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Predictive models in psychoanalysis
Author(s) -
Callahan James,
Sashin Jerome I.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
behavioral science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.371
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1099-1743
pISSN - 0005-7940
DOI - 10.1002/bs.3830350107
Subject(s) - variable (mathematics) , computer science , psychoanalytic theory , phenomenon , affect (linguistics) , catastrophe theory , cusp (singularity) , epistemology , psychology , mathematics , psychoanalysis , philosophy , mathematical analysis , geometry , geotechnical engineering , communication , engineering
Psychoanalytic phenomena involve complex patterns of behavior which are difficult to model effectively and without oversimplification. This paper presents an approach to modeling which is appropriate for variables treated in psychoanalysis, and it describes a method for reducing the number of variables without losing essential information. The models used are from elementary catastrophe theory and are geometric in form. The approach is scientific in the strict sense that the models generate predictions which can be tested objectively. We illustrate this with an example involving the clinical phenomenon of affect‐response. We present a ten‐variable model based on the compact double cusp; the model generates an unforeseen, non‐trivial, testable prediction.