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The lure of hypocrisy
1Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, USA. aok@kris.org
Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association
|April 13, 2005
Summary
Understanding hypocrisy susceptibility is key. Four preconditions, including idealization, desire, and transference, explain why people fall prey to deception by trusted individuals.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Ethics
- Sociology
Background:
- Hypocrisy, defined as a false claim to virtue involving intentional deception by a trusted individual, is a complex human behavior.
- Societies exhibit a dual attitude towards hypocrisy, simultaneously condemning and condoning it.
Purpose of the Study:
- To delineate the preconditions that render individuals susceptible to hypocrisy.
- To explore the psychological underpinnings of our ambivalent attitudes toward hypocrisy.
Main Methods:
- Literary examples were used to identify initial preconditions.
- A review of historical and philosophical studies spanning 2500 years contextualized susceptibility.
- Psychoanalytic formulations and clinical data, particularly from cases of ethical violations by psychoanalysts, identified a fourth precondition.
Main Results:
- Three initial preconditions for hypocrisy susceptibility are: idealization of the hypocrite, defense against dread of uncertainty, and the influence of powerful desire.
- A fourth precondition identified through psychoanalytic data is transference, involving a regression from mature trust to basic trust.
Conclusions:
- Susceptibility to hypocrisy is multifactorial, involving cognitive, emotional, and relational dynamics.
- Understanding these preconditions is crucial for recognizing and mitigating the impact of hypocrisy in interpersonal and societal contexts.