Reik called attention to the elements of suspense and its enactment, exhibitionistic impulses, and provocation of persecution in the masochistic fantasy—substantial contributions to psychoanalytic thought—which were discussed in considerable detail

in Masochism in Modern Man. His synthesis of clinical, mythological, social, anthropological, and religious ideas added an almost unparalleled richness to his presentations. However, Reik continually avoided acknowledgment of significant, relevant psychoanalytic concepts in his writing, a practice which Reik himself referred to as masochistic. Kaplan suggests that this avoidance is a possible explanation for the fact that Reik's work, with all its penetrating insight, does not take its place in psychoanalytic bibliographies.