The Comprehensive Object Relations Profile: A preliminary report.

This article reports a study of a newly created instrument designed specifically for the measurement of object relations concepts. The Comprehensive Object Relations Profile (CORP) is a semistructured projective test that asks the subject to respond to specific questions regarding interpersonal vignettes. Each question is designed to tap a particular dimension of object relationships. Three dimensions are measured: object constancy, object integration, and empathy. Validity was assessed by a comparison of three diagnostic groups: schizophrenics, borderlines, and neurotics. Reliability was measured by the interjudge method. The results indicated that the CORP significantly differentiated the three diagnostic groups in the expected direction and that the CORP is a highly reliable instrument. The implications of these results were drawn for both the usefulness of the CORP and the validity of object relations concepts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Self and Analytic Technique.

As psychoanalytic theory has evolved from the language of ego and drives to the growth and development of the self, the theory of technique has not shifted accordingly. This article begins with a historical survey of the theoretical movement leading to the current emphasis on the self. The argument is then advanced that this theoretical shift requires a correlative change in technique. A theory of psychoanalytic technique is then described that emanates from the analytic goal of restructuring the self. The centerpiece of the proposed technical approach is the application of Winnicott's concept of potential space to the analytic process. The argument is that Winnicott's notion provides psychoanalytic therapy with a theory of technique devised specifically for the creation of new aspects of the self. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The foundations of psychoanalysis: A philosophical critique.

Reviews the book by A. Grünbaum, a work of importance in the current, apparently ever-widening, debates about the "scienticity" of psychoanalysis. Grünbaum makes it clear that the inquiry moves toward a verdict of unproven with respect to the scientific claims of psychoanalytic clinical theory, perhaps even the stronger verdict of unprovable in the terms in which it is traditionally cast. Yet Grünbaum is not hospitable to the promiscuous reconstructions that set psychoanalysis apart from the mainstream of scientific endeavor, whether on subjectivist or phenomenological or hermeneutical grounds. As Grünbaum sees it, Freud rightly claimed that psychoanalysis was to be judged as a science in its study of human processes. Grünbaum's respect for Freud is given body by examining how Freud at various stages of his development formulated the logic of his own position and the structure of objections which he was setting out explicitly to answer. The first third of the book deals with broader philosophical foundations, the remainder with the specific critique of psychoanalytic clinical theory. Grünbaum's critique taps the deeper issues of the comparison of the sciences of nature and those of man, of the relation of science and the humanities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The assessment of anxiety in psychological experimentation: A theoretical reformulation and test.

The paper begins with an extensive formulation of anxiety from the psychoanalytic frame of reference and 2 traditional methods of investigating the phenomenon, viz., questionnaire method on level of experienced anxiety and attempts to create anxiety regarding fictitious reports of inadequate performance on certain tasks. Limitations of this methodology were discussed in the light of psychoanalytic theory. It was assumed that experienced or not, anxiety will be consequent when a drive is aroused which is perceived as being dangerous, and that the effects of such anxiety can be demonstrated in terms of interference with a complex problem solving task. Ss were exposed to a situation designed to arouse anxiety and their general level of defensiveness was measured. High and low defensive Ss performed differentially in the problem solving situation (anagrams). From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4HK66R. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The creation of the fetish, as illustrated by Nikita Mikhalkov's (1994) Burnt by the Sun.

A psychoanalytic interpretation of the film Burnt by the Sun (N. Mikhalkov, 1994) reveals the admiration and the homosexual love of Dimitri for Sergei Kotov. Out of castration anxieties and fear of dependency, Dimitri transforms his love object Sergei into a fetish. This makes him feel as if he could handle his relationship with the love object. When Dimitri is confronted with the fact that he has no power over Sergei, he decides to destroy his creation (i.e., himself). There no longer exists the possibility to establish human relations, maintain them, and feel empathy with the other. The narcissistic cathexis of the object and the dissolution of object love is one of the powerful psychological presuppositions for Stalinist terror. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The forgotten parent no more: A psychoanalytic reconsideration of fatherhood.

