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Affects and their non-communication
The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis
|January 1, 1980
Summary
Narcissistic patients often defend themselves by not communicating affects, either directly or through false emotional displays. This defense mechanism stems from a desire for omnipotent control over others
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Psychoanalysis
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Affect non-communication is a key defense in some narcissistic patients.
- This can manifest as non-relatedness or the display of false affects.
- These false affects can manipulate the emotional state of others.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the motivations behind affect non-communication in narcissistic patients.
- To examine the implications for a broader theory of affects.
- To understand the role of affect induction in transference and countertransference.
Main Methods:
- Detailed examination of patient defenses.
- Analysis of motives for non-communication of affects.
- Exploration of affect induction in therapeutic relationships.
Main Results:
- A recurrent motive is the wish for omnipotent control over others' affects.
- Induction of dysphoric affects in transference/countertransference reflects a desire to master passively experienced trauma.
- This process involves internalizing external trauma to create an illusion of control.
Conclusions:
- Affect non-communication serves as a defense mechanism rooted in a desire for control.
- The induction of affects, particularly negative ones, is an attempt to actively process and master past traumatic experiences.
- This defense strategy is analogous to the 'fort-da' game described by Freud.