[Basic motor pattern in 4 neurotic structures]

This article discusses an experimental study in which 10 schizoid, 10 depressive, 10 obsessive-compulsive and 10 hysterical patients were filmed in five planned actions. On the basis of a questionnaire, the nature of the motoric process in each case was then evaluated by 11 people who knew nothing of the patients' personality structures. There were highly significant correlations between certain items and individual structures, allowing for the formulation of four basic patterns of movement for the individual structures. In the framework of the psychology of drives, these results confirm on the one hand the working hypothesis that motoric patterns develop in accordance with particular neurotic structures. On the other hand, the results can also be regarded as an indication of the value of defining these ordering principles.