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The N ew Sov ie t A pp roach to the U nconsc iou s

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B \C Y RO LL IN S , \I.I).

So vie t inves tiga to rs ha ve m oved from cri( icism o fpsy-choa na ly tic con cep ts to deve lopm en t o fa theorv o f th euncon sc ious tha t repre sen ts the con verg en ce o fse t th e-ory . neuro physio logv , a nd cyberne tic s . O n e accep ted S o-vie t de fin ition o fthe unco nsc ious is th e con tin uou s p roc -e ssing o fin fo rm a tio n and the regu la tion o f ad ap tiv ebeha v ior th roug h th e fo rm a tion o fse ts . C on sc iousn esso pera te s in te rm itten tly , w hen a pro b lem mu st b e so lvedb y ob jec tiv iza tion , w ith a cha nge in se ts . C o nsc iou s an dun co nsc iou s p rocesse s ac t synerg is tica lly , no t an ta gon is-tica llt , a s F reud su ggested . D isso cia tion , p sych osom a ticr ela tionsh ips, an d psycho th e rapy are brie fly d iscussed toillu stra te the Sov ie t a pproach to the u nconsc iou s in p sy -chiatry.

STUD IES O F THE UNCONSC IOU S represen t a recen t trend Iobserved in Sov ie t psy ch iatry in 1 972 . P rev io us pu b lica-tions, based on m y obse rva tions in th e Sov ie t U n ion in1968 to 19 69 , w ere devo ted to ch ild psych ia try and psy -ch ia tn ic tra in in g p ro gram s ( I , 2 ). T he th ree years b etw eenm y tw o visits m ark ed a d istinc t sh if t in the a ttitud e of S o-v ie t psych ia trists tow ard the prob lem o fthe u nconsc io us.P ro fe sso r V .E . R o zhnov and h is co au tho rs adm itted th atSov iet psycho logy an d p sych ia try had pa id insu ffic ien tatten tio n to th e un co nsc iou s as pan t o fa g en eral reac tionof op pos itio n to psy choana lys is on ideo log ica l g rou nds.T hey no ted how the conv ictio n tha t the uncon sc iouscou ld be in vestiga ted o n ly from th e psy choana ly tic po in to f v iew h ad stif led Sov ie t p rog re ss (3 , p . 9 8 ) .

F rom th e m ed ica l po in t o f v iew , the need in the Sov ie tU n ion to look a t the unco nsc ious d ev e loped a fte r W orldW ar 1 1 , w hen the po lyc lin ic s b egan receiv ing pa tien tsw ith in creas ing num bers of fu nc tion al com p la in ts , n eu ro -se s, and cha rac ter d iso rde rs . D e linq iency and a lcoho lismcon t inued to ex is t. P sych iatris ts began to loo k to psycho l-ogy fo r he lp in dea ling w ith c lin ica l p rob lem s.

SET THEOR Y

O ne deve lopm en t in Sov ie t p sycho logy tha t is im po r-

Read at the 126 th annu al me eting o f the Am er ican Psych ia tric A ssoc ia-tio n , H ono lu lu , H aw aii, M ay 7 II. 19 73 .D r. R ollins is A sso cia te in P sych ia try , C h ild rens H o sp ita l M ed ica lCenter, 30 0 Longwood Ave., Boston, Mass . 02115: she is a lso C lin ica lInstru cto r in P sych ia try , H arvard M edical S choo l.

tan t in u nde rstand in g th e cu rren t approach to the u ncon -sc iou s is D .N . U znad ze s theo ry o f the uncon sc ious fac-to n of se t ( u s t anovka ) as a regu la to ry facto r in m en ta lfu nc tion ing . Th e p rin cip le o f re la tive se t w as o rig in allyfo rm ula ted b y U znad ze in 1 923 an d w as fu rthe r e labo -ra ted in the decad es since by th e G eorg ian sch oo l o f psy -ch o log y in Tb ilis i, U znadze s id eas have had a p ro fo undin fluen ce on Sov ie t p sycho lo gy and have becom e thesource o f m uch co n tro ve rsy (4 ) .

