Lloyd H. Silverman

On the relationship between aggressive activation, symbiotic merging, intactness of body boundaries, and manifest pathology in schizophrenics.

Sixty relatively differentiated schizophrenics were seen individually for three sessions. In each session, a base line assessment first was made of the amount of manifest psychopathology and the degree to which ego boundaries were intact. Then, on different days in counterbalanced order, in one group Ss were subliminally exposed to pictures containing: 1) aggressive content; 2) neutral content; 3) content suggesting the theme of symbiotic merging. The other group was shown the same stimuli, but at a supraliminal level. Then, for both groups, there followed a “critical” assessment of manifest pathology and body boundary intactness. The Ss in the subliminal group responded to both the aggressive and merging stimuli with changes in both manifest pathology and body boundary intactness, while the Ss in the supraliminal group were unaffected by the two kinds of stimulation. Also, the reaction of the subliminal group, under both experimental conditions, varied as a function of whether the Ss were assessed soon after stimulation or after a somewhat longer period of time had elapsed, this being seen as bearing on the variability of schizophrenic behavior. These results were discussed with the aim of elucidating the motivational state underlying changes in manifest pathology and body boundary intactness.

The effects of aggressive activation and the need to merge on pathological thinking in schizophrenia.

Fifty-two schizophrenics were seen individually for five sessions. In each session a base line assessment first was made of the amount of pathological thinking manifested. Then on different days, in counterbalanced order, the Ss were exposed to the following five conditions: 1) subliminal neutral stimulation; 2) subliminal libidinal stimulation; 3) subliminal merging stimulation: 4) subliminal aggressive stimulation; 5) subliminal aggressive stimulation preceded by manipulations designed to increase self-awareness. Each of these conditions was followed by a “critical” assessment of pathological thinking. The major results were: a) as in previous experiments, subliminal aggressive stimulation intensified pathological thinking; b) however, when this stimulation was preceded by the “self-awareness manipulations,” its pathology-inducing effect was nullified; c) subliminal libidinal stimulation did not affect pathological thinking; d) subliminal merging stimulation (i.e., the exposure of a stimulus depicting two figures as merged) showed a trend toward reducing pathological thinking. Additional analyses of these data plus data from a follow-up study indicated that the merging condition significantly diminished pathological thinking in those schizophrenics who experienced themselves as relatively differentiated to begin with. These findings were discussed with the aim of elucidating the motivational state underlying pathological thinking in schizophrenia.

The Effects of Subliminally Presented Drive Stimuli on the Cognitive Functioning of Schizophrenics

Abstract This was an investigation of the effects of subliminally presented drive related stimuli on the cognitive performance of 30 hospitalized schizophrenics. Subjects were seen individually for three sessions in a balanced design. In each session, an assessment was made of the effects of an aggressive, libidinal, or neutral stimulus on performance in tests of arithmetic, similarities, and picture arrangement (patterned after parts of the Wechsler Intelligence Scales). Assessments were made of ego pathology and cognitive deficit and the effects of the drive conditions were compared with those of the neutral condition. The results obtained support the views that: (a) the stimulation of drive derivatives in schizophrenics exacerbates aspects of their ego impairment; (b) the method described allows for the experimental study of the effects of drive activation on ego functioning.

The Subliminal Psychodynamic Activation Method: Comprehensive Listing Update, Individual Differences, and Other Considerations

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the subliminal psychodynamic activation method. Personality differences among individuals when engaging in clinical research are implicit in psychoanalytic theory. In addition to assessing a particular pathology, the assessment of subject characteristics (such as the presence of anaclitic or introjective proclivities) makes it possible to demonstrate subliminal psychodynamic activation effects. Responsiveness to the activation of particular psychodynamic motives are dependent not only on membership in groups with particular primary designations—for example, schizophrenics—but also on subgroup characteristics, such as whether the schizophrenics are relatively differentiated or undifferentiated; are men or women; or are relatively well defended or undefended against disturbing ideation. Various conditions that need to be fulfilled to maximize the chances of finding subliminal psychodynamic activation effects include (1) alerting oneself to conditions that could interfere with subliminal registration; (2) providing a high “dosage” of subliminal psychodynamic activation (both in terms of frequency and duration) whenever possible; and (3) employing verbal and pictorial stimuli together whenever feasible.

