations and intuitions about sexual life, and he tries to seduce her by showing her the male organ which he is proud to own. In a word, his early awakened masculinity seeks to take his father’s place with her; his father has hitherto in any case been an envied model to the boy, owing to the physical strength he perceives in him and the authority with which he finds him clothed. His father now becomes a rival who stands in his way and whom he would like to get rid of. (Freud, 1940/1969a, p. 46.) The boy also displays affection for his father, together with jealousy toward his mother. This double set of attitudes toward both parents constitutes the Oedipus complex, named after the legendary Greek king who unknowingly killed his father and married his mother. Oedipal feelings are extremely powerful. They include all the aspects of a true love affair: heights of passion, jealous rages, and desperate yearnings. However, the Oedipus complex ultimately leads to severe conflicts. The boy fears that his illicit wishes will cost him his father’s love and protection, a child’s strongest need (Freud, 1930/1961b, p. 19; see also Freud, 1909; 1924/19630; 1905/1965d, p. 92.) He also discovers the physical differences between the sexes, and draws a terrifying conclusion: that girls originally possessed a penis but had it taken away as punishment, and the same fate will befall his own prized organ if he persists in his Oedipal wishes. To alleviate this intense castration anxiety, the boy abandons his Oedipal strivings and replaces them with a complicated set of attitudes. He intensifies his identification with his father, wishing to be like him rather than replace him. The boy also recognizes that he may not do certain things that his father does (such as enjoy special privileges with his mother), and learns to defer to authority. This reduces castration anxiety by eliminating the need for punishment, while identifying with his father also provides some vicarious gratification of his incestuous wishes for his mother. These identifications and prohibitions are incorporated into the superego and help bring about its formation, with the prevention of Oedipal sexuality and hostility becoming its primary function (albeit an unconscious one). Thus a severe superego may result from an unusually strong Oedipus complex that requires powerful countermeasures. The whole issue is so frightening that it is thoroughly repressed, making it impossible to recall Oedipal experiences without the aid of psychoanalytic therapy. The effects of the Oedipus complex may be more obvious, however, as when a man chooses a wife who strongly resembles his mother. The fear of castration cannot apply to girls, so Freud must find another way to explain the female Oedipus complex. (Some writers refer to this as the Electra complex, but Freud rejected this term [1920/19631, p. 141n; 1931/1963q, p. 198].) Like the boy, the girl first forms a strong cathexis for her nurturing mother. The girl also has twofold attitudes (love and jealousy) for both parents. However, the discovery that she does not have a penis causes intense feelings of inferiority and jealousy (penis envy). Typically, the girl responds by resenting the mother who shares her apparent defect. She intensifies the envious attachment to her father, regards her mother as a rival, and develops an unconscious desire to compensate for her supposed physical deficiency by having her father’s baby: In males … the threat of castration brings the Oedipus complex to an end; in females we find that, on the contrary, it is their lack of a penis that forces them into their Oedipus complex …. Not until the emergence of the wish for a penis does the doll-baby [that the girl plays with] become a baby from the girl’s father, and thereafter the aim of the most powerful feminine wish. Her happiness is great if later on this wish for a baby finds fulfillment in reality, and quite especially so if the baby is a little boy who brings the longed-for penis with him. (Freud, 1933/1965b, p. 128; 1940/1969a, p. 51. See also Freud, 1923/1963n, pp. 171-175; 1924/19630, p. 181; 1925/1963p, p. 191.) Because the girl lacks the vital and immediate threat of castration anxiety, her superego is weaker, she has more difficulty forming effective sublimations, and she is more likely to become neurotic. Freud also regards the clitoris as an inferior possession that has permanent negative effects on a woman’s character, and concludes that a woman’s place is in the home (Freud, 1930/1961b,p.50; 1926/1963j,p.83; 1933/1965b,p.65; 1940/1969a,pp. 12,50; see also Rieff, 1959/1961, pp. 191ff). Freud does admit to great difficulty in understanding the feminine psyche, and ruefully concedes an inability to answer the “great question” of what a woman wants (E. Jones, 1955/1963b, p. 368). However, he has no doubts about the importance of the Oedipal theory: I venture to say that if psychoanalysis could boast of no other achievement than the discovery of the repressed Oedipus complex, that alone would give it claim to be included among the precious new acquisitions of mankind. (Freud, 1940/1969a, pp.49-50.) The Latency Period. By age 5 to 6 years, personality is firmly established. From this time until puberty (age 12 or later), the child’s erotic drives become deemphasized. Oedipal storms subside, sexuality yields to safer forms of expression (such as affection and identification), amnesia clouds unsettling memories of infantile sexuality, and reaction formation may lead the child to spurn members of the opposite sex. The latency period is not a true psychosexual stage, however, and may even be largely or entirely absent in some instances. [ ~fl.."'(.. The genital stage is the goal of normal development and repre} ~ j\tJQ..l- {A-\ sents psychological maturity. (The prior oral, anal, urethral, and phallic stages are therefore\ ~ U \a.~~l'c.. referred to as pregenital.) Narcissism now yields to a more sincere interest in other people, ( ~\ pr--O'. and the woman's primary erotogenic zone shifts from the (pregenital) clitoris to the vagina. Thus "the female genital organ for the first time meets with the recognition which the male one acquired long before" (Freud, 1933/1965b, p. 99). So long as the majority of libido successfully reaches this last stage, there is sufficient psychic energy to cathect appropriate heterosexual objects and form satisfactory relationships. Freud's emphasis on sexuality does not blind him to the importance of love and affection, however, and he regards an attachment based solely on lust as doomed to eventual failure because there is little to keep the parties together once instinctual cathexes have been discharged. The preceding age limits cannot be specified precisely because the psychosexual stages blend together, with no clear-cut point at which one gives way to the next. These stages deal primarily with the erotic drive, and there are no corresponding "psychodestructive stages" Uust as there is no destructive analogue of libido). The emphasis on infantile and childhood sexuality may seem radical, but psychoanalysts regard this as a fact that is both obvious and proven (e.g., Brenner, 1973/1974, p. 22; Fenichel, 1945, p. 56; Freud, 1926/1969b, p. 39). The Genital Stage. Fixation and Character Typology Because human nature is inherently malignant, we have no inborn wish to change for the better, and parents must pressure the reluctant child to proceed through the various stages of development. This task is fraught with difficulties, and some libido inevitably remains attached (fixated) to the pregenital erotogenic zones. So long as most of the libido reaches the genital stage, no great harm is done. But if traumatic events occur during a pregenital stage, such as harsh attempts at weaning or overly severe punishment during toilet training, excessive amounts of libido will become fixated at that stage. The child will reject further development, and will demand the satisfactions that have been withheld. Excessive fixations can also be caused by overindulgence, as by allowing the child to engage in too much thumb sucking. Such intense gratification is undesirable because it is difficult to abandon and remains a source of yearning. So the parents must be careful not to allow either too little or too much gratification during any pregenital stage (Fenichel, 1945, pp.65-66). Fixation may leave too little libido available for mature heterosexuality and result in serious psychological disturbances. However, it is also possible for a personality to be marked by characteristics of a pregenital stage without being classified as pathological. Oral Characteristics. The oral stage primarily involves the passive incorporation of food, so the fixation of excessive libido at this stage is likely to cause dependence on other people. The oral individual also tends to be gullible (liable to "swallow anything"), and to overdo such pleasures a~ or smoking. It is possible for the defense mechanism of reaction formation to conv~;se characteristics into their opposites, however, leading to pronounced independence or suspiciousness. Thus psychoanalytic theory typically describes behavior patterns in terms of polarities, such as gullible-suspicious, with the ideal falling somewhere between the two extremes. CAPSULE SUMMARY The Psychosexual Stages, Fixation, and Regression Duration; Description About age 0-11/2 years. Primarily involves passive incorporation, but becomes aggressive when the teeth emerge and biting is possible. About age 1-3 years. Some control over the environment is provided by expelling or withholding the feces. Urethra (canal carrying unne from the bladder) Penis, clitoris Not clearly distinct from the anal stage. Source of Conflict Feeding Personality Characteristics Oral behavior such as smoking and eating; passivity and gullibility (and the opposites). Orderliness, parsimoniousness, obstinacy (and the opposites). Stage Oral Erotogenic Zone Mouth, lips, tongue Toilet training Ambition (and the opposite). Oedipus complex Vanity, recklessness (and the opposites ). [Sexual impulses become deemphasized during the latency period, which occurs at about age 5-12 years and is not a true psychosexual stage.] Genital Penis, vagina Adulthood; the goal of normal development. The inevitable difficulties of life A more sincere interest in others, effective sublimations, realistic enjoyments. Fixation: Occurs when libido remains attached to one or more of the pregenital erotogenic zones. A certain amount is inevitable, but too much will result in psychopathology. Regression: The reverse flow of libido back to an earlier psychosexual stage or object-choice. As with fixation, a certain amount is normal. The most likely objects of regression are ones that were strongly fixated. Anal Characteristics. Three traits result from excessive fixation at the anal stage: orderliness, parsimoniousness, and obstinacy (Freud, 1908a; 1933/1965b, p. 102). In bipolar terms, anal characteristics include miserliness-Dvergenerosity, stubbornness-acquiescence, and orderliness-sloppiness. Miserliness and stubbornness are related to a rebellion against toilet training, whereas orderliness represents obedient cleanliness following evacuation. These characteristics are sometimes referred to as anal-retentive, and the opposite extremes as anal-expulsive. Urethral Characteristics. Fixation at the urethral stage is related to ambition, which represents a reaction formation against the shame of childhood bed wetting. Ambition may have other causes, however, such as parental pressures (Fenichel, 1945, pp. 69,493). Phallic Characteristics. The characteristics of phallic fixation depend on how the Oedipus complex is resolved. An excessive concern with sexual activity and self-love may lead to promiscuity, or to a chaste preoccupation with one’s attractiveness. Other common phallic characteristics include vanity-self-contempt and recklessness-timidity. The concept of fixation does not apply to the latency period (which is not a psychosexual stage), or to the genital stage (which is the ideal and is denoted by effective sublimations, realistic enjoyments, and mature sexuality). However, it is possible to become fixated on an object as well as a stage of development. For example, a person who has failed to resolve the Oedipus complex may be unable to develop rewarding heterosexual relationships because of a fixation on the parent of the opposite sex. As we have seen, the defense mechanism of regression involves a return to behavior that is typical of an earlier and safer time in one’s life. More precisely, regression refers to a reverse flow of libido back to an earlier psychosexual stage, or to the cathexis of an object that has long since been abandoned. As with fixation, a limited amount of regression is a normal aspect of mental life. However, severe frustration or stress may lead to regressions that are excessive and harmful. A child in the phallic stage may regress to thumb sucking or bed wetting at the birth of a sibling, with large quantities of libido returning to a cathexis of the oral or urethral zone because of the appearance of a threatening rival for the parents’ attention. Or an adult or adolescent may become childishly stubborn in a crisis, thereby regressing to the anal stage. We tend to regress to objects or stages that were strongly fixated during childhood. Thus