A ccord in g to U znadze s desc rip tio n o f h is ex pen im en -ta l m eth od , the su b jec t is a sked to com pare the size o ftw o w ooden ba lls . F o r ten to 1 5 tria ls , h e is g iven tw oba lls , eq ua l in w e igh t bu t d iffer ing in size , th e sm a lle r al-ways in the sam e hand . Th en , in the c ritica l expe rim en t,tw o b alls o fequ al size a re g iven to th e su b jec t. In the m a-jon ity o f su b jects , the h an d tha t h eld the sm a ller ba ll isnow perceiv ed as h o ld in g a ba ll la rg er than th e o the r one .U znad ze called th is an illu s ion of con tra st. In a sm a lle rnum ber o fsu b jects , the illu sio n is rev ersed . T h is is calledth e illu sio n o f a ssim ilatio n . S im ila r illu s io ns can be dem -onstrated fo r aud ito ry and v isu a l stim u li, w ith illu sion s o fbo th typ es occu rr ing in 7 0 to 7 6 p e rcen t o f no rm a l su b -jec ts . I f th e f ix in g se r ies o f p re sen tatio ns is ca rr ied ou t ina hy pno tic sta te an d po sthyp no tic am nes ia is succes sfu llyach ieved , th e illu sion s a re still p re sen t w hen sub jec ts arep re sen ted w ith tw o equa l ba lls in the w ak in g sta te.

U znadze con clu ded tha t the sub jec ts w ere un de r the in -f luence of a sta te th a t, a ltho ugh no t con scio us, de te r-m ined the q ua lity o fco nsc iou sness (5 , p . 9 ) . H e ca lled th is se t, w h ich h e de fin ed as an in teg ra l trend d irec ted to -w ard a de fin ite ac tiv ity -the in itia l, fund am en ta l reactio nto a situa tion w here th e re is a p rob lem to be con side redand so lv ed (5 , p . 10 ) .

U znadze cla im ed th a t se t w as a g en era l p r inc ip le inm en ta l func tion ing . H e show ed tha t the se t ir rad ia tedfrom one pa ired o rg an (eye or h an d) to th e o th e r, fromone sen so ry m oda lity to ano th er . H e con clu ded :

W id esp read theo rie s con ce rn ing th e im portan t ro le o f theunco nsc ious in h um an m en tal activ ity undoub ted ly rest on avery firm basis (5 , p . 38). B esides h is conscio us p roces ses ,som e th ing go es o n w h ich is no t an e lem en t o f con scio usn es s,bu t w h ich large ly d ete rm ines it.... W e have found tha t th isis the se t w hich ac tua lly ap pears in any liv ing be ing in th ecou rse o f its in te rac tion w ith the ou tsid e w orld - it actuallytakes p lace ou ts id e o f co nsc iousness bu t neverthe less it has adec isiv e in fluence on the whole of m en ta l life (5 , p . 39) .

U znadze inco rpora ted h is con cep t o f se t in to a gene ralth eory of behav io r: A liv ing be ing , w ith th e ab ility o fp rim itiv e pe rcep tion an d som e fo rm o f ac tiva ted need ca -p ab le o f be ing sa tisf ied in these ex pe rim en tal co nd itio ns,

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deve lop s a rela tion sh ip w ith th is env iro nm en t on the basiso f the in teg ral s ta te a ris ing in the su b jec t, w h ich leadsh im to p erfo rm pu rp osive ac tion s (5 , p . 20 9) . N eed w asequa ted w ith in stinc tua l ac tiv ity in the an im a l, and an i-m al behav io r w as assum ed to be uncon sc ious. A t th e hu -m an leve l, needs w ere co nsc ious in the ex am ples g iven .