A growing body of psychoanalytic research has supported an understanding of the father as an important and unique contributor to child development. Though Freud's (1900/1961c, 1913/1961f) original understanding of fathering emphasized the punitive and inhibiting aspects of paternal influence, later theorists considered the more positive aspects of paternal involvement, such as the father's role in facilitating separation-individuation (M. Mahler, F. Pine, and A. Bergman, 1975). More recently, P. Blos (1984) has proposed that the male adolescent's capacity to enter into mature relationships in adulthood rests on successful resolution of the pre-Oedipal father–child relationship, whereas Kohl's (1977, 1984) work suggests that lifelong father hunger is best understood not as a pathological derivative of repression but rather as a universal part of normal development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The postmodern turn in psychoanalysis: A critique.

In the recent literature, legitimate criticisms of some traditional psychoanalytic views have been transformed into untenable philosophical positions that do not constitute an adequate basis for psychoanalytic theory or practice. For example, skepticism toward the therapeutic value of insight and self-knowledge has been transformed into a philosophical position that rules out the very possibility of discovering truths about the mind. According to this view, rather than uncovering and discovering what is in the patient's mind, the mind is "interpretively constructed." The author argues that all of the difficulties of traditional theory identified by "new view" theorists do not obviate the need to recognize the existence of the patient's psychic reality independent of interpretive constructions and to attempt to understand that reality as fully and as accurately as possible. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the "Music of Thought": The Use of Metaphor in Poetry and in Psychoanalysis.

The author considers the clinical use of metaphor--when psychoanalytic psychotherapists move intentionally to figurative and comparative language in talking with their patients--by comparing it to the use of metaphor in poetry. Both poets and psychoanalysts, despite the differences in the aims of their arts, rely on this way of speaking in order to evoke, discover, and create meaning. A consideration of the way therapists use metaphors sheds some light on essential clinical processes--and on the current debate between "classical" and "post-modern" ways of understanding what psychoanalysts do. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California: A graduation.

This article presents Peskin's speech at the second graduation of the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California. In it, he discusses psychoanalytic politics and the continuing development of psychoanalysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The continuing presence of psychoanalysis: A reply to Robert F. Bornstein (2001).

R. F. Bornstein (2001) implies in "The Impending Death of Psychoanalysis" that he holds the only truth about psychoanalysis. However, his reasoning seems to be based on 2 inaccurate hypotheses or prejudices: (a) that there is a division between psychoanalysis and the rest of the world and science and psychology and (b) that the rest of the world is hostile to psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis is imbedded in the same values as are evidenced in any humanistic-democratic society, and hostility expressed toward psychoanalysis comes from a variety of sources including disillusionment in the unconscious fantasy or wish that psychoanalysis can prevent the eventual death of the individual. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

C. R. (Rick) Snyder (1944-2006).

This is an obituary for Charles Richard "Rick" Snyder. Before C. R. Snyder, hope was a concept elusive to many clinicians and clients, clinical and social psychologists often spoke at rather than to one another, and there was a limited collaborative spirit between the clinical and social subfields. As a result of his scholarship, mentorship, and generous spirit, hope is more accessible, the social-clinical interface is a vibrant area of study, and psychology is a more civil profession. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An empirical study of the psychodynamics of borderline impulsivity: A preliminary report.

The aim of this article is to position borderline impulsivity, as defined by direct and indirect impulsive self-destructive behaviors, within the framework of Kernberg's (1975, 1976) and Masterson's (1976) object relations models and then to test in an exploratory and empirical manner certain hypotheses emerging from this conceptual analysis. We assessed 29 participants using the Impulse Action Patterns section of the Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines—Revised, measuring direct and indirect self-destructive behaviors; the 11th version of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, measuring impulsive personality traits; the Subjective Emotion Questionnaire; and two dimensions of the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale applied to stories from the Thematic Apperception Test and suspected to be related to borderline impulsivity (i.e., affect–tone of relationship paradigms and capacity for emotional investment in values and moral standards). These two dimensions were significantly associated with, and helped predict, self-destructive behaviors. In turn, self-destructive behaviors were associated with impulsive personality traits. We interpreted these findings using the object relations model to posit certain hypotheses on the psychological mechanisms underlying this relationship and to stimulate future research. Finally, we discuss the importance of using the components of personality structure as conceived in the object relations model to better understand borderline impulsivity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

New directions for basic psychoanalytic research: Implications from the work of Benjamin Rubinstein.

