The adaptive aspects of the Golden Fantasy.

Reviews S. Smith's (1977) contribution regarding the "golden fantasy" phenomenon of many infantile and narcissistic patients, which is viewed as a manifestation of deficits associated with self-definition and interpersonal relatedness. Reasons are suggested as to why such fantasies are often difficult to coax to consciousness and are unyielding to subsequent interpretive efforts. The adaptive, life-sustaining aspects of such golden fantasies, via their ego-integrative and self-defining properties, are highlighted. Clinical vignettes illustrate the dangers in establishing real object ties. Subsequent treatment implications regarding the importance of dealing with golden fantasies as bridges to treatment alliance formation are elaborated. The importance is emphasized of the holding environment in treatment, the shift to developmentally more mature forms of the therapeutic alliance, and countertransference dilemmas. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stability and validity of achievement fantasy.

"Although projective and fantasy instruments have been widely used both in clinical and research settings the reliability and validity of many fantasy variables still remains in question. This paper is the first in a series of reports dealing with the stability and validation of fantasy variables from the TAT and Rorschach and deals specifically with achievement fantasy on the TAT… . (a) its stability over time, (b) its relation to certain antecedent conditions, and (c) its prediction of overt achievement behavior… . It was suggested that achievement fantasy is an index of the strength of the subject's behavioral tendency to seek achievement goals and that achievement concern on the part of the same-sex parent has a special influence on the child's achievement strivings. Specific methodological and theoretical problems with respect to measurement and interpretation of achievement fantasy were discussed." 19 refs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pursuing the kernel of truth in the psychotherapy of schizophrenia.

This article concerns the utility of pursuing the kernels of truth in the delusions of schizophrenic patients as a means of empathizing with their unique personal experience of events. Pursuing the kernel of truth implies listening for the real interpersonal experiences past and present that are represented within delusions, as opposed to focusing on derivatives of infantile fantasy. This orientation restores the rights of the schizophrenic person as a perceptive observer of events with a valid, although not commonly understood, point of view. A clinical case example is presented in which the delusion of being raped while others stand idly by both literally and metaphorically described a wide variety of interpersonal experiences which had shaped the patient's life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Father-daughter incest: Unconscious fantasy and social fact.

This article examines the etiological role of incest as unconscious fantasy and incest as social fact in producing psychopathology. It reevaluates the importance of the Freudian theory of fantasy for an understanding of father-daughter incest, with particular attention to the relationship between fantasy and memory and between conscious and unconscious fantasy. Although the importance of acknowledging the social fact of incest is affirmed, I maintain that an analysis of the mental representation of the incest experience in fantasy is as crucial to the treatment of incest victims as is an acknowledgment of the primary etiological role of real victimization in producing pathological states. Case material is presented to illustrate the ways in which the reality of incest may combine with stage-specific fantasies to determine the nature and extent of the incest victim's pathology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some theory and data concerning the attenuation of aggression.

The relationship of anxiety to aggression was postulated, with anxiety seen as both an inhibitor as well as a stimulus for aggression under the appropriate conditions. The data was derived from a previous study by Sears (see 21: 4422) re childrens' play with dolls. It was hypothesized that aggression would be more frequently directed towards adult rather than child dolls; the hypothesis was interpreted as being supported. In conclusion, the author states, "In fantasy as compared with real life, anxiety functions more as a stimulus than as an inhibitor." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison of direct, indirect, and fantasy measures of identification.

"This study was designed to investigate predicted relationships of three levels of directness of assessment (direct, indirect, and fantasy) to two aspects of parental identification, i.e., perceived similarity to a parent and degree of involvement with a parent… . It was predicted that (a) perceived similarity measures would be positively related, (b) involvement measures would be positively related, and (c) since both… are assumed to be components of identification, they should be positively associated with each other." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two unconscious fantasies as mediators of successful psychotherapy.

Describes the role that the concept of the unconscious fantasy—an organized configuration of unconscious ideas and images—has played in psychoanalytic theory. A series of laboratory experiments that demonstrated under controlled "double blind" conditions how the activitation of 2 unconscious fantasies could serve an adaptation enhancing function are described. How they served the same function when they were inadvertently activated in various types of psychotherapy is also discussed. One of the fantasies—the "symbiotic gratification fantasy"—is cited as particularly apt to be activated in systematic desensitization, client-centered therapy, and meditation. The other—the "sanctioned oedipal gratification fantasy"—is cited as most apt to be activated in Masters and Johnson type sex therapy, touching and other body contact therapies, behavior assertiveness training, and encounter treatment. (66 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's Ratings of the Stressfulness of Experiences.