another disadvantage of powerful fixations is that they make damaging regressions more likely: … if a people which is in movement has left strong detachments behind at the stoppingplaces on its migration, it is likely that the more advanced parties will be inclined to retreat to these stopping-places if they have been defeated or have come up against a superior enemy. But they will also be in the greater danger of being defeated, the more of their number they have left behind on their migration. (Freud, 1916-1917/1966, p. 341.) FURTHER APPLICATIONS OF PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY Dream Interpretation Psychoanalytic theory presents a formidable difficulty: the most important part of personality, the unconscious, is also the most inaccessible. During sleep, however, the ego relaxes its defenses and allows repressed material to emerge, and id impulses that were blocked during waking hours find gratification in the form of dreams. It is as though the ego says to the id, “It’s all right, no great harm can happen now, so enjoy yourself.” However, the ego recognizes that an overly threatening dream will cause the sleeper to awaken prematurely. So it censors the repressed material in various ways and limits the id to only partial fulfillment, and the resulting compromise between the pleasure-seeking id and the sleep-preserving ego is what the dreamer experiences. In accordance with the principle of psychic determinism, no dream is accidental or trivial. But to understand the true meaning, it is necessary to unravel the disguises imposed by the ego and reveal the unconscious thoughts that lie beneath (interpret the dream). This is likely to be a difficult task, partly because the language of dreams is an unusual one and also because repression returns to full force immediately upon awakening. Nevertheless, having analyzed hundreds of dreams (including many of his own), Freud concludes that “the interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind” (1900/1965a, p. 647). Manifest Content, Latent Dream-thoughts, and the Dream-work. The part of a dream that you remember (or could remember) upon awakening is the manifest content. The \-unconscious impulses, beliefs, emotions, conflicts, and memories concealed behind the fa~ade of manifest content are the latent dream-thoughts. And the dream-work is the process that \ – converts latent thoughts into manifest content (Freud, 1901/1952, p. 27; 1900/1965a, V’ \,( pp. 168, 211, 311ff; 1933/1965b, pp. 9-10; 1916-1917/1966, pp. 120, 170; 1940/1969a, ~ (U(l\t~~( j p. 22). (} ~(O( \ The goal of the dream-work is to conceal threatening material that is likely to awaken the ~ V sleeper. For example, the dream-work may change troublesome latent Oedipal thoughts into :\(s (’ manifest content wherein the dreamer enjoys a romantic affair with an attractive stranger, ~ l,.<..l’-'t defeating a serious rival in the process. If the ego decides that greater deception is necessary, C cJ to’ perhaps because the Oedipus complex is still a source of considerable conflict, the dreamwork may turn love into anger and alter the sex (or even the species) of the romantic object. Now the manifest content will have the dreamer fighting with a person of the same sex. Alternatively, the dream-work may attribute the romantic or aggressive impulses to someone else. And countless other distortions are possible. r)~;~c~’:’ Dreams as Wish-fulfillments. Dreams are triggered by memories of the preceding day that involve important frustrations (day’s residues). According to Freud, the purpose of dreams is to fulfill the dreamer’s wishes. A child forbidden to eat a delectable dish of cherries gained some satisfaction by dreaming of consuming them all, a woman who was pregnant but didn’t want to be dreamed of having her period, and a group of explorers in the icy wilderness had frequent dreams of tempting meals and the comforts of home. Adult dreams are usually more complicated, however, and involve repressed childhood impulses that are frequently of a sexual nature. (See Freud, 1901/1952, pp. 32-37; 105ff; 1925/1963a, p. 88; 1900/1965a, pp. 159-164,431-435; 1933/1965b, p. 8; 1916-1917/1966, pp. 126ff.) Although some dreams may appear to be disappointing, frightening, or self-punishing, closer analysis usually reveals some form of (or attempt at) wish-fulfillment. (Freud [l920/1961a, pp. 26-27] does recognize one exception: the tendency to have repeated dreams about a previous traumatic physical injury.) A lawyer once heard Freud lecture about dream interpretation, and then dreamed about losing all of his cases. He argued that psychoanalytic theory must be wrong, since he didn’t want to be a failure. This man had been a former classmate of Freud’s, with grades that were quite inferior. He was jealous and wanted to embarrass Freud, and he fulfilled this wish by having a dream that made Freud’s theories look absurd. “Considering that for eight whole years I sat on the front bench at the top of the class while he drifted about somewhere in the middle, he could hardly fail to nourish a wish, left over from his school days, that some day I would come a complete cropper” (Freud, 1900/1965a, p. 185). A woman patient of Freud’s dreamed that she was unable to give a supper party because all of the stores were closed. “My wish was not fulfilled,” she told him. “How do you fit that in with your theory?” During the preceding day, a female friend had asked to be invited to dinner. The dreamer’s husband greatly admired this friend, but thought she was much too skinny. This dream satisfied the dreamer’s wish to keep a dangerous rival from becoming more attractive. As Freud explained: “It is as though, when your friend made this suggestion, you said to yourself: ‘A likely thing! I’m to ask you to come and eat in my house so that you may get stout and attract my husband still more! I’d rather never give another supper party’” (Freud, 1900/l965a, p.182). Frightening dreams indicate that the ego’s disguises are about to fail and allow dangerous material to emerge. Awakening the dreamer now becomes the lesser of two evils, and the dream-work behaves. like a conscientious night watchman, who first carries out his duty by suppressing disturbances so that the townsmen may not be waked up, but afterward continues to do his duty by himself waking the townsmen up, if the causes of the disturbance seem to him serious and of a kind that he cannot cope with alone. (Freud, 1901/1952, p. 102. See also Freud, 1900/1965a, p. 267; 1933/l965b, p. 17; 1916-1917/1966, p. 217; 1940/1969a, p. 28.) Self-punishment dreams satisfy a wish of the superego. An illicit id impulse strives for gratification, and the superego responds by causing the ego to feel guilty. The punishment dream alleviates this unpleasant emotion, thereby serving as an extraordinary sort of compromise between the three components of personality (Freud, 1900/1965a, pp. 514 n. 1, 596ff; 1933/l965b, pp. 27-28). The Language of Dreams. Dreams are expressed in symbols, a device also found in myths, legends, jokes, and literature. For example, a stranger who appears in the manifest content may actually represent a parent, spouse, or even the dreamer. Freud attributes a sexual meaning to most symbols, with the male organ represented by elongated and potent objects (sticks, rifles, knives, umbrellas, neckties, snakes, plows) and the female organ denoted by containers (cupboards, caves, bottles, rooms, jewel cases). Staircases, going upstairs or downstairs, and being run over stand for the sexual act, whereas decapitation or the loss of teeth reflects castration (Freud, 1901/1952, pp. 107ff; 1900/1965a, pp. 385ff; 1916-1917/1966, pp. 149ft). However, dream interpretation requires far more than a list of symbols and their meanings. Some symbols are used in an idiosyncratic way known only to the dreamer, and some elements are just what they seem and are not symbolic at all. Therefore, as was the case with parapraxes, free association must be used to reveal the underlying thoughts: … we ask the dreamer … to free himself from the impression of the manifest dream, to divert his attention from the dream as a whole on to the separate portions of its content and to report to us in succession everything that occurs to him in relation to each of these portions-what associations present themselves to him if he focuses on each of them separately …. A knowledge of dream symbolism will never do more than enable us to translate certain constituents of the dream content. … It will, however, afford the most valuable assistance to interpretation precisely at points at which the dreamer’s associations are insufficient or fail altogether. (Freud, 1901/1952, pp. 110-111; 1933/1965b, pp. 10-11.) The dream-work disguises threatening material in various ways. It may cause important aspects of the latent dream-thoughts to become minor parts of the manifest content (or vice versa), move the end of a series of latent thoughts to the beginning of the manifest content (or vice versa), or convert hate into love (or vice versa). The dream-work may condense several related ideas into a single symbol whose meaning is far from clear, or even eliminate some of the latent material altogether. Or it may attribute the dreamer’s hostile impulses to someone else, resulting in manifest content wherein a parent scolds the dreamer. Because of these complexities, and because the dreamer’s free associations are likely to grind to a halt as they get closer to threatening material, not every dream can be interpreted (Freud, 1933/1965b, p. 13). Nevertheless, in the preface to the 1932 English edition of The Interpretation of Dreams, Freud concluded that this book … contains, even according to my present-day judgment, the most valuable of all the discoveries it has been my good fortune to make. Insight such as this falls to one’s lot but once in a lifetime. The components of a well-adjusted adult personality work together in relative harmony, under the leadership of the ego, to achieve pleasurable yet safe discharges of tension. The majority of libido successfully reaches the genital stage, enabling the ego to deal with its three masters. The ego sublimates or blocks dangerous id impulses, but not those that are healthy. It heeds the moral dictates of the superego, but resists demands that are harsh and perfectionistic. And it takes the frustrations caused by the external world more or less in stride, forming appropriate plans and revising them as necessary. Though life is difficult and some unhappiness is inevitable, the healthy individual is able to do two things well: love and work (Freud, cited by Erikson, 1963, pp. 264-265). In maladjustment, on the other hand, the ego is weakened by the loss of libido to strong childhood fixations. The ego may therefore respond to external frustration by allowing more libido to regress, resulting in childish behavior. It may be dominated by a stem and unyielding superego, enforce defense mechanisms too rigidly, and deprive the individual of healthy and socially acceptable satisfactions. Or, if the superego is also weak, illicit id impulses may lead to immoral and destructive behavior. Although psychopathology may cause behavior that seems extreme or bizarre, there is no sharp borderline between the normal and abnormal personality. The distinction involves a difference in degree, not in kind. The painful difficulties of childhood can never be entirely avoided, with the result that “we are all a little neurotic” (Freud, 1901/1965c, p. 278). Neurosis invariably begins in infancy and childhood, though it may Causes of Neurosis. not become clearly evident until much later. One important cause is a lack of physical affection, which makes it difficult for the infant to distinguish self from not-self and seriously hinders the development of the ego. Overindulgence or too much frustration during a psychosexual stage will result in harmful fixations, as we have seen. The child may suffer such traumatic events as observing the parents’ sexual intercourse (the primal scene), being seduced by an adult, or (in the case of the boy) being threatened with castration. This overwhelms the immature ego with more excitement than it can discharge, a painful condition, and creates the impression that sexuality is dangerous. During the phallic stage, lack of love may prevent the superego from introjecting proper standards. Or the superego may become overly severe, either because of introjects from stem parents or the need to overcome unusually powerful Oedipal conflicts. The child who succumbs to neurosis enters the latency period with the Oedipus complex unresolved. For a while, the immature ego is able to achieve a state of balance by resorting to repression and other defense mechanisms. At puberty, however, when sexual activity heightens, this complicated and basically unstable adjustment begins to collapse. The instinctual impulses are now reinforced by an increased supply of libido, so they surge forth with renewed vigor. A relatively healthy adolescent can sublimate these impulses by forming cathexes for members of the opposite sex. But the neurotic individual cannot do this, because he or she remains fixated on Oedipal desires and conflicts. The ego, influenced by the superego, blocks these dangerous wishes by using anticathexes and defense mechanisms. The only way that