A Confusion of Tongues or Whose Reality Is It

Bibliographic Data

ID9230397
AuthorsArnold H Modell (401 Woodward St. Waban, MA 02168, corresponding author)
Year1991
Volume60
Issue2
Pages227-244
Publication date1991-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Psychoanalytic Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0033-2828 • E-ISSN: 2167-4086
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/21674086.1991.11927309
PMID2062975
OpenAlexW2411957744
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited5

In a 1933 paper Ferenczi implied that conflict between the adult's and the child's construction of reality is traumatic for the child. As all individuals construct their own view of reality, it is inevitable that there will be conflicting constructions between child and adult--and between analyst and analysand. This may be biologically rooted; recent ethological studies suggest that parent-child conflict is ubiquitous because of a divergence of needs. When a child perceives a marked divergence between his or her construction of reality and that of the caretaker, the child may tend to reject the information proffered by the caretaker. This may appear later as a resistance to learning from the analyst. The divergence of needs between child and caretaker may have a profound influence on the child's cognitive development. The capacity to share other constructions of reality is a developmental achievement which may be facilitated by the psychoanalytic process

Cognition · Confusion · Construct (python library) · Developmental psychology · Divergence (linguistics) · Psychoanalysis · Psychoanalytic theory · Reality testing · Resistance (ecology) · Philosophy · Psychoanalysis and Social Critique · Psychology · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications · Social Psychology · Themes in Literature Analysis