Changes in Psychoanalytic Practice and Experience, as Reflected in Psychoanalytic Indexes

Some apparent changes in the contents of the psychoanalytic literature since Freud's writings are presented and discussed. The emphasis in the literature appears to have shifted from discussions of psychopathology, problems of general psychology and human experiences towards an increased interest in theoretical questions concerning ego psychology, psychological development and therapeutics. The early interest in the nature of motivation, sexuality, aetiology and pathogenesis appears to have declined while the discussions of self/object relations, identity, ego and superego appear to have increased. Component instincts have not been indexed during the past 35 years in the two major American journals.

The use of computers for studying the data in psychoanalytic indexes is offered as a new approach for psychoanalytic research. This study was based upon comparing frequencies of words that were combined lexically, semantically and conceptually. Comparisons were made within a single index (the Journal) and also among three different indexes—the cumulative indexes of the Standard Edition, The Psychoanalytic Quarterly and the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association.