the dammed-up libido can gain a measure of discharge is by emerging in a form that is both disguised and distorted-namely, a neurotic symptom. (See Fenichel, 1945, p. 20; Freud, 19l5/l963f, pp. 111-1l2.) Neurotic Symptoms. Neurotic symptoms resemble dreams in several ways. A symptom reveals important information about the unconscious, and is expressed in symbols. Like dream symbols, a symptom usually has several meanings. And a symptom represents a compromise between the demands of the id, the regulations of the superego, and the defenses of the ego. However, a neurotic symptom is always caused by sexual impulses. And more powerful defensive measures are necessary, since the waking state is a source of potential danger to the individual. (See Freud, 1900/1965a, p. 608; 1905/1963b, p. 136; 1906/1963k; 1916-1917/1966, p. 360.) As an illustration, let us consider one of Freud’s less successful (but more instructive) cases. In hysteria, psychological difficulties are unconsciously converted into physical symptoms. An 18-year-old girl, given the pseudonym of Dora, suffered from hysterical nervous coughing and the occasional loss of her voice. Dora’s unresolved Oedipal conflicts stemmed in part from an overindulgent father, who tried to compensate for an unhappy marriage by making her his confidante at an early age. Aided by two detailed dream interpretations, Freud concluded that Dora’s symptoms had several meanings. They reflected a clash between an id impulse for oral sex and the defenses of a horrified ego, with coughing providing some disguised wish-fulfillment in the appropriate erotogenic zone. It also served as punishment for such an illicit wish. Dora had experienced a traumatic seductive embrace with an older married man when she was 14, and she unconsciously displaced this threatening genital stimulation to the oral zone. She spent some time in the company of this man, whose wife was having an affair with her father, and formed strong unconscious desires for him. Her vocal difficulties often occurred during his absences, and expressed a disguised wish not to talk at all unless she could speak to him. The coughing also resulted from an identification with her father, who had a similar mannerism (Freud, 1905/1963b; 1921/1959, p. 38).1 One patient successfully treated by Freud, the “Rat Man,” was obsessed by horrifying (yet also unconsciously pleasing) thoughts that a pot containing hungry rats would be attached to the buttocks of his father and girlfriend. This distasteful symptom, which was based on a story that the Rat Man had heard while in military service, had at least three meanings. It reflected a powerful conflict between conscious love and unconscious hate for his father, a “gambling rat” who once disappointed his son by running up a debt that he did not repay. It indicated that IDora terminated treatment prematurely. As is common in psychotherapy, she unconsciously displaced the hostility that she felt for her aloof parents and elderly seductor onto the therapist (the phenomenon of transference, to be discussed later in this chapter). Freud felt that he blundered by not realizing the strength of these feelings in time, allowing Dora to act out her anger by depriving him of the chance to cure her. However, others have attributed the error to an excessive emphasis on sexuality. Freud apparently ignored the possibility that Dora’s conscious distaste for her seductor was not so much a reaction formation against her own unconscious sexual desires, but justified resentment at being “a pawn in her elders’ pathetic little end-games, her cooperation necessary in order for them to salvage something erotic for themselves in a loveless world” (Rieff, 1963, p. 16; see also Rieff, 1959/1961, pp. 88-92; Singer, 1970, p. 389). CAPSULE SUMMARY Some Important Psychoanalytic Terminology (III) The unconscious combination of various symbols or words into a single entity with several meanings. An unconscious displacement of emotion or behavior, by the psychoanalyst, from some other person to the patient. Memories of the preceding day that trigger a dream because they are related to important unconscious issues. The unconscious process that converts latent dream-thoughts content. into manifest Saying whatever comes to mind, no matter how silly or embarrassing it may seem. The “fundamental rule” of psychoanalytic therapy, used to bring unconscious material to consciousness. An emotional and intellectual understanding of the causes and dynamics of one’s behavior, achieved by bringing unconscious material to consciousness. The psychoanalyst’s explanation of the true meaning of the patient’s free associations, resistances, dreams, or other behaviors. The unconscious motives, beliefs, emotions, conflicts, and memories that are concealed behind the manifest content of a dream; usually related to Oedipal issues. The part of a dream that one remembers, or could remember, upon awakening. Primary gain Resistance The partial discharge of libido provided by neurotic symptoms. The patient’s unconscious attempts to defeat the purpose of psychoanalytic therapy and preserve illicit id wishes. May take any form that violates the fundamental rule, such as long silences, refusing to talk about certain topics, and so forth. An incidental advantage provided by neurotic symptoms, such as avoiding unpleasant tasks or receiving sympathy from others. An entity that conveys a meaning that is not immediately apparent; the “language” in which dreams occur. According to Freud, most dream symbols have a sexual meaning. An unconscious displacement of emotion or behavior, by the patient, from some other important person (such as a parent) to the psychoanalyst. Produces the attachment that makes positive therapeutic change possible, but may defeat the therapy if it becomes overly negative. A major intensification of transference, wherein the relationship to the analyst becomes even more important than the problems that originally brought the patient into psychoanalytic therapy. The process by which the patient in psychoanalytic therapy becomes convinced that formerly unconscious material is true, learns to avoid repressing it, and gradually refines this new knowledge into appropriate and effective behavior. his conflict carried over into his relationship with his girlfriend. And it involved a regression to the anal stage, which is when the conflict originated (Freud, 1909/1963y). Another famous case is that of the “Wolf Man,” who suffered from a severe animal phobia. (A phobia is an intense fear of a specific object or situation that is not dangerous.) Through a detailed analysis ofthe patient’s free associations and dreams, this symptom was traced to various traumatic childhood events: seeing a frightening picture of a wolf during his early childhood, observing either a primal scene or intercourse between animals that was similar to this picture, and threats of castration from a beloved nurse when his sister engaged him in sex play at the age of three (Freud, 1918/1963aa). A child known as “Little Hans” suffered from an irrational fear (phobia) of horses. Hans often played horse-and-rider with his father and had once seen a horse fall. Freud attributed this phobia to Hans’ Oedipal wishes that his father would suffer a painful fall and to displaced castration fears, expressed as anxiety about the horse biting him. This case is atypical, however, being analyzed primarily through correspondence with Hans’ father (Freud, 1909; 1926/1963j, pp. 29-41, 59-68). Freud actually reports very few case histories, opting instead to preserve the anonymity of his patients by presenting his findings in the form of theoretical arguments. He also has little to say about the problems caused by an overly lenient superego, preferring not to treat such “worthless” people as juvenile delinquents and criminals (Roazen, 1975/1976b, pp. 145-153). Among the other areas of interest to Freud are homosexuality and sexual perversions (1920/19631; 1905/1965d). In a letter to the mother of a homosexual son, he wrote: Homosexuality is assuredly no advantage, but it is nothing to be ashamed of, no vice, no degradation, it cannot be classified as an illness; we consider it to be a variation of the sexual function produced by a certain arrest of sexual development. … It is a great injustice to persecute homosexuality as a crime, and cruelty too. (Jones, 1957/1963c, p. 502.) Whatever the form, neurotic symptoms can be remarkably persistent. Since they represent a compromise between the id, ego, and superego, they are actively maintained by all three parties to the conflict. Neurosis often involves powerful feelings of guilt, and painful symptoms may fulfill an unconscious wish for relief through punishment. As in the case of Dora, not getting well may also be a (primarily unconscious) way of punishing other people. Finally, in addition to the primary gain provided by the partial discharge of libido, symptoms may be supported by secondary gains as well. The sufferer may receive outpourings of sympathy from others, or be relieved of such onerous tasks as working or going to war, with these fringe benefits making it still more difficult to relinquish the symptoms. (See Freud, 1923/1962, p. 39; 1905/1963b, pp. 60-61; 1933/1965b, pp. 109-110.) These strong reasons for not wanting to be cured conflict with the sufferer’s wish for relief, making the task of psychotherapy an extremely challenging one. Psychosis. In psychosis, the patient’s severe withdrawal from reality is likely to make hospitalization necessary. Repressed material becomes so powerful that it overwhelms the ego, or the conflict between the ego and reality proves to be so traumatic that the ego surrenders and throws itself into the fantasy world of the id. Freud’s view of psychopathology as a difference in degree does extend to psychosis, but he regards a moderately well-functioning ego as essential for treatment and rejects the use of psychoanalytic therapy with psychotics. (See Freud, 1933/1965b, pp. 16, 154; 1916-1917/1966, p.447; 1940/1969a, pp. 30,58; 1926/1969b, pp. 31-32.) This view may well reflect some defensiveness on his part, and has been successfully challenged by later theorists (e.g., Fromm-Reichmann, 1950; Searles, 1965; Sullivan, 1962/1974). Freud did analyze the autobiography of a psychotic named Daniel Schreber. He concluded that paranoia is inevitably related to underlying homosexuality: Love for people of the same sex is converted into hate by reaction formation, and is then projected onto others (Freud, 1922/1963m; 1911/1963z). However, modem theory also regards this idea as only partially correct at best (e.g., Arieti, 1974, p. 118). Psychotherapy During the years 1880 to 1882, Freud’s noted friend Josef Breuertreated the 21-year-old hysterical patient known as “Anna 0.” Severe sexual and intellectual deprivation during her childhood and adolescence, followed by the fatal illness of her beloved father, produced a veritable museum of neurotic and psychotic symptoms: paralyzed limbs, hallucinations, a second personality that lived exactly one year in the past, nervous coughing, sleepwalking, and various speech disorders-and perhaps a hysterical pregnancy as well, although this has been disputed. Breuer discovered a most unusual way to alleviate these formidable difficulties. He hypnotized Anna 0., and had her relive each previous occurrence of a symptom in reverse chronological order! This procedure enabled her to release powerful emotions that she had been afraid to express at the time (the process of “catharsis”). Unfortunately, Breuer’s sympathetic care aroused such powerful displaced love from his attractive patient that he became upset, his wife became even more upset, and he dropped the case with considerable embarrassment. But he had shown that the forces causing psychopathology were unconscious, and could be brought to light with words and ideas alone. (See Ellenberger, 1970, pp. 480-484; Ellenberger, 1972; Freud & Breuer, 1895/1966, pp. 55-82; E. Jones, 1953/1963a, pp. 142ff; Rieff, 1959/1961, pp. 10,41.) Freud was so impressed by this demonstration that he adopted the hypnotic method with his own patients. However, he soon found that it left much to be desired. Cures were likely to be only temporary, with the patient becoming dependent on the therapist and suffering a relapse as soon as treatment was discontinued. The cathartic removal of a symptom left the underlying causes and conflicts unresolved, free to create new difficulties. Thus hypnotic therapy acted more like a cosmetic coverup than successful surgery. (The reason, according to Freud, is that hypnosis immobilizes the ego. Since the ego is the rational and problem-solving part of personality, it must remain active and functioning for therapy to succeed.) And some of Freud’s patients were unable to achieve a trance state, partly because he wasn’t a particularly good hypnotist (Freud, 1916-1917/1966, pp. 450-451; Freud & Breuer, 1895/1966, pp. 145ff). For these reasons, Freud abandoned hypnosis (and catharsis) and gradually developed the form of psychotherapy that has become known as psychoanalysis. Theoretical Foundation. Simply telling the patient about the causes and meanings of neurotic symptoms will not produce a cure, for the information will be deflected by the ego’s defenses and appear to be irrelevant or incorrect (Freud, 