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Psycho-analysts have often been accused of niggardliness in giving popular presentations of their discoveries, and in particular are frequently reproached for their reluctance to formulate codes of behaviour for use in the emotional emergencies of life. The former criticism is scarcely justified, but there is a considerable element of truth in the latter. And there is a good deal to be said for adopting a cautious and reserved attitude towards the publication of behaviouristic or prophylactic codes. It is not simply that psycho-analysts have been deterred by the awful example of non-analytical writers on human conduct, although it is well known that the majority of books on this subject are simply monuments of fatuity. In the first place, psycho-analysts are more concerned with internal factors in illness than with immediate (usually adult) precipitating factors, and in the second the significance of apparently important environmental factors has not yet been finally determined. So there seems every reason to be cautious.
Nevertheless there appear to be two schools of opinion within analytic groups as to the ripeness of time for giving advice. This 'Volksbuch', for example, represents the point of view of those who feel sanguine and confident in giving advice. Admittedly the greater part of the two volumes is concerned to give the average educated person some idea of the many-sidedness of analytic interests, and in particular attempts to explain to those who are inclined to ignore or misinterpret them, the nature of psychic maladaptations. But this is not the most important part of the 'Volksbuch.' In the words of the introduction the books are intended to make clear the inhibitions and disturbances of the child's mind, and it is suggested that in this way the educated individual may be able to handle and relieve them.
With regard to the general expository aspects of the book, this is left in the hands of a number of analysts whose names are already household