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By David W. Allen. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1974, x + 134 pp., $7.95.
Dr. Allen's thesis is that exhibitionism and scopophilia are very important components of both neurosis and human personality in general. He states, "Despite changes in psychoanalytic theory, the concepts of scopophilia and exhibitionism remain unchanged and little exploited." His monograph is an attempt to rectify the perceived omission.
The author's definition of the concepts is narrow. He relates the genetic roots of looking and showing to the pregenital sexual instincts. He reaches into biological theory to bolster his contention that such elements and conflicts over them have broad significance in early development and for later personality structure.
Allen then presents thirteen analytic cases to illustrate these factors in the patient's personality structure and their importance for the therapeutic process. He feels that the overcoming of the fear of showing oneself is a central factor in permitting resolution of the transference neurosis. This process is facilitated by the analyst's acceptance of what is revealed by the patient, by his own capacity to be unafraid of his curiosity about the patient, and by his willingness to show himself when it seems appropriate. Allen underlines the importance of the patient's experience of the analyst's perception of him—what he calls the analyst's "useful neutral involvement."
Finally, Allen discusses the part played by wishing to look and by the ability to see in a new way as components of creativity.
His introductory statements suggest that the author is unfamiliar with the considerable attention recently given by other