To ascertain if children assess experiences in terms of stress and if their perceptions generally agree with those of adults, fourth, fifth, and sixth graders rated 20 life events on a 7-point scale. The scale values ranged from 1.27 for the least upsetting event (the arrival of a new sibling) to 6.90 for the most upsetting event (the loss of a parent). Overall, there were no statistically significant differences associated with grade, sex, or personal experience. Children were found to make distinguishing judgments of the perceived Stressfulness that often differed from those of professionals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Achievement motivation in fantasy and behavior.

"This study investigates the relationship of achievement fantasy to behavioral indices of achievement motivation. Conflicting views of this relationship have been presented… (which) have assumed that fantasy is a direct index of a generally expressed motive state… (and which have) conceptualized fantasy as an alternative, substitute channel for the expression of achievement motivation when behavioral channels are blocked." Analysis of achievement derived from life history data supported the 2nd formulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Oneness fantasies revisited.

The research program initiated by Lloyd Silverman on effects of the subliminal activation of oneness fantasies concluded that unconscious oneness fantasies can enhance adaptation if, simultaneously, a sense of self can be preserved. However, formulations with respect to the developmental origins of these fantasies and their ubiquitous role in pathology and everyday life may have overemphasized the contribution of the fantasy of a oneness experience and underestimated the equally important contribution of the experience of a preserved, intact sense of self. To redress this imbalance, oneness experiences and sense of self are proposed to define the endpoints of a dimension of experience optimally characterized by a flexibility to span this range. Although we assume that experiences throughout the life span contribute to this dimension, we use the data from empirical infant research to suggest that early experiences of matching, disruptions, and repair of ruptures in mother-infant interactive attunements make a relevant contribution to its establishment. It is suggested that this range of experience is represented and subjected to symbolic elaboration, a process that continues throughout life. The oneness fantasy is proposed as a product of symbolic elaboration, a fantasy... (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The utopian fantasy of a New Person and the danger of a false analytic self.

Utopian thinking may backfire and become destructive when its idealizations, splits, moralism, and perfectionism are followed uncritically. The utopian fantasy of the purified New Person, prominent in many religious, national, and political movements, may legitimize the harassment of individuals seen as flawed, as failing to achieve the desired new identity. The expectation to mold a "real analyst" may acquire some of the characteristics of the New Person fantasy and become persecutory for candidates. Some idealizations in psychoanalysis are discussed, as well as the way they can contribute to a paranoid atmosphere in psychoanalytic institutes, to regression and infantilization in candidates. One way of handling the impingements of a rigid and anxiety-provoking training is to develop a false analytic self, which hinders the intrinsic growth of analytic identity. Changes in the structure and climate of training programs can reduce such risks and allow a better fit between the institutional form of training and its substantial goals of individual growth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A concept of the primary fantasy bond: A developmental perspective.

Hypothesizes that deprived infants form a primary fantasy bond (a delusion of being connected to the mother) that persists as a defense through childhood and into adult life and that deprivation variables are conducive to the formation of subsequent damage, ranging from mildly neurotic behavior to schizophrenic regression. The primary fantasy leads to a posture of pseudo-independence, relieves fears, and allays the anxiety of feeling separate and alone. In adult life, individuals who defend with the primary fantasy cannot tolerate moving in and out of closeness; they avoid real sexuality, physical intimacy, and honest communication. A letter written to her therapy group by a woman who idealized her family and built a defense of self-hatred illustrates the concept. It is suggested that the hypothesis of a primary fantasy bond explains the underlying dynamics of resistance to change. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Women's fantasies during sexual intercourse: Normative and theoretical implications.

Explored normative variations in daydreams that women reported as occurring during sexual intercourse and tested the relative validity of several theoretical models of the function of coital fantasy. Ss were 141 suburban housewives who responded to questionnaires involving general daydreaming tendencies, fantasies, and other ideation during coitus; sexual patterns; marital adjustment; and measures of intelligence, personality, and personal adjustment. 56 Ss were interviewed intensively to elaborate and check on questionnaire responses. 65% of the Ss reported moderate to high levels of erotic fantasy during intercourse, with "imaginary lover" and "submission" the commonest themes. Factor analysis suggests support primarily for "personality cognitive" and "adaptive" models of coital fantasy rather than for drive-reduction models. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Voices of bulimia: Experiences in integrated psychotherapy.

