The Problem of Suggestion in Psychoanalysis: An Analysis and Solution
Philosophical Psychology 26 (Sept 2013), 718-743. DOI:10.1080/09515089.2012.725533
35 Pages Posted: 4 Sep 2012 Last revised: 24 Jan 2014
Date Written: September 3, 2012
Abstract
From its inception, psychoanalysis has been troubled by the problem of suggestion. I defend an answer to the problem of suggestion understood as a methodological concern about the evidential basis of psychoanalytic theory. This purely methodological approach is relatively uncommon in discussions in psychoanalysis. I argue that suggestion in psychoanalysis is best understood in terms of experimenter expectancy effects. Such effects are not specific to psychoanalysis, and they can be corrected for by relying on the corroboration of findings by different researchers. This response to the problem of suggestion faces several challenges, and a reply to these is offered. I argue that the psychodynamic model of mind, if not the metapsychological and etiological claims of psychoanalysis, can be vindicated in light of the actual agreement that exists.
Keywords: Psychoanalysis, suggestion, experimenter effects, confirmation bias, methodology, clinical data
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