SOME COMMENTS AND DATA ON THE PARTIAL CUE CONTROVERSY AND OTHER MATTERS RELEVANT TO INVESTIGATIONS OF SUBLIMINAL PHENOMENA

In response to a recent article by Guthrie and Wiener (1966) data and logical considerations are presented which support the following conclusions. (1) For a number of recent studies of subliminal phenomena, the most parsimonious explanation for positive results is one implicating the subliminal registration of content and, contrary to the claim of Guthrie and Wiener, not one relating to structural cues in awareness. (2) Also contrary to their claim, Guthrie and Wieners data provide little support for the view that even in the early investigation of Eagle (1959), Ss were responding to partial cues. (3) Guthrie and Wieners failure to obtain a content effect in their own experiment was most likely the result of the level at which their stimuli were exposed and/or their not taking into account subject variables that are relevant to the question of whether a subliminal effect can be demonstrated.

Further data on the effects of subliminal symbiotic stimulation on schizophrenics.

This investigation further examined the effects of activating unconscious symbiotic fantasies in schizophrenics. One hundred twenty-eight hospitalized schizophrenic men who qualified as “relatively differentiated” on the Adjective Rating Scale were randomly assigned to four groups. Each group was assessed for pathological thinking, pathological nonverbal behavior, and self-esteem before and after the subliminal exposure of an experimental and control stimulus. The control stimulus for all groups was the message PEOPLE ARE WALKING and the experimental stimuli were the messages MOMMY AND I ARE ONE, MOMMY IS ALWAYS WITH ME, MOMMY FEEDS ME WELL, and I CANNOT HURT MOMMY (one for each group). One half of each group was subliminally exposed to verbal messages only and one half to verbal messages accompanied by congruent pictures. The first stimulus (MOMMY AND I ARE ONE) was intended to activate unconscious symbiotic fantasies that in a number of prior studies reduced pathology in groups of relatively differentiated schizophrenics. The other stimuli were intended to activate reassuring unconscious fantasies about “mommy” that were not specifically symbiosis-related. Only the MOMMY AND I ARE ONE stimulus led to more adaptive behavior and did so on all three dependent variables. This supported the supposition, also borne out in two other studies, that it is specifically symbiosis-related gratifications that are ameliorative for schizophrenics. The above results were considerably stronger for the subgroup that was exposed to a picture accompanying the MOMMY AND I ARE ONE message. This was viewed as probably the result of the pictorial representation serving as a concretization of the more abstract verbal message and as such being more relevant to the relatively primitive mode of thinking in schizophrenia.

On the relationship between self-object differentiation, symbiotic experiences and pathology reduction in schizophrenia.

This paper deals with the relationship between self-object differentiation and pathology reduction in schizophrenia. Data from a number of studies are presented in which a variety of symptomatic therapeutic interventions were utilized and the following two findings consistently emerged: 1) it was the initially more differentiated schizophrenics who responded to the interventions with significant reductions in pathology; 2) accompanying this pathology reduction was diminished self-object differentiation. These findings were related to the therapeutic effect of symbiotic experiences on schizophrenics and theoretical implications were suggested.

REGRESSION IN THE SERVICE OF THE EGO: A CASE STUDY.

Abstract A study was made of a 41 year old woman who was given psychological tests at the beginning of a five-year period of psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy. From extensive material gathered from her therapist it was clear that: (a) Her pathology did not extend beyond the neurotic range; (b) she was a highly creative individual. Thus, it was of interest to note that her Rorschach contained many responses involving blatant primary process thinking. While such responses would be taken ordinarily as indicating a thinking disorder and consequently severe pathology, in this case they were seen as reflecting “regression in the service of the ego.” This led to a discussion of how this adaptive regression can be differentiated from pathological regression in psycho-diagnostic testing and to a consideration of some theoretical issues relating to primary process thinking.

Experimental Data on the Effects of Unconscious Fantasy on Communicative Behavior

In this paper I will present data from an experimental research program of 12 years standing that bear on the influence of unconscious fantasy on communicative behavior. The program was intended to serve two functions. First, it was to provide demonstrations, within the context of tightly controlled laboratory experimentation, of the validity of a key aspect of psychoanalytic theory: that unconscious fantasies can play a powerful role in motivating people. In this function, it challenges those within the fields of psychology and psychiatry who have disputed or ignored this and related psychoanalytic postulates. Second, in addressing the “psychoanalytic community,” it attempts to demonstrate that data derived through laboratory experiments can play an important role in the development of psychoanalytic theory. As I have detailed elsewhere (Silverman, 1975a), this development cannot rely solely on evidence from the psychoanalytic treatment situation, but requires many other kinds of data as well; and for the optimal development of the psychodynamic aspects of psychoanalytic theory, data from laboratory experimentation is the most crucial. Here, the two approaches, clinical and experimental can be viewed as complementary in that each has inherent limitations that need be offset by the strengths of the other.1