The participation of 5 23–30 yr old bulimic females in integrated psychotherapy is used as a basis for a clinical analysis of how Ss experienced the disorder, thought about themselves, related to significant others, and experienced the therapeutic process. The treatment integrated principles from psychoanalysis and cognitive-behavioral, family, and group therapies, as well as from social learning and small group therapy for a short, intensive daily period. The bulimic is preoccupied with food and engages in a self-defeating way to gain control over life events or emotions that seem out of control. The bingeing response may be associated with loneliness, tension, hostility, and anxiety. Each S was competitive and perfectionistic. Although each was intelligent and talented, the pressure they imposed on themselves was too great to bear. Each felt deprived of maternal love. Each felt she disappointed her mother, usually for not conforming to a more feminine stereotype. Ss confronted their feelings toward others in fantasy through psychodrama—then interacted with the real parent and important others on family therapy nights. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differentiation of fantasy and reality: Preschoolers' reactions to interruptions in their play.

In a study of the development of the differentiation of fantasy from reality, it was hypothesized that preschool children would progress through a stepwise sequence of developing ever clearer boundaries between fantasy and reality. Evidence for this development was based on children's reactions to various kinds of interruptions to their fantasy play that were initiated by an experimenter as she engaged in role playing with each of 39 children. The children were 2? to 6? years of age. The results indicated that as age increased, children showed higher steps in the sequence, until at 5 and 6 years they could incorporate an interruption into the fantasy scenario without stepping outside the fantasy and without having the interruption upset them. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Significant factors in hypnotic behavior.

This study was structured so as to be able to test 2 hypotheses derived from previous work on hypnosis (Wells, 1924), viz., that suggestions involving typical behavior under hypnosis, e.g., loss of voluntary control over muscles and speech, can be effective without the induction of a formal trance state, and that such a condition is as effective in producing the desired behavior as when the situation includes utilization of a preparatory set-inducing trance state. The 1st hypothesis was confirmed; the 2nd was not. The "trance" facilitated the presence and degree of hypnotic behavior. Personality characteristics of the more suggestible Ss were: (a) more willing to form new interpersonal relationship and (b) prone to imaginative activities, daydreaming, and fantasy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Human Capacity for Growth Through Adversity.

Comments on George Bonanno's article entitled Loss, trauma, and human resilience: Have we underestimated the human capacity to thrive after extremely aversive events? (see record 2004-10043-003). The authors are encouraged by Bonanno's recognition of the human potential for resilience following adversity and his call for psychologists to pay greater attention to this capacity rather than simply focus on psychopathology. This approach parallels recent trends within psychology toward a more "positive psychology," as championed by former American Psychological Association President Martin Seligman. However, it fails to recognize research trends within the traumatic stress literature, which have increasingly pointed toward the capacity not just for resilience but also for people to use aversive events as a springboard for further growth and development. In this comment, the authors argue that the real paradigm shift needed in dealing with loss and trauma is not simply to include resilience (i.e., the absence of psychopathology). Rather, psychologists should seek to develop an understanding of reactions to adversity that explains the full range of reactions, from psychopathology, through resilience, to adversarial growth. Here they review the main points made by Bonanno (2004) within the context of the adversarial growth literature before presenting a brief overview of a new theory of adversarial growth that addresses these salient considerations, explaining the three possible outcomes of psychopathology, resilience, and adversarial growth following loss and trauma. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Action in the psychoanalytic situation: Reflections on its relation to internal and external reality.

Contemporary sensitivity to the importance of the relationship in psychoanalytic work has led, in some instances, to an overestimation of "real" elements in the patient-analyst interaction and an underestimation of the fantasy aspects of the transference-countertransference relationship. This emphasis on external reality overshadows the internal reality of the patient and analyst's experience, shifting the treatment focus from intrapsychic to interpersonal aspects of the relationship, and it tends to bias technique toward the provision of restorative internalizations in place of new understandings. The present article considers enactive behavior from the perspective of compromise formations, which make dangerous impulses less dangerous and ego-syntonic. The article also highlights some issues that arise when internalization mechanisms are assumed to underlie clinical outcome. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)