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The subject-matter of interpretation is discussed in many books and articles in the psycho-analytic literature. With few exceptions, notably Siegfried Bernfeld's comprehensive article in the Zeitschrift für angewandte Psychologie, published in 1932 (2), the literature deals mainly with interpretation as a part of psycho-analytic technique. The interest is focused on what, when, and how to interpret. The question of the validity of an interpretation in a scientific sense is rarely raised. In recent years a few authors have discussed the problem of the validity of psycho-analytic interpretations and have stressed the desirability of research in this area. Lawrence S. Kubie, for instance, has stated that 'analysis stands and falls by the validity of its specific interpretations in specific instances'. He has further commented on 'the importance of amassing the data of free associations for meticulous statistical analysis in a search for objective laws and guiding principles' (15). Edward Glover, in an article on 'Research Methods in Psycho-analysis', published in 1952 (10), has expressed the need for an 'attempt to control the validity of interpretation'.
The psycho-analytic practitioner, as a rule, is not concerned about the possibility of scientific validation of his interpretations. Many interpretations seem so obvious that he will not develop any doubts about their validity. In cases where he may not be sure of the correctness of an interpretation, he most likely will wait and see whether or not new material will confirm the interpretation. Freud, in his paper on 'Constructions in Psycho-analysis' (9), compared psycho-analytic interpretation with the work of the archaeologist and pointed out that the psycho-analyst, through his prolonged contact with a living person, the patient, has a chance to correct his hypotheses, whereas such a chance is not as easily available to the archaeologist.
By and large, the therapeutic success or failure of an individual ps