1916-1917/1966, p. 281). A psyche dominated by unconscious forces from the past can be liberated in only one way: by bringing this unconscious material to consciousness, and enabling the patient to achieve an intellectual and emotional understanding (insight) about such issues as unresolved Oedipal conflicts and childhood fixations. These insights reeducate and strengthen the ego so that it may assume its proper role of leadership over the id and superego. As Freud puts it, “where id was, there ego shall be” (l933/1965b, p. 80). Since the origin of neurosis lies in infancy and childhood, psychoanalysis strives to bring about a moderate amount of regression. This regression is therapeutic because it occurs in a favorable atmosphere, though there may well be a temporary turn for the worse as defense mechanisms are stripped away. Therapeutic regression is induced by carefully applied frustration, with the psychoanalyst remaining silent for considerable periods of time. This also avoids the error of excessive sympathy, which would add to the secondary gains of neurosis and make it harder for the patient to get well. Freud views the analyst’s role as similar to the gardener, who removes weeds that impede growth but does not provide a direct cure (Ellenberger, 1970, p. 461). Yet the analyst must also give enough gratification to prevent excessive frustration and regression, which would lead to infantile behavior. Unlike some modem psychoanalysts, who refuse even a small Christmas present and then try to deduce the patient’s unconscious motives for offering it, Freud would accept the gift of a book and might even respond in kind (Roazen, 1975/1976b, p. 125). Therapeutic Procedures: Free Association, Resistance, Transference, and Others. The patient in classical psychoanalytic therapy reclines on a couch while the analyst sits to the rear, out of view. This procedure, which has become a popular symbol of psychoanalysis, enables the patient to relax physically and devote more energy to the demanding mental tasks that are required. It also prevents the patient’s regressions from being disrupted by the analyst’s facial expressions and gestures. Finally, it allowed Freud to avoid the unpleasant experience of being stared at for hours on end (l913/1963t, p. 146). The patient attends therapy from four to six times per week, for approximately 50 minutes (and up to 100 dollars or more) per session, usually for several years. The heavy expense in money and time makes psychoanalysis inaccessible to most people, but an appropriately high fee is claimed to benefit the analysis (as well as the analyst) by providing an additional incentive to tear down one’s psychological defenses and enter the frightening world of the unconscious (Menninger & Holzman, 1973, pp. 31-32). While reclining on the couch, the patient is required to say whatever comes to mind (the aforementioned technique of free association). Nothing may be held back, no matter how silly, embarrassing, or trivial it may seem: Your talk with me must differ in one respect from an ordinary conversation. Whereas usually you rightly try to keep the threads of your story together and to exclude all intruding associations and side issues, so as not to wander too far from the point, here you must proceed differently. You will notice that as you relate things various ideas will occur to you which you feel inclined to put aside with certain criticisms and objections. You will be tempted to say to yourself: “This or that has no connection here, or it is quite unimportant, or it is nonsensical, so it cannot be necessary to mention it.” Never give in to these objections, but mention it even if you feel a disinclination against it, or indeed just because of this …. Never forget that you have promised absolute honesty, and never leave anything unsaid because for any reason it is unpleasant to say it. (Freud, 1913/1963t, p. 147.) The goal of free association is to evade the patient’s defenses and bring important unconscious material to consciousness. This “fundamental rule” of psychoanalysis was suggested by one of Freud’s patients (”Emmy von N.”), who asked that he refrain from interrupting so she could say what was on her mind (Freud & Breuer, 1895/1966, pp. 97-98). While the patient free associates (or tries to), the analyst gives full attention and (in most cases) avoids such distractions as taking written notes. Free association is a difficult task. The patient’s conscious wishes to be cured by psychoanalysis conflict with strong unconscious drives to repress threatening material, not be in analysis, and remain ill. The ego’s defenses cannot be eliminated just by an instruction to tell everything, and they intrude on the free associations in the form of resistances. These may include long silences, refusing to say something that seems silly or embarrassing, telling carefully planned stories, avoiding important topics, “forgetting” (i.e., repressing) insights or issues discussed previously, hiding emotion behind a fac;:adeof intellectualization, being late or absent from therapy, or a myriad of other devices that violate the fundamental rule and prevent the patient from producing material from the unconscious. (See Fenichel, 1945, p. 27; Freud, 1900/1965a, p. 555.) The analyst must then help the patient become aware that a resistance is taking place, the form in which it occurs, and (lastly) the underlying reason, thereby eliminating the resistance so free association can continue. Thus it is necessary to analyze not only the threatening Oedipal impulses and other unconscious residues from childhood, but also the obstacles unconsciously placed in the path of therapy by powerful defense mechanisms. During those periods when free association is not impeded by resistances, the patient relives childhood conflicts in the analytic situation. Behaviors and emotions are unconsciously displaced from the past to the present, and from other important people in the patient’s life (such as the parents) to the analyst. This process is known as transference. (See Freud, 1920/l96la, pp. 12-13; 1905/1963b,p. 138; 19l4-1963u,pp. 160, 165; 19l6-1917/1966,p.455.) Transference provides the analyst with firsthand evidence about the patient’s problems. It also usually involves childhood love for the parents, and it is this transferred emotional attachment that makes the patient receptive to the analyst’s influence. The analyst therefore tries to intensify this process and make the transference, rather than the original symptoms, the main focus of treatment (transference neurosis). However, this procedure has some potential pitfalls. A patient’s transferred love may be intense and difficult to deal with, as Breuer discovered. Or the transference may be too negative, as when powerful distrust or obstinacy is displaced from a harsh parent to the analyst. In fact, “there are cases in which one cannot master the unleashed transference and the analysis has to be broken off” (Freud, 1937/l963w, p. 270; 1926/1969b, p. 66). Managing the transference is the most crucial aspect of psychoanalytic therapy, and Freud succeeded where Breuer failed partly because he was able to deal with this important phenomenon. (See Fenichel, 1945, pp. 29-31; Freud, 1925/1963a, pp. 79-81; 1915/1963v.) Since free association is distorted by resistances and transferences, the psychoanalyst must deduce the true meaning of the patient’s words and actions. Such an interpretation might relate a patient’s present heterosexual difficulties to unresolved childhood Oedipal conflicts. However, interpretations must be withheld until the patient is only a few steps away from the repressed material and the related ego defenses are ready to crumble. Otherwise, even a correct interpretation is likely to produce resistance and rejection because it is too far beyond the patient’s conscious knowledge. (See Freud, 1913/1963t, pp. 152-153; 1937/1963x; 1926/1969b, p. 56.) As is the case with most learning, the insights gained through psychoanalytic therapy must be practiced in order to integrate them into one’s life (the process of working through). Learning for the first time about an unconscious conflict, resistance, or self-defeating behavior usually does not produce change. The patient only gradually becomes convinced about the truth of formerly unconscious material, learns to avoid repressing it again, and refines the new knowledge into appropriate and effective behavior (Freud, 1914/l963u). Psychoanalytic therapy also places considerable emphasis on dream interpretation. Dreams provide the analyst with important information because they usually involve a regression to infantile wishes and childhood sexuality. A final aspect of Freudian psychotherapy concerns the psychoanalyst, who also has an unconscious tendency to displace emotions and behaviors from other important people (such as a parent or spouse) onto the patient, Such countertransferences may prevent the analyst from perceiving the patient accurately and responding appropriately (Freud, 191O/1963s, pp. 86-87). For example, a nagging patient might trigger the analyst’s unconscious resentment toward a parent who behaved in the same way. Or the analyst might overlook important symptoms because they are frighteningly similar to his or her own serious problems. To help avoid such errors, and to provide a better understanding of psychoanalysis, psychoanalysts must undergo analysis themselves as part of their training. Many do not even begin private practice untill they are in their forties (Frenichel, 1945, pp. 30-31; Fine, 1973, p. 6; Freud, 1937/l963w, pp. 267-268). Although Freud regards psychoanalysis as the premier method of psychotherapy, he does not recommend it for everyone or regard it as infallible, nor does he reject other approaches so long as they work (Freud, 1905/1963r, pp. 65-66, 69-72; 1937/l963w; 1933/l965b, p. 157). Psychoanalytic therapy strives to gain the best possible psychological conditions for the functioning of the ego, thereby enabling it to accept the challenge of living and loving. In a sense, the patient is freed from the extreme misery of neurosis in order to face the normal misery of everyday life. More optimistically, the patient leaves psychoanalytic therapy with feelings similar to those of an anonymous poet (cited by Menninger & Holzman, 1973, p. 182): I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life; I was given life, that I might enjoy all things. According to psychoanalytic theory, human behavior is governed by the pleasure principle. People seek to avoid the unpleasure of increased drives, and to obtain pleasure by discharging tension. But society rules out the greatest sources of pleasure by imposing restrictions against our wild and untamed instincts, such as incest and murder. We must therefore channel these illicit instincts into socially acceptable (albeit less satisfying) behavior, and work offers a good outlet for such sublimations. For example, a young boy developed intense curiosity about the births of his brothers and sisters. These dramatic events took place in his farmhouse home, yet he was not allowed to watch. As an adult, he satisfied his wish to know about such matters by becoming an obstetrician. This profession required him to be kind and considerate toward the babies and mothers whom he treated, thereby strengthening his unconscious defenses against the murderous rage he had felt at the birth of each new sibling. And it enabled him to sublimate hostile Oedipal wishes by identifying with his mother’s doctor, a superior figure who was treated with great deference by his father (Brenner, 1973/1974, p. 200). Alternatively, a person may sublimate sadistic impulses by becoming a surgeon and cutting people up in a socially approved way. Or powerful Oedipal desires may be sublimated by becoming a photographer or painter of the opposite sex. Unfortunately, “the great majority of people only work under the stress of necessity [and have a] natural human aversion to work,” thus overlooking an important source of potential satisfaction (Freud, 1930/1961 b, p. 27 n. 1; see also Freud, 1927/l96lc, p. 8). Not even our modem civilization can conquer the superior forces of nature. Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and diseases exact their inevitable toll in lives and property, while the relentless specter of death awaits us all. To alleviate such threatening reminders of human helplessness, certain religions preach a reassuring message: Life continues even after death, brings the perfection that we missed on earth, and ensures that all good is rewarded and all evil punished. Fate and nature only appear to be cruel, for the omnipotent and omniscient Providence that governs all creation is benevolent as well. The difficulties of life serve some higher purpose, so there is no reason to despair. Those who successfully subject their thinking to religion receive comfort in return, whereas those who may be skeptical are advised that these tenets have been handed down from the beginning of time, and that one does not question the highest Authority of all. Freud regards such beliefs as extremely harmful to the individual and to society, and has authored some of the sharpest attacks on religion ever published (Freud, 1939; 1930/l96lb, pp. 21-22,28-32,56-58; 1933/l965b, pp. 160-175; 1927/l96lc.) He views religion as a regression to infancy, when the helpless baby desperately needed the protection of an allpowerful parent. These childhood wishes are unconsciously projected onto the environment, creating the image of an exalted deity who must be blindly obeyed: The whole thing is so patently infantile, so foreign to reality, that to anyone with a friendly attitude to humanity it is painful to think that the great majority of mortals will never be able to rise above this view of life. (Freud, 1930/1961 b, p. 21.) Thus religion is a collective neurosis, a shared fixation at a very early stage of development. It is an illusion that tries to master the real world with fantasized wish-fulfillments, which must fall before the onslaught of reason and intellect. The more intelligent must eventually realize that our ancestors were wrong about a great many things, and perhaps religion as well; that the prohibitions against questioning religious doctrines are a clear sign of weakness, designed to protect these ideas from critical examination; that tales of miracles contradict everything learned from sober observation; that earthquakes, floods, and diseases do not distinguish between believer and nonbeliever; that human evolution follows Darwinian principles rather than a divine plan; and that the promised afterlife of perfect justice is most unlikely ever to be delivered. Furthermore, religion does not provide a good basis for social morality. “Thou shalt not kill,” a commandment that was frequently violated even when the influence of religion was strongest, becomes meaningless if people do not believe that God will enforce it. Nor does it pay to “love thy neighbor” if the neighbor replies with hatred, and no omnipotent being is on hand to keep score and redress this injustice.2 Civilization does require prohibitions against killing, but should base them on rational grounds: if one person may kill, so may everyone else. Ultimately all will be wiped out, for even the strongest individual cannot withstand the attack of a large group. If refusing to kill were properly recognized as a self-serving human principle, rather than a commandment of God, people would understand how such rules work to their own interests and strive to preserve them (Freud, 1930/l96lb, pp. 56-58; 1927/l96lc, pp.37-44). Freud concedes that his arguments will encounter powerful and emotional opposition. Since people are indoctrinated with religion during childhood, before they are able to apply reason to this issue, they become dependent on its narcotizing effects. Therefore, he recommends bringing children up without religion. This would force us to face the full extent of our insignificance in the universe, abandon the security blankets of childhood, learn to rely on our own resources, and grow from infantilism to maturity (Freud, 1927/l96lc, pp. 49-50). Just as Freud took no more than an occasional aspirin during 16 painful years with cancer, he allows us no narcotics and no rationalizations. We must forgo illusions of ideal justice and happiness in the hereafter, and be content to relieve the inevitable burdens of life. This will enable us to deal most effectively with reality: [Science attempts] to take account of our dependence on the real external world, while religion is an illusion and it derives its strength from its readiness to fit in with our instinctual wishful impulses …. Our science is no illusion. But an illusion it would be to suppose that what science cannot give us we can get elsewhere. (Freud, 1927/1961c, p. 56; 1933/l965b, pp. 174-175.) According to psychoanalytic theory, Oedipal themes can be found throughout literature and the arts. The young hero who slays the fearsome giant in “Jack and the Beanstalk” is scoring a symbolic Oedipal triumph over a castration-threatening father, whereas Cinderella achieves a similar victory over her cruel stepmother and stepsisters by winning the heart of a handsome father-figure (the prince). To minimize the reader’s guilt feelings about fulfilling such illicit wishes, the hero(ine) with whom the child identifies is depicted as honest and in the right, whereas the rivals are portrayed as evil villains or monsters. In adult literature, Shakespeare’s Hamlet cannot bring himself to avenge his father’s murder because the behavior of his dastardly uncle is an all-too-threatening reminder of his own forbidden wish: to take his father’s place with his mother. Parricide also plays a major role in many novels (e.g., Dostoevski’s Brothers Karamazov) and in various myths and legends, notably the story of Oedipus that formed the basis for Freud’s theories. Even in tales where the characters are loving or submissive, the manifest content can be interpreted as a defense against underlying illicit impulses. For example, the Homeric myth of immortal gods and goddesses disguises the issue of parricide by having a father-figure (Zeus) who cannot be killed (Brenner, 1973/1974, p. 206). Freud regards jokes as of considerable psychological importance, and has devoted a monograph to this topic (1905/1963i). Many jokes allow the discharge of sexual or aggressive tension in a socially acceptable way, with a “joke-work” (similar to the dream-work) concealing the true meaning. Freud’s analysis presents considerable difficulties for the modem American reader, however, and is probably the least read of all his works. Jokes that are funny in Freud’s native German often require a lengthy explanation in English or involve a play on words that cannot be translated at all, whereas others are amusing only to those who are familiar with life in Vienna at the turn of the century. Sigmund Freud was a genius, with many brilliant insights about the human personality. There are significant errors in his theory, however, as well as aspects that remain highly controversial. To complicate matters, Freud changed his mind often and left more than a few loose ends. Conceding and correcting an error is in the best spirit of scientific integrity, but his many revisions have caused considerable difficulties for those trying to evaluate his theory. Female Sexuality. Freud’s belief that women are inferior creatures with defective sexual organs, weaker superegos, and a greater predisposition to neurosis is regarded by virtually all modem psychologists as absurd-a truly major blunder. Freud apparently had sexist prejudices (as was common in his era), which made it difficult even for such a sensible and rational man to understand the feminine psyche. Today, of course, theorists stress the equality or even superiority of women (such as their greater longevity and ability to bear children). The psychoanalytic belief that clitoral orgasm is an inferior and pregential form of sexuality, and that vaginal orgasm is the only mature version, has also been contradicted by modern research. Although sexual response is probably too complex to be attributed to any single factor, studies have indicated that women who experience orgasm through clitoral stimulation are as normal and well-adjusted as those who obtain it from vaginal penetration. To many observers, therefore, Freudian theory represents yet another expression of an age-old cultural bias against women. (See for example Breger, 1981; Fromm, 1973; 1980; Horney, 1923-1937/1967; Lewis, 1981; Masters & Johnson, 1966.) Sexuality and Rigidity. Freudian theory has been strongly attacked for its heavy emphasis on sexuality: the universality of the Oedipus complex, libido, the psychosexual stages, attributing all psychopathology to malfunctions of the sexual drive, regarding most dream symbols as sexual, and so forth. Even today, when sexuality is no longer so shocking, many find it hard to believe that this one drive explains nearly all human behavior. Psychoanalysts would argue that we have not yet come far enough along the path of freeing ourselves from our repressions, but there is also the possibility that Freud’s personal life affected his theorizing to an excessive degree. For example, his frequent allusions to Oedipal parricide wishes may be related to an unusual degree of resentment toward his father (Ellenberger, 1970, pp. 451-452; Roazen, 1975/1976b, pp. 36-37). And although Freud was in many respects a fearless and objective investigator, he appears to have had an intense personal commitment to the issue of sexuality: There was no mistaking the fact that Freud was emotionally involved in his sexual theory to an extraordinary degree. When he spoke of it, his tone became urgent, almost anxious, and all signs of his normally critical and skeptical manner vanished. A strange, deeply moved expression came over his face, the cause of which I was at a loss to understand. I had a strong intuition that for him sexuality was a sort of numinosum. (Jung, 1961/1965, p. 150.) Freud was in the difficult position of having the intelligence and sensitivity to fear death very strongly, yet not believing in religion. He hated helplessness and passivity, particularly the inevitable nonexistence and insignificance of death. Thus psychoanalysis may well have become the religion that would provide him with the immortality of lasting recognition. In fact, his harsh rejection of former colleagues who criticized libido theory (such as Jung and Adler) reflects an intolerance more suited to religion than to scientific controversy. (See Becker, 1973, pp. 100-101; Roazen, 1975/1976b, pp. 188,209). Interestingly, Freud himself recognized this potential characteristic of a science: … every religion is … a religion of love for all those whom it embraces; while cruelty and intolerance towards those who do not belong to it are natural to every religion …. If another group tie takes the place of the religious one… then there will be the same intolerance towards outsiders … and if differences between scientific opinions could ever attain a similar significance for groups, the same result would again be repeated with this new motivation. (Freud, 1921/1959, pp. 30-31.) Some modern analysts act like members of an exclusive ingroup, and invoke scathing criticisms against even the most respected psychologists of other persuasions. Fine (1973, pp. 8-10), for example, characterizes Adler’s contributions to psychological theory as “negligible” and dismisses behavior therapy as a “gimmick.” Challenging psychoanalytic theory, on the other hand, can be as difficult and frustrating as attacking a religion. If you cannot recall any Oedipal trauma, a psychoanalyst would reply that these events have been cloaked by repression. Similarly, a novel or dream that affords no obvious evidence of sexuality would be explained as the result of various defenses. Disagreement with a psychoanalyst’s interpretation is almost always seen as a resistance, rather than an error by the analyst. When Freud told Dora that a jewel case in her dream symbolized the female genitals, and she replied with “I knew you would say that,” Freud rejected the obvious conclusion (that she knew his theories well enough by then to predict his responses) and regarded her answer as a typical way of resisting the truth of his interpretation (Freud, 1905/1963b, p. 87). In fact, there is virtually no way to have a legitimate argument about sexuality with a Freudian. To be sure, Freud’s beliefs derived from a deep and passionate commitment to what he regarded as the truth. He spent a lifetime of hard work sharing his patients’ deepest thoughts and most intimate feelings, and he was well aware that psychoanalysis has serious limitations. (See Freud, 1937/1963w; 1933/1965b, p. 144; 1916-1917/1966, p. 245.) Nor is professional arrogance limited to psychoanalysis, or even to psychology. Yet psychoanalysis would appear to suffer from an excessive rigidity, one that provokes public and professional disillusionment and risks losing the more valuable of Freud’s hard-won insights (Strupp, 1971). Pessimism and Drive Reduction. Freud’s picture of the dark side of personality has also provoked strong criticism. No one can deny that people are capable of highly destructive and illicit acts, but can we really be inherently murderous and incestuous? Is adult pleasure limited to watered-down sublimations of our forbidden childhood desires? Is the belief in the goodness of human nature “one of those evil illusions by which mankind expect their lives to be beautified and made easier, while in reality they only cause damage?” (Freud, 1933/1965b, p. 104). Rather than accept such somber conclusions, some theorists have tried to recast Freudian psychoanalysis in more optimistic terms (e.g., Homey, Fromm, Erikson). Others have chosen to opt for Freud’s “illusion” (e.g., Rogers, Maslow). Freud’s emphasis on drive reduction has also come under heavy fire. A wealth of experience suggests that people are also motivated by desires for increases in tension, and actively seek out excitation and stimulation. Children display an incessant and lively curiosity, some adults continue to work despite being financially secure, and many people take up a challenging project or hobby instead of remaining idle. This issue is deceptively complicated, however, and some of these criticisms seem to be based on misunderstandings of psychoanalytic theory. Work that appears to be unnecessary and drive-increasing may actually be due to the lash of a demanding superego, or it may provide an opportunity for effective sublimations. Psychoanalytic theory does regard