U znadze also d ev elo ped a theo ry o f con scio usn es s. Inm an the re are tw o p lan es o f m en tal activ ity ; th e f irs t isth e leve l o f im pu lse ac tiv ity , g ove rned b y sets , and is sim -ilan to the un co nsc iou s instin ctiv e ac tiv ity o f an im als . Inm an , a t th is lev el reality is rep re sen ted in va ry in g degreeso f cla r ity o f con scio usn ess , bu t the se t is a lw ays uncon -sc ious, a cruc ia l po in t in the th eo ry . The secon d leve l isth e p lane of o b jectiv iza tio n , w h ere an asp ec t o f rea lity be -com es th e fo cu s o f th ough t and a tten tion , accom pan iedb y a d elay or pos tp on em en t o f ac tiv ity . Im pu lse ac tiv ityis rep laced by ob jec tiv iza tion w hen an obstac le appearsan d a p rob lem m u st b e so lv ed consc io usly w ith a sh if t inse ts . The pow er o f o b jectiv iza tion libe ra te s m an fromh is d irec t dependence on na tu ra l se ts and prep ares h imfo r indep en den t, ob jec tive ac tiv ity , cap ab le o f co n-tro llin g n atu re (5 , p . 14 7).U zn adze saw F reud s concep t o f rep re ssion as n ega tivean d as in trodu cin g no th ing n ew wh ich is no t fou nd inthe p henom en a o f th e conscio us m ind (5 , p . 214 ). F o rU zn ad ze , a se t canno t be an in d iv id ua l act in a sub jec tsconsc iousness , bu t on ly a m odus of h is sta te a s aw ho le (5 , p . 214 ). H e stres sed th e d eve lopm en tal aspect:S e t is p reconscio us, phy log en etica lly p rim itive , and p re s-en t in an im a ls , w h ile the p lane o f o b jectiv iza tion isp re sen t in m an a lone .

S ince U znadzes o rig ina l inv estiga tions , h e and h iscow orke rs have ex tend ed the expe rim en ta l s tudy of se t tom any fie ld s, in clu d ing p erson a lity types, ch ild p sycho l-ogy , an d psychopa tho logy . T he a rea m ost re levan t to thep ro b lem of Sov ie t un de rstand ing of the un co nsc iou s isth e a t tempt to re late se t th eo ry to p ost-P av lov ian neuno-p hysio log ica l co ncep ts and cyb erne tic s .

NEURO PHY SIO LOG ICAL CONCEPTS

IT . B zha lav a d escr ibed set as fu lf illing th e ro le o f anun co nsc iou s anou sen o f co nsc iou sness (6 , p . 16 ) . H ec la im ed tha t peop le g if ted in self-o bse rva tion are unab leto iden tify se t as a consc io us m en ta l exp erien ce (6 , p . 17 ).B zh alav a d iscu ssed se t a s a connec t ing link be tw eenneunophys io log ica l an d psy ch ic p rocesses . O n e aspec ttha t he con side red w as th e su b jec tive , in te rn al fac to r o fh uman needs-b io log ica l and uncon scio us vs. so cia l andco nsc ious . T he con sc ious need a lso fu lfills in p eo p le th eta sk o f m o tiva tion fo r the se t (6 , p . 2 3 ) . C onscio usly , th eneed is exp erienced as an inc lina tion , s triv ing , in te res t,de sire , w an t, e tc . S om etim es B zha lav a d esc r ibed n eed asa p articu la r d iffu se k ind of se t (6 , p . 25 ) . In o th er co n tex tshe d iscussed need an d se t as if they w ere m utu ally exc lu -s ive . W hile the need and the se t m ay be un co nsc iou s, the irac tiv ity is rep resen ted in con sc iousness by a gen era l a f-fective state o f p lea su re o r tens ion (6 , p . 26 ) .

B zh alava then d iscussed the genera l s tate o f p re -

pa red ness o f the b ra in , fo llow ing co ncep ts o f P .K . A nok-h in th at stress the cap ac ity o f the o rg an ism to an ticip atenecessa ry activ ity . T h is u nconsc io us tun ing func tion ofth e ne rvou s system is m ed ia ted th rou gh the re ticu la rfo rm atio n and se rv es to a ro use the co rtex to a sp ec if icleve l o f read iness fo r m oto r , pe rcep tua l, an d in te llec tua lac tiv ity (6 , pp . 28 -31). T h is is no t se t bu t th e phy si-o lo g ica l p recond ition . S et is a fo rm a tion at a h ighe r ,qu alita tive ly d is tin c t leve l, inv o lv ing the pa rticip atio n o fpe rsona lity (6 , p . 32 ).

In a con c lud in g summ ary B zh alava re ferred to th e h i-enanch ica l re la tion sh ip o f the v ariou s k inds o f sets (bo dypos tu re a t the m oto r lev e l, h om eostas is at th e b io log ica llevel , dynam ic ste reo types a t th e ph ysio log ica l lev el, sen -sony se t a t the pe rcep tua l leve l, an d fina lly a se t f ixa ted a tthe lev el o f o b jectiv iza tion ). Th is h ie ra rchy of subsystem sis the basis fo r pe rson ality fo rm atio n . P ositiv e and nega -tive em otio ns, d irectly conn ected w ith n eed s, a re c lo selyre la ted to set an d its rea liza tion (6 , p . 1 82) .

