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In an earlier paper (Imago, XXI, 1935) the author investigated the effect of prohibitions in the rearing of children and in this paper he treats of the eff ect of commands. Whereas prohibitions cause damming up of drives and narcissistic insults, commands effect satisfaction of a drive and narcissistic insult simultaneously. This is demonstrated by an example of early feeding education. Three different reactions to change in food routine are described.
The persistence of these reactions in adult neurotics is exemplified by three patients. Their symptoms represent an attempt to attain satisfaction but to avoid the narcissistic insult they experienced in childhood when the command was pronounced. Various patterns of 'normal' behavior are drawn, some of which seem distorted to the reviewer. The author will discuss the application of this thesis to education and psychotherapy in a further paper.
It is the opinion of the reviewer that the effects of prohibitions and commands on the child cannot clearly be described in such a general sense and that they cannot be reduced to so minimal a number of factors as presented in this paper.