Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 37, No. 399.
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        Date: 2024-01-17 10:15:46+00:00
        From:  <mail@gabrielegan.com>
        Subject: Re: [Humanist] 37.396: ways of reading

James Rovira writes:

 > . . . who takes Freud or psychoanalysis
 > seriously anymore . . . ? . . . There is
 > no empirical, scientific support for it,
 > and there never has been.

For a different opinion, there is Roy F.
Baumeister, Karen Dale, Kristin L. Sommer's
paper "Freudian Defense Mechanisms and Empirical
Findings in Modern Social Psychology: Reaction
Formation, Projection, Displacement, Undoing,
Isolation, Sublimation, and Denial" Journal
of Personality, 66 (1998): 1081-1124. Their
abstract reads:

<<
Recent studies in social psychology are
reviewed for evidence relevant to seven
Freudian defense mechanisms. This work
emphasizes normal populations, moderate
rather than extreme forms of defense,
and protection of self-esteem against
threat. Reaction formation, isolation,
and denial have been amply shown in
studies, and they do seem to serve
defensive functions. Undoing, in the
sense of counterfactual thinking, is
also well documented but does not serve
to defend against the threat. Projection
is evident, but the projection itself
may be a by-product of defense rather
than part of the defensive response
itself. Displacement is not well
supported in any meaningful sense,
although emotions and physical arousal
states do carry over from one situation
to the next. No evidence of sublimation
was found.
 >>

Just anecdotally, I have found that
once you tell people that 'reaction
formation' is more commonly known as
'over-compensation' and explain what
it is, almost everyone says "Oh yes,
I have observed people doing that".

Regards

Gabriel Egan


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