Binding,narcissistic pathology and the psychoanalytic process

This article discusses the question of truth claims in psychoanalysis, revolving around the concepts “construction”, “reconstruction”, “historical truth” and “narrative truth”. In Part I of the article, these concepts are discussed in an historical context, in particular, Freud's view, the narrative tradition and some of Bion's ideas. In Part II, an attempt is made to synthesize these concepts. It is argued that the constructed character of the unconscious has to be integrated into the patient's reconstruction of his/her life story. The psychoanalytic project enables the patient to create a new narrative that claims to possess historical validity. It is important in this context not to understand the notion of “history” objectivisticallv as if it were a question of revealing certain objective historical facts. Instead, it is suggested that the connection between the present understanding of the past and the past as it was experienced in the past should be understood as a fusion of horizons. Finally, the necessary function of consciousnesslself-consciousness for the psychoanalytic project of acquiring knowledge about one's unconscious is pointed out.     

'I noticed': The emergence of self-observation in relationship to pathological attractor sites

The author highlights self-observation as an important goal of psychoanalysis, separate from other concepts with which it is often confounded. To support this position, he presents clinical and developmental data, as well as observations by psychoanalysts on recent findings by cognitive neuroscientists. He introduces the term 'pathological attractor sites' to capture the challenge in moving from the belief in the reality of one's own thoughts to self-observation. Clinical techniques to deal with this specific challenge are presented.     

On psychoanalytic autobiography

This article considers how one might define ‘psychoanalytic autobiography’, using statements from theorists of ‘life-writing’ and extracts from autobiographers (some of them psychoanalysts), together with their own commentaries on the genre. The focus is less on content and more on the nature of the art form, with a view to noting analogies with the psychoanalytic process. These analogies are to be found, in particular, in the qualities of transference dialogue; in the art of transformative or communicative projective identification; and in the contrast between self-indulgent and constructive types of memory. Psychoanalytic autobiography is seen as a mode of remaking the self – not omnipotently but through exploratory self-analysis, frequently following the familiar pattern of loss and rediscovery. It entails a special imagined relationship with the unknown reader, and a sense of being guided by a detached observational eye equivalent to that which Bion terms the ‘third party’ in a psychoanalytic situation.     

不同适应水平小学生自我描述与评价比较--关于小学生自我调节机制的一项研究

本研究选取发展良好与适应不良的三一五年级小学生为被试,以问卷形式调查他们对自我特征的评价。结果表明,两组被试自我描述在内容的丰富性和自我观察的程度上具有明显差异,他们的自我评价存在着内一外在价值倾向差异。本文通过分析这些结果之间的关联性．探讨了小学生积极的自我观察产生的条件。     

关于8-13岁儿童自我意识发展的一项实验研究

本研究通过一项情境实验探讨了8—13岁儿童自我意识的发展特征。研究结果表明:(1)五年级学生明显表现出了比较成熟的自我意识,他们显示出将自己作为自我观察的对象;(2)这一发展不呈现简单的线性递增,在更高年级的被试中出现了复杂、微妙的变化。笔者还对该阶段自我意识的发展机制进行了分析。     

The Effect of Self-Observation on Children's Problem Solving

The effects of self-observation on children's problem solving were investigated. Children (N = 124) aged 6-8 years attempted to solve the 3-disc Tower of Hanoi problem. After pretesting, children were grouped into those who (a) practiced solving the problem independently, (b) received instruction on the most efficient solution, (c) observed a videotape recording of their previous attempt, and (d) served as a control. Subsequently, children were immediately tested on the 3-disc problem and a more difficult 4-disc problem. They were tested again 1 week later. Performance was most improved for children in the practice and video conditions on the 4-disc problem. Improvements were maintained over the 1-week interval. Unique characteristics of video self-observation are discussed.