boredom as an unpleasant state, where some tension whose aim is unconscious is blocked from discharge (Fenichel, 1945, p. 15). Some gratifying drive increases, such as sexual forepleasure, depend on the expectation of subsequent drive reduction and lose their appeal if this belief is shattered. And Freud himself conceded the existence of pleasurable drive increases (l924/1963h, p. 191), as we have seen. It is probably true, however, that he did not give this factor sufficient attention. Psychic Energy. According to Freud, the fixation or regression of too much libido will lead to neurosis. But how much is excessive? Although Freud believed that neurological correlates of libido would ultimately be discovered, this has not happened, and it is impossible to measure the amount of psychic energy that is invested in a given cathexis, fixation, or regression. Therefore, some psychologists include the energy model among Freud’s dramatic failures. (See, for example, Bieber, 1980; Carlson, 1975.) Internal Consistency. Despite the fact that Freud’s constructs are carefully and intricately interrelated, psychoanalytic theory does not quite hold together. Serious contradictions tear at the foundation and threaten to bring down the entire structure. As an example, let us consider once again the nature of the instincts. Freud originally regarded the sexual and self-preservative instincts as two separate categories. He also maintained that all instincts have the conservative function of restoring matter to a previous state of existence (e.g., returning from hunger to satiation). In 1920, however, Freud made some significant theoretical changes. Partly because aggressive behavior was becoming increasingly difficult to explain in terms of his theory, he redefined the two major types of instincts as sexual and destructive, with self-preservation included as part of Eros. However, tinkering with one part of a theory is likely to affect other aspects as well. Freud continued to argue that all instincts are conservative, yet this now became a new source of difficulty. If nonexistence was our original condition, it is easy to see how the death instinct is conservative: it tries to bring us back to the inanimate state from which we started. But how, then, can the self-preserving Eros be conservative? If, on the other hand, our earliest condition was that of existence, then the death instinct cannot be conservative. Freud finally indicated that perhaps Eros is not conservative (1940/1969a, p. 6), yet this creates a host of new difficulties. One gets the distinct impression of a man approaching the twilight of his life, confronting a majestic but weakening theoretical dam, and creating new leaks with every attempt to patch up old ones. Methodology. Some critics regard psychoanalysis as too subjective and uncontrolled. The psychoanalyst may be biased by preconceived theoretical notions and disregard contradictory evidence, or the patient may be influenced to behave in ways that support the analyst’s beliefs. The analyst exerts a powerful effect on the patient despite the apparent passivity of the procedure (e.g., Strupp, 1972), and Freud’s assertion (1937/1963x, pp. 278-279) that he never led a patient astray by suggestion seems highly improbable. It has even been argued that Freud exaggerated the success of some of his cases, and distorted some of the facts in ways that would support his theory. For example, some critics contend that Freud tried to force interpretations on the “Rat Man” that were favorable to his theory by using the power of his intellect and personality, and that he lengthened the case report and changed the order of events to make therapy appear more orderly and effective. Although these issues are very troublesome, they do not necessarily mean that Freud was seriously lacking in integrity; they do suggest that he was considerably more prone to human failings than his legend allows. And there are historians of psychoanalysis who regard these criticisms as unfair, and as unlikely to have much effect on the prevailing view of Freud’s work. (For a further discussion of these and related issues, see Eagle, 1988; the New York Times article by Goleman, 1990; Mahony, 1986.) Freud’s refusal to take notes during the analytic session, so that he could respond unconsciously and empathic ally to the patient, is questioned by those who distrust the vagaries of memory (Wallerstein & Sampson, 1971). Despite Freud’s protestations, concentrating on neurotic people may have limited his understanding of the healthy and fulfilled personality. And there are no statistical analyses or hypothesis tests in Freud’s writings, in contrast to the usual scientific emphasis on quantification and control. For example, his analysis of the “aliquis” parapraxis may not prove that it was motivated by the unconscious fear of having impregnated a woman, since free associations beginning with any other word might also have led to this allimportant personal issue. Other Issues. Such psychoanalytically oriented theorists as Erikson, Fromm, Homey, and Sullivan believe that Freud overemphasized the biological determinants of personality, and underestimated social and environmental factors (as we will see in subsequent chapters). lung, Sullivan, and Erikson are among those who contend that personality development continues during adolescence and adulthood, rather than concluding at age 5-6 years. It has been argued that Freud overemphasized the negative aspects of religion, overlooked some of its advantages (and some of the disadvantages of science), and had a personal bias regarding the whole issue (Rieff, 1959/1961, pp. 325-328; Roazen, 1975/1976b, pp. 250-251). It now appears that dreams are not the guardians of sleep, as Freud contended. It is sleep that serves to protect dreaming, a process that is apparently essential to our well-being. It is also doubtful that dreams are as sexually oriented as Freud thought, and it may well be that dream symbols are used more to reveal and express complicated ideas than to conceal illicit wishes. (See Dement, 1964; 1974; Fisher & Greenberg, 1977, pp. 21-79; Fromm, 1951/1957; C. S. Hall, 1966.) Although a century has passed since the publication of The Interpretation of Dreams, few people today use their dreams as an aid to self-understanding. Even when one has the assistance of a psychotherapist, it is all too easy to forget a dream or have difficulty arriving at a valid interpretation. Therefore, Freud’s belief that dreams represent the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious aspects of the mind may well have been too optimistic. Empirical Research As would be expected of a science, psychology has tried to resolve the aforementioned troversies by turning to empirical research. However, this has not been an easy task. con- Psychoanalytic Theory. A number of studies carried out between 1950 and 1970 focused on the defense mechanisms. Some investigators tried to induce adolescent or adult participants to repress previously learned material by persuading them that they had failed on an important task, such as a test of intelligence or a measure of sexual deviation. Other researchers studied the ability to remember fairly recent life events, hypothesizing that traumatic incidents should be more readily repressed than pleasurable ones. Still others concentrated on the perceptual aspects of defense, using a tachistoscope (a high-speed projection device) to flash a series of individual words on a screen for a brief instant. These investigators hypothesized that taboo words (e.g., “penis,” “rape”) should be more readily repressed, and hence more difficult to perceive, than neutral words (e.g., “apple,” “stove”). Taken as a whole, the results appear to indicate little support for the existence of repression. That is, the experimental group (which underwent the unpleasant experience) usually did not demonstrate poorer recall than the control group (which did not). However, since Freud states that the decisive repressions all take place during early childhood, it is difficult to see how an experimenter can justifiably claim to have refuted psychoanalytic theory merely by failing to trigger this mechanism in older participants. Even though the taboo words in the perceptual defense experiments were sometimes readily identified, the existence of some people who do not deny this particular aspect of reality is hardly a major blow to psychoanalytic theory. Thus the clinical evidence in favor of repression and the defense mechanisms would appear to outweigh these negative, but flawed, research findings. (For specific references, see the first edition of this book [Ewen, 1980, p. 65] and Hilgard & Bower [1975, pp. 362-369].) Silverman (1976) also concludes that research on psychoanalytic theory prior to the 1970s has been poorly designed, in part because it is difficult to study unconscious material without allowing it to become conscious. As a result, there has been a lack of convincing research support for the major propositions of psychoanalysis. To help remedy this defect, he reports on two independent research programs conducted over a lO-year period. Both programs dispensed with the metaphysical aspects of psychoanalysis (e.g., psychic energy and cathexes), and concentrated instead on basic clinical propositions. One program used subliminal tachistoscopic presentations of stimuli designed to intensify the participants’ wishes, feelings, and conflicts about sex and aggression (and not to induce repression, as in the studies criticized above). The other program employed hypnotic suggestion to induce conflict, as by suggesting that the participant strongly desired a member of the opposite sex who was married, more experienced, and likely to treat any advances with ridicule. The results supported a fundamental contention of psychoanalytic theory, namely that psychopathology is causally related to unconscious conflicts about sex and aggression. Fisher and Greenberg (1977) have reviewed a substantial amount of research dealing with psychoanalytic theory. The evidence indicates that dreams do not serve to preserve sleep, as noted in a previous section. Nor is the manifest content of a dream merely a meaningless camouflage. It may at times function defensively, but it also provides important information about the dreamer’s personality and success in coping with important life issues. However, Freud was correct when he concluded that dreams provide an outlet for our internal, unconscious tensions. With regard to personality types, such oral characteristics as dependency, pessimism, and passivity do frequently cluster together. The same is true for the anal characteristics of orderliness, parsimoniousness, and obstinacy. Research on Oedipal issues supports Freud’s belief that both sexes begin life with a closer attachment to the mother, that castration anxiety is a common occurrence among men, and that the boy goes through a phase of rivalry with his father. But the studies also indicate that Freud was wrong about female Oedipality: there is no evidence that women believe their bodies to be inferior because they possess a vagina instead of a penis, or that women have less severe superegos than men. The research findings also suggest that the boy resolves his Oedipus complex not to reduce castration anxiety, but because the father’s friendliness and nurturance invite the boy to become like him. That is, the resolution of the boy’s Oedipus complex is due to trust rather than fear. Hunt (1979) reviewed literature dealing with the psychosexual stages, and concluded that Freudian theory is incorrect in certain respects. Although some support does exist for the anal character, there is no evidence that it derives from the management of toilet training. (See also Singer, 1997.) Also questionable is the Oedipal hypothesis that children regularly compete with the parent of the same sex for the attention and love of the parent of the opposite sex. However, the research results support Freud’s general emphasis on experiences during early life as determinants of personality. Recent research evidence also strongly supports two major aspects of Freudian theory. Anxiety is clearly harmful to one’s physical and psychological health (e.g., Suinn, 2001). And unconscious defense mechanisms influence many kinds of behavior, including child development, prejudice and racism, self-esteem, memory, and decision making (e.g., Cramer, 2000; Cramer & Davidson, 1998; Paulhus et aI., 1997). To cite just one example, children who report extremely high self-esteem are often denying or defending against underlying feelings of imperfection (Cassidy, 1988; Cramer & Block, 1998). Yet Freud often fails to receive the credit that he deserves, for all too many modem psychologists have devised and used new names for the defense mechanisms while ignoring his work. Some animal studies appear to demonstrate the existence of pleasurable tension increases. Animals will explore the environment, learn to solve mechanical puzzles, and learn to open a door in an opaque cage just to see outside, without any biological drive reduction taking place. Insofar as learning theory is concerned, it has been concluded that the drive-reduction hypothesis is probably inadequate (Bower & Hilgard, 1981, p. 113). On the other hand, Freud’s original theory about the seduction of