Basic, theoretically relevant research on psychoanalysis needs the theory to be restated in nonmetapsychological terms. B. B. Rubinstein's (1975, 1976) hierarchical restructuring of the clinical theory provides such a framework of testable propositions. Because the propositions are intrinsically probabilistic, research therefore cannot follow a standard experimental paradigm, but must seek empirical generalizations. Paradoxically, this means a new emphasis on the individual. Moreover, Rubinstein showed, psychoanalytic theory deals not with single acts or thoughts but with classes of them. Numerous implications of this position for research done by teams and by solo practitioners are developed with examples. If basic research is to flourish, a number of changes in psychoanalytic institutes and organizations are needed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

B. F. Skinner and the Auditory Inkblot: The Rise and Fall of the Verbal Summator as a Projective Technique.

Behaviorist B. F. Skinner is not typically associated with the fields of personality assessment or projective testing. However, early in his career Skinner developed an instrument he named the verbal summator, which, at one point, he referred to as a device for "snaring out complexes," much like an auditory analogue of the Rorschach inkblots. Skinner's interest in the projective potential of his technique was relatively short lived, but whereas he used the verbal summator to generate experimental data for his theory of verbal behavior, several other clinicians and researchers exploited this potential and adapted the verbal summator technique for both research and applied purposes. The idea of an auditory inkblot struck many as a useful innovation, and the verbal summator spawned the tautophone test, the auditory apperception test, and the Azzageddi test, among others. This article traces the origin, development, and eventual demise of the verbal summator as an auditory projective technique. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The many faces of Eros: A psychoanalytic exploration of human sexuality.

Review of book: The Many Faces of Eros: A Psychoanalytic Exploration of Human Sexuality by Joyce McDougall, New York: W.W. Norton, 1995, 257 pp. Reviewed by Donna Bassin. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Clinical interaction and the analysis of meaning: A new psychoanalytic theory.

Reviews the book, Clinical interaction and the analysis of meaning: A new psychoanalytic theory by T. Dorpat and M. Miller (see record 1992-98407-000). This text views psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy from the perspective of the newly proposed concept of "Meaning Analysis." The authors purport to advance psychoanalytic theory and technique by taking a fresh perspective on two important aspects of analytic encounter: the interaction between the analyst and analysand (therapist and patient) and how interactions in this relationship affect transference and countertransference. This book also examines the analysis of meaning and how treatment can assist in the understanding and reconstruction of client beliefs. The authors present a reanalysis of Freud's theory and the goal of the book is to elucidate the "flaws" in his work. The reviewer believes that many readers will be intrigued by the criticisms of Freud and the blending of more recent research into analytic models. This book is recommended for both analytically oriented therapists and interested readers who want to learn more about analytic treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

One With the Wind: A Comment on Strenger's (2004) "Of Potholes and Bends: A Meditation on Psychoanalysis and Motorcycle Riding".

Rightly, I believe, does Carlo Strenger (see record 2004-21113-014) focus on the need, in life and in psychoanalysis, to look forward and not backward, to trust that good and competent teachers will guide individuals until they can guide themselves. In motorcycle riding, such guidance, as Strenger makes clear, has its roots in a caring desire to help the neophyte motorcyclist--not unlike what a therapist must bring to his or her work. And, as is obvious, whom one selects as a coach, or analyst, is crucial; in motorcycling, one trusts one's very life to a teacher. Rightly does Strenger relate this capacity to trust to Winnicott's (and, I might add, Erikson's) understanding of a child's earliest relationships. In this short yet interesting meditation, Strenger takes us through the developmental stages of learning to master the motorcycle. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)