IN FORM AT ION PROCESSINGF .V . B ass in sh ow ed th at a soun d theo retica l foun da -

tion fo r un de rstan d ing th e u nconscio us m eans sim ulta -neously d ev elo p ing a theo ry o f con scio usn ess . H e ask ed :Is consc io usness an ep ip henom enon (an unessen tial b y -p ro duc t o f h ighe r ne rvou s ac tiv ity ) , o n sh ou ld w e insis t onits ac tiv e ro le and un iqu e con tribu tion to ad ap tive beh av -io n? (7 , pp . 46-48 ). R ussian defin ition s o f h um an con -sc iousness inc lud e th e sub jects capac ity to reac t to h isow n b eh av io r and in te rna l s tate . B u t com pu te rs can n owbe bu ilt w ith sub system s, p ro v id in g in te rn al feed back in -fo rm a tion . H as the need to inc lude a concep t o f con -sc iousness com ple te ly d isappeared? If so , sa id B ass in ,th is w ou ld be in d irec t co n trad iction to preva iling S ov ie tv iew s ofthe ac tiv e ro le o f consciou sness.

B assin co nc luded tha t co nsc iou sness is no t ju st anep ip henom enon bu t a pa rticu lar k in d of reg u la tion o fbra in ac tiv ity , occurring where less e ffec tiv e m eans areinadequa te (7 , p . 25 5). C onsc iousness v astly b ro ad en s th eop e ra tiona l an d adap tive p ossib ilitie s ava ilab le to the o n-gan ism and g ives a d ecid ed advan tage to the hum an sp e-c ie s in evo lu tion (7 , p . 2 58) .

B assin adm itted tha t w e are no c lose r than F reu d w asto de fin ing the ph ysio lo g ica l m echan ism s d iffe ren tia tin gcon scio us from uncon sc ious b rain ac tiv ity (7 , p . 1 68) . H eshow ed tha t the lev e l o f a rousal cann o t be id en tifiedw ith uncon sc iousness o r consc io usn ess on w ith th e leve lof ad ap tiv ely d irec ted bra in ac tiv ity in its w ides t sense (7 ,pp . 170 - 1 71) . H e p resen ted exam ples o f d issoc ia tio n be -tw een th e leve l o f w ake fu lness and ad ap tive b ra in func -tion in g : the acqu is ition o f in fo rm a tion in no rm al sleepan d the se lec tive p ercep tion of sound sign als in deepsleep , rep resen ted by d e lta w av es in the EEG . G oa l-d i-rected activ ity can o ccu r ev en in sta te s o f p ro foun d d is-soc ia tio n , w here I and no t-I a re poo rly d iffer-en t ia ted .

T h e cortex of a s leep ing perso n is no t in a s ta te o f inh i-b itio n bu t show s a h igh degree of e lec trica l ac tiv ity and

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desy nchnon iza tio n (a d issoc ia tion b e tw een b io elec tn i-cal s leep and the beh av io ra l leve l o f arou sa l) . F u rthe r,low er cen te rs regu late the e lec trica l ex citab ility o f th ece reb ra l co rtex . B as sin b elieved tha t th ese da ta p o in ted toa n eu ro phy sio log ica l b asis fo r s ep ara ting the leve l o fa rousa l from un consc iou s fo rm s of h ig he r ne rv ous ac tiv -ity (7 , pp . 177 - 178 ). S om e w ork ers have p ostu lated tha tthe h igh lev el o f elec trica l ac tiv ity in th e ce reb ra l co rtexduring s leep rep re sen ts nesy n thesis and re sto rativ e fu nc -tion s. B assin po stu la ted tha t som e portion o fth is activ itymu s t b e u sed fo r the un consc iou s p ro cessin g o f in fo rm a-tio n (7 , pp . 187 -1 89) .