children by adults may not have been as incorrect as he ultimately concluded. It has been suggested that incest is more prevalent than is generally believed, but is not publicized because of feelings of shame and guilt. The continuing interest in such Freudian issues is evidenced by the prominent coverage in such popular periodicals as The New York Times (Blumenthal, 1981 a; 1981b; Goleman, 1990) and Newsweek (Gelman, 1981; 1991). Finally, Shevrin and Dickman (1980) surveyed diverse fields of empirical research dealing with the unconscious. Although the results by no means always agree with Freudian theory, the authors conclude that no psychological model that seeks to explain human behavior can afford to ignore the concept of unconscious processes. Psychoanalytic Therapy. Psychoanalytic therapy has also been subjected to the rigors of formal research, though there are serious methodological problems here also. (See, for example, Fisher & Greenberg, 1977; Seligman, 1995; Strupp & Howard, 1992; VandenBos, 1986; 1996.) There is evidence that newer forms of psychotherapy may be more efficient and effective than psychoanalysis, at least for certain types of pathology (e.g., Corsini, 1973; Sloane et aI., 1975; Fisher & Greenberg, 1996). Even Eysenck’s polemical attacks on psychoanalysis (1952; 1965; 1966), which at one time appeared to have been convincingly refuted (Bergin, 1971; Meltzoff & Kornreich, 1970), have since met with some support (Erwin, 1980; Garfield, 1981). Nevertheless, a study of 20 behavior therapists who were themselves in personal therapy revealed that 10 opted for psychoanalysis (and none for behavior therapy!), with some freely conceding that analysis is the treatment of choice if one can afford it (Lazarus, 1971). And some analysts have sought to update their procedures by having the patient attend only once or twice per week, and by dispensing with the couch in favor of face-to-face interviews, while retaining many of the fundamental aspects of Freudian theory (e.g., Bieber, 1980). Some theorists emphasize the common factors among the various forms of psychotherapy, arguing that the differences are more apparent than real (e.g., Bergin & Strupp, 1972; Luborsky, Singer, & Lubarsky, 1975; Strupp, 1973). Others argue that those differences that do exist can and should be reconciled, so that psychologists can concentrate on advancing our knowledge rather than debating the merits of particular schools of thought. (See Goldfried, 1980; Marmor & Woods, 1980; Wachtel, 1977; 1987). At present, then, there are no simple answers regarding the relative effectiveness of psychoanalytic therapy. Despite the controversies that beset psychoanalysis, Freud deserves his lasting place in history. Although there are modem psychologists who would disagree, the following almost certainly represent major progress in our attempts to understand the human personality. Freud emphasized the importance of the unconscious. Instead of naively assuming that behavior is what it seems on the surface, it is now widely accepted that part of every personalityand probably a very significant part-is below the level of awareness. The term Freudian slip and the various defense mechanisms have become part of our everyday language. Freud devised valuable techniques for interpreting dreams, and was the first to incorporate dream interpretation as a formal part of psychotherapy. Freud developed the first method of psychotherapy, including procedures for bringing unconscious material to consciousness. He identified such fundamental issues as resistance and transference, and showed that many difficulties in adult life relate to childhood conflicts with one’s parents. He pointed out the importance of early childhood for personality development. He stressed that psychopathology represents a difference in degree rather than kind, and showed that apparently incomprehensible neurotic symptoms have important meanings. Freud called attention to the importance of anxiety, and emphasized that psychological pain can be as or more troublesome than physical pain. He showed that we may suffer from self-imposed commands and restrictions that are relentless and cruel, a concept accepted by many other theorists (albeit often presented using their own terminology rather than the superego). He analyzed himself and probed the terrors of his own unconscious without the aid of another analyst, because there were no others. And his theories about infantile sexuality and the inevitable conflict between the individual and society, although controversial, have triggered valuable discussions and rethinkings of these issues. Despite many sharp attacks and incredulous critics, Freud is accorded great esteem throughout psychology and psychiatry. Textbooks in all areas of psychology pay him due respect, and many of the noted personality theorists whose views we will examine in subsequent chapters have used psychoanalytic theory as the foundation for their own work. Whatever Freud’s errors may have been, this extraordinary and brilliant man opened new psychological vistas for all humanity. The ultimate personality theory must include, at the very least, the best of his ideas, and no one who claims an interest in human behavior can afford to be without a firsthand knowledge of his works. The best way to approach Freud is by starting with his latest writings, which express his theory in its final form. The Question of Lay Analysis (1926/1 969b ) is a highly readable short monograph that summarizes many of the main points of psychoanalysis. The New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis (1933/l965b), which was designed as a sequel to the Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis (1916-1917/1966), can stand in its own right as a well-written guide to various aspects of Freudian theory. An Outline of Psychoanalysis (1940/1969a) is a brief and highly condensed survey, whereas the The Ego and the Id (1923/1962) is the seminal work that introduced the structural model of personality. Many of Freud’s views on religion and society will be found in The Future of an Illusion (1927/1961c) and Civilization and its Discontents (1930/1961b). Among Freud’s earlier works, The Interpretation of Dreams (1900/1965a) is probably his single most important effort. The Psychopathology of Everyday Life (190l/l965c) is the definitive work on parapraxes. Beyond the Pleasure Principle (1920/1961a), a difficult and challenging monograph, brought forth the concept of the death instinct. Freud’s description of his treatment of Dora (1905/1963b), the Rat Man (1909/1963y), and the Wolf Man (1918/1963aa) are also readily available, as are many of his theoretical papers. Of the various alternatives, the standard edition of Freud’s works (edited by James Strachey) is the most accurate. The classic biography of Freud is by Ernest Jones (1953-1957/1963), though there are those who feel that it affords too favorable a picture of its subject. Other valuable sources of biographical information and critical evaluation are Ellenberger (1970), Gay (1988), Rieff (1959/1961), Roazen (1975/l976b), and Schur (1972). Freud also wrote a brief autobiographical sketch (1925/1963a). Useful secondary sources include Brenner (1973/1974) on psychoanalytic theory, Menninger and Holzman (1973) on psychoanalytic therapy, and Fenichel (1945) on both areas. 1. THE BASICNATURE HUMANBEINGS. The Instincts: People are motivated by innate OF instincts that convert bodily needs into psychological tensions. We seek to gain pleasure by reducing these drives and to avoid unpleasure (the pleasure principle). The two types of instincts are sexual, which includes the whole range of pleasurable and self-preserving behavior, and destructive. These two types are fused together, though not necessarily in equal amounts, so that any behavior is at least partly erotic and partly aggressive. Our inherent nature is murderous and incestuous. Therefore, to enjoy the benefits of a civilized society, we must accept some frustration and sublimate our true illicit desires into socially acceptable (but less pleasurable) behavior. Psychic Energy: All mental activity is powered by psychic energy. The energy associated with the sexual instincts is called libido, whereas that related to the destructive instincts has no name. Mental representations of objects are cathected with varying quantities of psychic energy; the greater the amount, the stronger the cathexis and the more the object is desired. Psychic Determinism: All behavior has underlying causes. Apparent accidents (parapraxes), dreams, and seemingly irrelevant thoughts provide evidence about one’s unconscious feelings and beliefs, which may well be different from their conscious counterparts. The Unconscious: The vast majority of mental activity is unconscious, and cannot be called to mind without the aid of such psychoanalytic techniques as free association and dream interpretation. 2. THE STRUCTURE PERSONALITY. he Id: The id is present at birth, is entirely unconOF T scious, and includes all innate instincts. It operates in accordance with the irrational primary process, and is motivated entirely by the pleasure principle. It has no sense of logic, time, or self-preservation, and its only resource is to form wish-fulfilling mental images of desired objects. The Ego: The ego begins to develop out of the id at about age 6 to 8 months. The ego results from experience with one’s own body and with the outside world, and spans the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious. It operates in accordance with the logical and selfpreservative secondary process and is motivated by the reality principle, delaying pleasure until a suitable and safe object has been found. The ego is the locus of all emotions, including anxiety, and tries to keep the id under control by using various defense mechanisms. The Superego: The superego begins to develop out of the ego at about age 3 to 5 years. It is partly conscious and partly unconscious, and includes standards of right and wrong. The superego results from introjected parental standards and from the resolution of the Oedipus complex. 3. THE DEVELOPMENT PERSONALITY. sychosexual Stages: Personality is determined OF P primarily during the first 5 years of life. We proceed through a series of psychosexual stages: oral, anal, urethral, phallic, a latency period (usually), and genital. A different part of the body serves as the primary erotogenic zone during each stage, providing the main source of pleasure (and conflict). The Oedipus complex occurs during the phallic stage and consists of a double set of attitudes toward both parents, with love for the parent of the opposite sex and jealousy toward the parent of the same sex usually stronger than the reverse feelings. The boy eventually abandons his Oedipal strivings because of castration fears, whereas the girl ultimately seeks resolution by having children. Fixation and Regression: Normally, most libido eventually reaches the genital stage. The fixation of excessive amounts of libido at pregenital stages results in various character patterns, and perhaps in psychopathology. Libido may also regress to a previous psychosexual stage or to an object that was long since abandoned, usually one that was strongly fixated. 4. FURTHERAPPLICATIONS: ream Interpretation: Dreams serve as “the royal road to the D unconscious.” But they are expressed in a symbolic language that is difficult to understand, with the dream-work changing threatening latent dream-thoughts into more acceptable manifest content. Most dreams involve childhood sexual impulses, though some (especially those of children) are obvious and nonsexual. Virtually all dreams seek to fulfill some wish. Psychopathology: Neurosis invariably begins in infancy and childhood, though it may not become evident until much later. Failure to resolve the Oedipus complex results in an inability to form effective sublimations, so libido can be discharged only in the disguised and distorted form of neurotic symptoms. Like dreams, neurotic symptoms represent a compromise among the id, ego, and superego; and they have important underlying meanings, however strange they may appear on the surface. Psychotherapy: Psychoanalytic therapy strives to bring unconscious material to consciousness, where it can be examined and corrected by the ego. These insights strengthen the ego, increase its control over the id and superego, and improve its ability to deal with the difficulties of everyday life. Psychoanalytic therapy is extremely expensive and timeconsuming, uses the well-known couch, has the patient free-associate by saying whatever comes to mind, pays special attention to the patient’s resistances and transferences, and emphasizes carefully timed interpretations by the analyst. Other Applications: Psychoanalysis has been applied to such areas as work, religion (of which Freud was extremely critical), and literature. 