Freud's Concept of Repression and Defense: Its Theoretical and Observational Language. By Peter Madison. Minneapolis:  University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 1961, pp.  205.

Peter Madison, professor of psychology, was invited to the Institute of the Pennsylvania Hospital to contribute as a psychologist to problems related to the evaluation of psychotherapy. The present volume was inspired by this experience which convinced the author that Freudian theory is a major influence in psychiatry and psychology. The aim of Madison's book was to acquaint psychologists with an accurate and comprehensive statement of Freud's theories regarding repression and other defenses.

The author believes that an accurate formulation of Freud's theories would facilitate their being tested scientifically. This, to Madison, means that the findings could be quantified.

The major part of the book comprises an attempt by the author to outline Freud's theories. Since the author does not appear to be familiar with psychoanalytic literature in general, he regards his finding that Freud used the term “repression” to designate many defenses other than unconsciously motivated forgetting, as novel. Though Madison made a sincere effort to present Freud's writings as clearly and comprehensively as possible, there are some errors which appear to be due to misunderstanding, and which probably will be misleading to his readers. The following may serve as illustration. According to the author, for instance, Freud explained primal repression by the repetition compulsion; further, that Freud considered the non-gratification of physical rather than instinctual needs as the cause of trauma in infancy. Thus Madison does not truly appreciate that in Freud's theory the crucial danger situations in early childhood relate to loss of object, loss of love, castration anxiety and superego anxiety.

In the second part of the book, Madison attempts to outline ways in which Freud's theories could be tested quantitatively. Madison understands that the laboratory analogues of repression do not correspond to psychic trauma which cause genuine repression in people. Therefore Madison suggests that ac