Preface

The Editors of Psychoanalysis and Contemporary Science have sought to provide a medium for the publication of integrative studies that bring psychoanalysis into closer contact with natural and social sciences as well as humanistic studies. In short, the editorial aim is to present our audience with the best in contemporary thought that utilizes, draws on, or expands psychoanalytic theory. Clinical and experimental studies and applied analytic presentations have been equally welcome and pursued.

Volume 5 brings together a group of papers gleaned from a year of concentrated editorial review. We believe they are all of high quality. They also represent a wide authorship by investigators and theoreticians, some of whom are familiar to our readers and others who are new to this area. The range of topics reflects some current trends in contemporary thought where psychoanalytic ideas and models are a potent and productive force. The application of psychoanalytic theory by each author represents a unique rethinking of some central analytic proposition, or its operationalization into a new method or experimental procedure. Others have reworked available data from many sources into syntheses that provide new insights.

While the scope of our editorial aim is large enough to encompass all areas of contemporary thought that overlap with psychoanalysis, each volume presents a narrower range of topics. We can compare Volume 5 to former volumes to witness the changing trends and concerns within our discipline. In addition to the familiar rewriting of theory in accord with other models, this volume shows a heavy emphasis on developmental studies using