The use of subliminal psychodynamic activation in the study of repression.

Abstract

Female undergraduates (N = 33) selected for the presence of high sexual guilt were divided into two groups. One group evidenced a high degree of personality development from which it was inferred that they were prone toward (a) the use of repression rather than more primitive defenses and (b) oedipal rather than preoedipal conflict. The second group evidenced a lesser degree of personality development, and hence the above inferences did not apply. The subliminal psychodynamic activation method was used with both groups to investigate the effects on repression of intensifying and diminishing unconscious conflict over sexual wishes. Subjects were exposed to the verbal stimuli "LOVING DADDY IS WRONG" (conflict intensifying), "LOVING DADDY IS OK" (conflict reducing), and "PEOPLE ARE WALKING" (neutral control), each accompanied by a congruent picture both before (in one condition) and after (in another) a recall test of both neutral and sexual material. The conflict-reduction condition did not affect memory of the passages, but the conflict-intensification condition did for the group with the greater degree of personality development, when this condition was presented before the material to be remembered, and for the recall of neutral passages. The special conditions necessary for demonstration of repression are viewed as shedding light on why it has previously been difficult to show evidence of repression in laboratory experiments.

Attachment working models as unconscious structures: An experimental test

“…One of the most classic priming techniques is subliminal psychodynamic activation (SPA; Silverman & Silverman, 1964; see Slipp, 2000, for a review). Silverman and colleagues propose that the subliminal presentation of sentences allows for activation of unconscious processes and for observation of the behavioural consequences of such an activation (Geisler, 1986;Greenberg, 1992;Patton, 1992;Silverman, Bornstein, & Mendelsohn, 1976;Silverman, Ross, Adler, & Lustig, 1978). Several meta-analyses (Bornstein, 1990;Hardaway, 1990;Weinberger, 1992) have supported the validity of SPA, suggesting that it is an adequate tool for the investigation of unconscious processes in attachment research.…”

Testability and empirical verification of psychoanalytic dynamic propositions through subliminal psychodynamic activation.

“…Thus, as in Geisler's (1986) repression study, avariable related to developmental level (degree of self-motherdifferentiation) was the secondary characteristic that determinedthe effectiveness of a particular subliminal psychodynamic stimulus.The more highly developed differentiated schizophrenics were able to make adaptive use of the MOMMY AND I ARE ONE stimuluswhereas the less developed, undifferentiated schizophrenics werenot. For the latter subgroup, gratification of symbiotic-likewishes—more specifically the wish foroneness—appears to threaten an already highly tenuoussense of self and, under such conditions, the positive impact ofthese gratifications is apparently nullified.…”

“…Thus, as in Geisler's (1986) repression study, a variable related to developmental level (degree of self-mother differentiation) was the secondary characteristic that determined the effectiveness of a particular subliminal psychodynamic stimulus. The more highly developed differentiated schizo-This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.…”

“…A substantial amount of personality development is said to be necessary before repression can be used as a defense (e.g., Kernberg, 1976). Geisler (1986) used the subliminal activation method to study repression in college women high in sexual guilt (as assessed on a preexperiment questionnaire). A stimulus designed to induce a high degree of sexual guilt (LOVING DAD IS WRONG, accompanied by a picture of a man and woman in a sexually provocative pose) was found to foster the forgetting of verbal material in subjects who showed a high degree of personality development, as reflected in figure drawings, t(33) = 2.94, p < .01.…”

“…A substantial amount of personality development issaid to be necessary before repression can be used as a defense(e.g., Kernberg, 1976). Geisler (1986) used the subliminal activation method to studyrepression in college women high in sexual guilt (as assessed on apreexperiment questionnaire). A stimulus designed to induce a highdegree of sexual guilt (LOVING DAD IS WRONG, accompanied by apicture of a man and woman in a sexually provocative pose) was foundto foster the forgetting of verbal material in subjects who showed ahigh degree of personality development, as reflected in figuredrawings, t (33) = 2.94, p < .01.Subjects rated as having less highly developed personalities did notrespond to the guilt-inducing stimulus with increased forgetting.Geisler's finding that her guilt stimulus increased forgetting onlyfor the sexually guilty women (a primary characteristic) with morehighly developed personalities (a secondary characteristic) iscongruent with the aforementioned psychoanalytic formulation.…”