B assin conc lud ed th at, a t p re sen t, the m ost em p irica llyusefu l d irec tion of inqu iry is no t the fu rth e r pu rsu it o fkn ow n n eu ro phy sio log ica l m echan ism s bu t th e ab strac ts tu dy o f in fo rm atio n processing . U ncon sc ious ac tiv ityhas tw o m ajo r attr ibu te s: p rocess ing o f in fo rm a tion an dregu latio n of b io lo g ica l reactio ns an d b ehav io r . T he tw ofo rm a un ity as a m echan is1n o f ad ap ta tion or se t. In cy -bern etic theory , se t is equ iva len t to p lan or p rogram , im -p ly ing som e type of o rdering , w ith a defin ite h ie ra rch ica lsys tem of ru les on c riter ia fo r p re ference in dec ision m ak-ing (6 , p . 99 ; 7 , pp . 2 13-21 7).

Bassin re jected F reuds idea o f rep ressed affec t a san th rop om o rp h ic , p re fe rr ing the con cep t o f an uncon -sciou s se t fo r a p ar ticu la r a ffec t in a g iven s itu a tion ,based on p rev io us ex pe rience . H e c laim ed tha t laten t af-fec tive set is a co ncep t d iffe ring essen tia lly , and n o tm ere ly sem an tica lly , from the psychoana ly tic co ncep t o frep ressed a ffec t. H e in vok ed se t th eo ry to ex p la in m anyof th e sam e phenom ena of th e un co nsc iou s th at F reud a t-tn ibu ted to rep re ssion of o ffen sive psych ic con ten t, in -c lud in g slip s , d ream s, an d au tom a tic ac ts .

Bass in a lso critic ized U znadze s cla im tha t se t can no tbecom e conscio us. U znadze , B zha lava , and o thers o f th eG eorg ian scho o l in sis ted on a qua lita tive d iffe ren ce b e -tw een conscio us and un co nsc iou s psy ch ic p roces ses . If se tcan b ecom e consc ious , they sa id , consc iou sness/uncon -sc iousness b ecom es a q uan tita tive co n tinu um rath e r thantw o d iffe ren t regu lato ry p rocesse s o f ad ap tive behav io r ,an d th e w ho le th eo ry lose s its un iqu e cha rac te r.

B ass in d id no t ag ree w ith U znadze th a t se t is a chanac -ten istic o f the w ho le pe rsona lity . B assin fe lt tha t se ts arem u ltip le and se rve a regu la to ry fun ctio n , a ltho ugh th eyare n o t id en tical w ith a ffec t, tho ugh t, o r striv ing (7 , p .233). W e have a lread y seen h ow B zha lav a desc ribed a h i-era rchy of o pe ra ting se ts a t seve ral d ifferen t leve ls o f in -teg ra ted cen tra l ne rv ous sy stem ac tiv ity . B assin d iffe r-en tiated se t from o the r co ncep ts such as m od el o f th efu tu re , th e an ticip atio n of a need or the end re su lt o f ac -t iv i ty . H e felt tha t se t is a lso rela ted to past ex pe rience ,th e in fluence of p rev iou s ac ts (7 , p . 238 ). N or is se t iden ti-ca l to d ynam ic s tereo ty pe (7 , p . 214 ).

In co nsid ering the re la tionsh ip b etw een conscio us an dunconsc ious m en ta l p rocesses , B assin sharp ly d isag reedw ith F reuds theory of rep ress ion . W hile an tago n isticre la tionsh ips som e tim es ex is t be tw een co nsc ious an d un-conscious activ ity (e .g ., se rious ly d isrup ting a part ial lyau tom atic ac tiv ity by fo cu sing atten tion on it), th e mos tcharacteristic re latio nsh ip is on e of syn erg ism (7 , p . 2 68 ).

B assin said tha t syn e rg ism is dem on stra ted in all o f thes et e xp er im e nt s.

H av in g de fin ed un co nsc iou s p sych ic ac tiv ity as thep ro cess ing of in fo rm atio n and th e regu latio n of adap tiv ebehav io r th rou gh the fo rm a tion of sets , B ass in co nsid -e red w he the r he w as talk ing abou t th e sam e th ing tha tp sycho an aly sts m ean by the u nconscio us. T he sam equestion o ccu rred to m e . B assin quo ted B e llak s de fin i-tion o fth ree ty pes o f un consc iou s. F irs t the re is the phy si-o log ica l un co nsc iou s, the ne rv ous reg u la tion o f vege ta tivefun ctio ns, w ith no p sych ic rep re sen ta tion . S econd , the reis the co nfigura tiona l un co nsc ious , au tom atic nervo us ac-tivity tha t c rea tes con scio us con ten ts bu t rem a ins inv is-ib le; a second asp ec t o f th is is the un consc iou s p rocesse stha t go in to th e fo rm a tion of a gesta lt. T h e th ird typ e isthe dyn am ic u nconsc io us: psy ch ic con ten ts unaccep tab leto con scio usn es s. B e llak cla im ed tha t psych oana ly ticm e th od and theo ry a re co ncerned on ly w ith the th irdty pe (8 ) .

