Reaction formation
In psychoanalysis, reaction formation stands for a defense mechanism . An impulse from the unconscious is warded off by developing an opposite behavior . Examples:
- A party member enthusiastically praises his party leader, although there is an unconscious rejection of the party leader.
- Where a person should react angrily according to the general feeling, he reacts instead in a protective and caring manner.
- A person with a strong homoerotic tendency fends off this by developing a strong homophobia .
- A cuckoo child reacts to subliminally perceived signs of a paternity discrepancy, which is shamefully averted, with a hypertrophic definition of the falsely ascribed paternal bloodline.
So instincts and desires are - sometimes unconsciously - considered unacceptable and replaced by something that is diametrically opposed to the originally intended reaction , but represents a socially desirable behavior pattern. Like all defense mechanisms, this behavior is trained to cope with feelings of guilt and fear , but also other unpleasant states of experience ( sadness / abandonment, anger, shame, guilt, disgust).
Psychoanalytic Theory
According to current psychoanalytic theory, reaction formation (the term comes from the fact that something triggers a direct reaction ) is the repression of an unacceptable (and therefore displeasure) feeling through a reversal into its opposite (reduction of discomfort, maximization of pleasure). Since the triggers of pleasure and displeasure can be extremely individual, reaction formations are also individual. Reaction formation that works for one person might not necessarily work for another. It can happen consciously, unconsciously, or partially consciously.
Structural theoretical aspects: On the surface, with regard to the psychic instances (structure) ego , id and superego , a reaction occurs between one instance and another: the desire to sexually conquer all women from the id could lead to desire to become a celibate priest resides in the superego. Castration anxiety (superego) can also lead to sexual overactivity (id). Viewed in more depth, this is also more complex because all wishes and fears are multi- determinate , and each is made up of various elements from all three instances .
Drive theory aspects: A feeling from the aggressive drive can be transformed into a feeling from the libidinal drive and vice versa. But the formation of reactions can also be transformed within a single instinct, whether libidinal or aggressive. This, too, is more complicated because there are no wishes that stem exclusively from just one instinct; both instincts always play a role, albeit in a variable ratio.
criticism
For the philosopher Abraham Kaplan, the concept is an example of a reinforced dogma : “The psychoanalytic doctrine of reaction formation seems to secure theory against falsification by making it tautological . Boys are sexually attracted to their mothers. Express this feeling, good (for the theory); if, on the other hand, they behave as if they found their mothers abhorrent, this merely indicates a reaction to their own forbidden wishes, and so the theory is also correct; it is true, whatever happens. "( Abraham Kaplan: The conduct of inquiry. Methodology for behavioral science. Chandler, San Francisco CA 1964 )
Individual evidence
- Anna Freud : The ego and the defense mechanisms. International Psychoanalytischer Verlag, Vienna 1936.
- Falk Leichsenring (Ed.): In- depth volume psychoanalytical and depth psychologically founded therapy (= textbook of psychotherapy for training as a psychological psychotherapist and for further medical training. Vol. 2). CIP-Medien, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-932096-32-0 .
- ↑ Quotation from Manfred Amelang, Dieter Bartussek, Gerhard Stemmler , Dirk Hagemann: Differential Psychology and Personality Research. 6th, completely revised edition Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-17-018640-X , p. 347.