5. EVALUATION. Among the weaknesses of psychoanalysis are male chauvinism, internal inconsistencies, methodological problems, difficulties with the metaphysical energy model, a resilience to attack that borders on evasiveness, a lack of tolerance for other ideas and modern innovations, and (perhaps) an overemphasis on sexuality, drive reduction, and the biological determinants of personality. It has proved difficult to subject the propositions of psychoanalytic theory to empirical research. Nevertheless, Freud’s contributions are monumental: the importance of the unconscious, dream interpretation, psychoanalytic therapy, resistance and transference, repression and the defense mechanisms, parapraxes, anxiety, the meaning of neurotic symptoms, and more. Note: A set of study questions appears at the end of each chapter dealing with a theory of personality. It is important to understand that many of these questions do not have a single “right” answer. The questions are designed to encourage critical thinking about the material you have read, and to stimulate discussion and debate about important issues. They will also help you relate personality theory to the world in which we live. Following the study questions, you will find a “help” section that includes comments and suggestions. However, try to devise your own answers before you consult the help section. Some questions deal with certain case material, which has been placed in an Appendix at the end of this book for ready reference. Part I. Questions 1. It has been argued that the content of any theory of personality is strongly influenced by the theorist’s own personality (e.g., Mindess, 1988). Why might a personality theorist want to believe that aspects of his or her personality are shared by everyone? 2. How might Freud’s personality and life experiences have influenced: (a) his conclusions regarding the Oedipus complex? (b) his belief that nearly all of personality is unconscious? 3. Freud suffered from some of the same neurotic symptoms that he treated in his patients. Would a person who is psychologically healthy have Freud’s intense desire to probe deeply within his or her own psyche? 4. (a) Did Freud regard at least some of his ideas and constructs as truths that deserved to remain unchallenged for a long time? (b) What is the difference between a construct and a fact? (c) Given this difference, is it likely that Freud’s constructs would be as enduring as he hoped? 5. Give an example of a parapraxis from your own life, and suggest how Freud might interpret it. How would you interpret it? 6. Give an example from your own life, or from the life of someone you know well, which shows that anxiety can be just as painful as (or even more painful than) a physical injury. 7. (a) Give an example from your own life of the use of one or more defense mechanisms. (b) What purpose did the defense mechanism(s) serve? (c) Were there any harmful effects? (d) Since many of these mechanisms are used unconsciously, how can you (or anyone) know that they actually exist? 8. Give an example from your own life of an undesirable id impulse overcoming the ego’s restrictions and defenses. 9. Give an example from your own life of the superego being overly demanding and cruel to the ego. 10. Why might a theorist use a construct such as libido, even though it cannot be observed or measured? 11. By today’s standards, Freud’s views of women were clearly biased. To what extent (if any) should criticism of Freud take into account the era in which he lived? 12. A young woman dreams that she rushes to catch a train but gets to the station too late, the train leaves without her, and there are no more trains to her destination for several weeks. On the surface, it appears that the dreamer has been disappointed. How might this dream be interpreted to support Freud’s belief that virtually every dream fulfills some wish of the dreamer? 13. Consider the following quotes from Chapter 1: (a) “Psychoanalysis is a method of research, an impartial instrument, like the infinitesimal calculus.” Do you agree? Why or why not? (b) “[Mental patients] have turned away from external reality, but for that very reason they know more about internal, psychical reality and can reveal a number of things to us that would otherwise be inaccessible to us.” Do you agree that studies of mental patients can provide important information about personality in general? Why or why not? 14. Explain how the concept of resistance can be viewed both as a major contribution to our knowledge and as a way for Freud to protect his theory against attack. 15. A terrorist blows up a building in a hated foreign country. How might Freud use the concepts of id, ego, and superego to explain this behavior? 16. The chief executive officer of a major corporation lies to his coworkers and the public, thereby defrauding them of a great deal of money while making millions for himself. A religious leader conceals evidence of child abuse by his subordinates, thereby allowing such abuse to continue. When found out, both individuals steadfastly maintain that they did nothing wrong. (a) Is this an excuse or a rationalization? (b) How might Freud explain this behavior? 17. The author of a popular textbook on introductory psychology (which I use when I teach that course) concludes that the following evidence disproves Freud’s construct of repression: “Shouldn’t we expect children who have witnessed a parent’s murder to repress the experience? A study of sixteen 5- to 1O-year-old children who had this horrific experience found that not one repressed the memory. Shouldn’t survivors of Nazi death camps have banished the atrocities from consciousness? With rare exceptions, they remember all too well.” (Myers, 2001, p. 498) Why is the author’s conclusion incorrect? Part II.Comments and Suggestions 1. Suppose the theorist’s introspections reveal that he or she has some highly undesirable (perhaps even shocking) personality characteristics. Suppose further that the theorist is a moral, ethical person. How might the theorist feel if these characteristics were possessed by very few people? If these characteristics could be attributed to human nature? 2. (a) Recall the family situation in which Freud grew up, and compare this with lung’s family situation (biographical sketch, Chapter 3). (b) If a person wishes to startle the world and achieve fame as an unraveler of great mysteries, what better way than to discover an immense, vitally important, but largely unexplored realm within every human being? 3. I don’t think so. I concede that there are relatively well-adjusted psychologists who are interested in studying personality, possibly including their own. But insofar as Freud’s intense self-analysis is concerned, I doubt if he would have undertaken this difficult and painful task had he not been afflicted with psychological problems that he needed to resolve. 4. (a) Consider Freud’s statements about the merits of Oedipal theory and dream interpretation. (b) See Chapter 1. (c) Why is it necessary for a theorist to create constructs? 5. I am angry at my wife or daughter, and I am thinking quite unhusbandly or unfatherly thoughts. A few moments later I accidentally collide with a piece of furniture and sustain a painful bruise. Freud would argue that this is no accident; I am relieving my guilt over my hostile thoughts by punishing myself. He would also contend that this parapraxis indicates an underlying conflict, possibly the obvious one between love and anger toward my family and perhaps some deeper and more complicated ones as well. (Recall that the causes of behavior are usually overdetermined.) In this case, I’d be inclined to agree with him. 6. See section 1 of the case material in the Appendix. 7. (a) Denial of reality: A man’s relationship with his father is a troubled one. When he is in his late twenties, and living a few thousand miles away form his parents, his mother phones to tell him that his father has just suffered a heart attack. When she says that she can handle everything, he is pleased that he doesn’t have to disrupt his schedule and make a long trip. So he hangs up and goes about his business. He does not allow himself to understand that a heart attack is a serious matter, and that his father might need his help. (His father is an independent and dominating person who never seems to need his help.) Nor does it occur to him that in spite of her brave words, his mother might want some firsthand support. Instead he acts as though nothing very important has happened. (b) Denial helps him to conceal his painful feelings and inner conflicts involving love and hate for his father, so he doesn’t have to face them and deal with them. (c) His behavior certainly didn’t improve his relationship with his parents. (d) Everyone knows that a heart attack is extremely serious. He was not making excuses; he sincerely believed that this was a trivial matter. Only the operation of unconscious psychological defenses could lead to such a severe distortion of reality. 8. I don’t like waiting in long lines at the supermarket or bank (or even short lines). I tell myself that I have more important things to do, and I don’t want any delays in gratification. The checkout clerk or teller is working hard to satisfy everyone, and my ego should develop an anticathexis against these id impulses. But all too often the id impulses win out, and I become childishly impatient. 9. A young teacher is speaking in front of a large class. Most of what the teacher says is well thought out, instructive, and entertaining. But a few attempts at humor are inept and fall flat. Later, the teacher focuses on these failures and is very self-critical for not preparing more thoroughly, thereby depriving himself of the legitimate gratification that should have been derived from a good and effective presentation. 10. Consider an example from the world of sports. The Dallas Cowboys score two quick touchdowns against the San Francisco 4gers and lead, 14-0. They are driving for a third touchdown, which will seemingly turn the game into a rout, when disaster strikes: A pass is intercepted and returned for a touchdown. The 4gers appear revitalized, and the announcers proclaim that the “momentum” of the game has changed. Can momentum be seen or measured? Why do announcers and fans find this construct useful? 11. During much of the time in which Freud lived, women in the United States were treated as second-class citizens; for example, they were not allowed to vote. Should a theorist be able to rise above such prevailing standards? 12. You could argue that she didn’t want to go where the train would take her; perhaps her spouse insisted on vacationing in a place that she didn’t like. I would look more deeply, however, and posit an underlying inner conflict. Suppose that the train trip represents her journey to psychological maturity. She partly wants to grow up and be her own woman (and catch the train), but is also afraid of surrendering her dependence on her parents and the protection that they provide. The latter wish is stronger at this moment, so she arranges in her dream to miss the train. Freud would presumably see an Oedipal conflict somewhere, perhaps with the train as a phallic symbol. 13. (a) I don’t. Science is objective, and its procedures and results can be verified and reproduced by other people. Freud’s procedures were subjective; he did not keep records during the psychoanalytic session, or allow the presence of outside observers (understandably, in view of the sensitive material being discussed). (b) I do. We all use defense mechanisms and experience anxiety to some extent, and these ideas (like all of Freud’s) were derived from his work with his patients. Modem psychologists generally agree that at least some forms of psychopathology represent differences in degree from healthy adjustment, rather than differences in kind. 14. How does a resistance enable a patient to avoid having to confront threatening beliefs, emotions, and memories? How might the concept of resistance enable Freud to find fault with those attacking psychoanalytic theory? 15. Everyone’s id contains such destructive impulses. Most of us are taught that blowing up buildings is wrong, we incorporate this standard into our superegos, and the superego tells the ego not to allow this behavior. But the terrorist’s society approves of such violence, so parents in that society are likely to agree and to convey this belief to their children. Thus the terrorist’s superego doesn’t regard blowing up the building as wrong, so the ego has no reason to prohibit it. In fact, the superego causes the ego to feel pride and virtue for committing such a “desirable” act. 16. (a) Are the executive and the religious leader trying to mislead others in order to avoid punishment? Or are they trying to deceive themselves so they will feel less guilt? (b) The superego of the chief executive officer may be too weak, perhaps because appropriate standards of right and wrong were not taught by his parents. Or the executive’s ego may be too weak to resist the selfish demands of the id, perhaps because he was severely frustrated (or overly gratified) during early childhood and there was too much fixation at a pregenital stage of development. The religious leader may be engaging in denial of reality by believing that the abusive subordinates will change their ways, and he may be accepting the “illusion” that some benevolent Deity will eventually intercede and make everything right. 17. What is the difference between repression and denial of reality? Where does the threat arise from in each case? According to Freud, when do virtually all important repressions occur? Does Freudian theory contend that people usually deny the reality of unpleasant events in the external world?