B assin th ough t tha t se t theo ry is con ce rned w ith b o thth e d ynam ic and configu ra tion al u nconsc iou s. The m ean-ing o f th e ex terna l situ atio n is im portan t in the fo rm a tionof se ts (7 , p . 26 6) . Th e b rid ge be tw een affec t and sym p-tom , b e tw een in ten tiona l and un in ten tio na l ac ts , m u st in -d ude the configu ra tion al an d dynam ic uncon sc ious (7 , p .26 4) . 1 c onc lud ed tha t B assin d id n o t deny a d ynam ic un-consc ious bu t re jec ted the idea lis tic e rro r o f psycho-ana ly tic th eo ry as one -sided , ex ag ge ra ting th e im po r-tance o f the dyn am ic uncon sc ious to the exc lusio n of th eneurophys io log ica l su bstra tum .

Bass in d is tin gu ished b etw een uncon sc ious h ig he r ne r-vo us ac tiv ity , i.e ., p rocesse s tha t can neve r becom e con-sc iou s, even th ough they a re goa l-d irec ted tenden cie s p ro -m otin g adap ta tion , and u nconsc io us psy ch ic ac tiv ity ,i.e ., p rocesse s tha t can en te r psy ch ic ex pe rien ce (7 , p . 1 67 ,foo tno te ; p . 37 3) . P erhaps the key to the pa rad ox of thecon scio us se t lies h ere . T he con ten t o f a se t, in m y opin -ion , can becom e consc iou s, bu t th e ne rvo us ac tiv ity tha tk eeps the set a s a trace can neve r becom e con sc ious . Th isd istin ctio n be tw een h ig he r ne rv ous ac tiv ity an d h igh erpsy ch ic ac tiv ity m ay he lp to d isting u ish sem an tic con-fu sio n from sub stan tive con trov ersie s .

PSYCHO PATHOLOGY AND THE UNCON SC IOUS

In th e fie ld o f psychopa tho logy , let u s exam ine Sov ietin terp reta tion s o f d issoc ia tion . S .L . R ub en sh te in de -scn ibed th ree leve ls o f d issoc ia ted exp er ience in accord -ance w ith h is de fin ition of consc io usn ess as th e m en ta ls ta te in w hich the sub jec t c lean ly d iffe ren tiate s h im se lffrom th e ou tsid e w o rld and pe rce ives h is ow n ac tions andreactio ns. T he firs t lev el is o ne at w h ich im pu lsiv e actsare perce iv ed as o nes ow n bu t con seq uences a re no t fu llyg ra sped , o n a sub jec tive sta te is pe rce ived as be lon g ing toth e o u tsid e w orld . A t th e secon d lev e l the q ua lity o f co n-sc iou sness is d is tu rb ed , w ith confusio n o f the se lf an d th eou tside w o rld , a s in o rgan ic psych oses. A t the th ird leve lth e exp erience is fu lly d is soc ia ted , a s in ep ilep tic fu gu esta te s and hyste r ia , a lthou gh th e d is soc ia ted exp e rience

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SOV IET APPROACH TO THE UNCONSCIOUS

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con tin ues to b e reg u la ted ad ap tive ly ou ts ide o f co n-sc iousn ess. T h is leve l is a lso rep re sen ted in n orm al b ehav-io n b y au tom a tic ac ts ; the ir cap ac ity to re in teg ra te in toco nsc iou sness d istingu ishes th em from psy ch o-p ath o log y (7 , pp . 16 1-16 3).

S ov iet in vestiga to rs g ive Freud c red it fo r show ing th eth e rapeu tic e ffec t o f n ein teg na ting d issoc iated expe rien cesin to co nsc iou sness. P av lov sa id th a t F reuds on l y con tn i-b u tion w as h is p rinc ip le o f burn in g to ash th roug h con-sc iousness on liqu ida tion of a p a th ogen ic experience .The la tte r , in P av lo v s te rm s, is a fu nc tiona lly loca lizedp ath o log ica l cen ter o f exc itatio n in th e cereb ral co rtex ,w h ich is iso lated from the usu a l con tro l sy stem s of theco rtex as a w ho le (7 , p p . 9 2 -9 4) . C u rren t S ov ie t th eo ry isc r itica l bo th o fth e id ea o fan an atom ical loca liza tion o f ap ath ogen ic p roces s and of th e gene ral con cep t o f co rti-ca l inh ib ition (7 , p . 3 80) .

In se t th eo ry the re in teg ra tion in to co nsc iou sness o fd issoc ia ted ex pe rience m eans b ring in g the d isso cia tedco n ten t un de r the in f luence o f an ex istin g set on c rea ting an ew se t. T he th erapeu tic e ffec t com es from chang ing thepa tien ts re la tionsh ip w ith the ou tside w orld , n o t fromm akin g an un co nsc iou s e lem en t consc io us (7 , p . 95 ) . B as-sin thou gh t th at F reud w as se lf-con trad ic to ry in c la im ingbo th th e the rapeu tic e ffectiv en es s o f reca lling rep re ssedexp erience and also the need fo r reedu ca tion in psy ch o-ana ly tic the rapy (7 , p . 96 ) . B assin ove rlook ed late r p sy -cho an aly tic desc rip tio ns o f de fenses besid es sim p le ne -p re ssion , in w h ich pa tho log ica l co n ten t rem a in scon sc ious (e.g ., p ro jec tion , iso latio n , den ia l).

A secon d ex am ple from psy ch opa tho logy is B assin sd iscu ss io n of psych osom atic re la tion sh ips (7 , pp . 335 -352 ). Th ere w as fu ll recog n ition o f em otion al fac to rs:consc io us an d uncon sc ious se ts p rom oting b o th h ealthand d isease . In con side ring the spec if ic ity o f a psych icconflic t in re la tion to a clin ical sy ndrom e , th e p rob lem ofconv ersion in hy ster ia w as sep a ra ted from gene ral psy -ch osom a tic rela tion sh ips . W h ile it w as reco gn ized tha tsym p tom s w ith m ean ing can be produ ced in a hy ste rico n a h ypno tic sub jec t by sug gestion , the Sov ie t ex -p lan atio n d iffe red from the F reud ian co ncep t o f con-v ersion . The la tte r em phasizes sym bo lic transfo rm a-tio n as a p rim ary , ind ep enden t p henom enon . T he Sov ie tv iew ho lds th a t sym bo lism is a second ary co nsequ en ce ofth e p re sence o f m ean in g fu l con nec tions be tw een id eas a t

the lev el o fim ag en y (7 , p . 339 ). B ass in s trea tm en t o f con -ve rsion w as un co nv in c ing to m e.

C once rn ing m ore g en era l psy ch osom a tic re la tionsh ips,B as sin w as on stro nge r g roun d in c la im ing th at w ork ingconcep ts of a d ifferen t o rd er are n eed ed to deal w ith th equ estion o f the in flu en ce of the uncon sc ious on the cou rseo f an illne ss . T he ou tcom e o f an illn ess an d th e b a lan cebe tw een p a th og en ic in f luences and the qu ality o f the d e-fens ive m easu res w ith w hich the o rgan ism resp ond s d e-pend in p an t on gene ra l se ts and th e pe rsona lity o f thepa tien t. T he exam ple c ited is the se t o f a fligh t in to ill-ne ss on , con ve rse ly , th e w ill to recov er . W hy is the in flu -ence o f a conscio usly expre ssed w ish to recove r fre -quen tly w eak , w h ile th e e ffect o f a stab le un co nsc iou s setto com ba t illne ss m ay b e qu ite pow erfu l?

In respon se, B ass in re fe rred to the d iffe ren ce be tw eencon scio us an d un co nsc iou s psy ch ic activ ity . Th e la tterp ro v ides a con tin uou s, un broken regu la tio n of ad ap tivebehav io r. C onsc iousness o ffe rs on ly in te rm itten t, andthe re fo re le ss po ten t, reg u la tion , usin g th e pow er o f thew ord . T he refo re a w ish to reco ve r m u st act o n ly as a su p-porter o f a p ro lon ged uncon scio us set, reg u la ting thephy sio log ica l de fensiv e m ech an ism s of the o rgan ism .

REFERENCES

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