Autoplastic adaptation
Encyclopedia
Autoplastic adaptation is a form of adaptation
where the subject attempts to change itself when faced with a difficult situation.
The concept of autoplastic adaptation was developed by Sigmund Freud
, Sándor Ferenczi
, and Franz Alexander
. They proposed that when an individual was presented with a stressful situation, he could react in one of two ways:
individuals appear to be turned inward. Their symptoms, instead of presenting actions directed outward (alloplastic activities), are mere internal innervations (autoplastic activities)'.
Freud, with 'his single-minded Lamarckianism
', speculated that behind 'Lamarck's idea of "need"' was the 'power of unconscious ideas over one's own body, of which we see remnants in hysteria, in short, "the omnipotence of thought"'.
As a result, among his immediate followers, 'Insight into this regressive nature of the phenomenon of conversion
may be taken as a starting-point for speculation about the archaic origin of the capacity for autoplastic conversion...according to which evolution
took place through the autoplastic adaptation of the body to the demands of the environment'.
The analytic relationship is sometimes seen in similar terms: 'the two practitioners in treatment are engaged in an unending struggle between changing the other and effecting internal change..."autoplastic" and "alloplastic"'.
Adaptation
An adaptation in biology is a trait with a current functional role in the life history of an organism that is maintained and evolved by means of natural selection. An adaptation refers to both the current state of being adapted and to the dynamic evolutionary process that leads to the adaptation....
where the subject attempts to change itself when faced with a difficult situation.
The concept of autoplastic adaptation was developed by Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
, Sándor Ferenczi
Sándor Ferenczi
Sándor Ferenczi was a Hungarian psychoanalyst, a key theorist of the psychoanalytic school and a close associate of Sigmund Freud.-Biography:...
, and Franz Alexander
Franz Alexander
Franz Gabriel Alexander was a Hungarian-American psychoanalyst and physician, who is considered one of the founders of psychosomatic medicine and psychoanalytic criminology.- Life :...
. They proposed that when an individual was presented with a stressful situation, he could react in one of two ways:
- Autoplastic adaptation: The subject tries to change himself, i.e. the internal environment.
- Alloplastic adaptationAlloplastic adaptationAlloplastic adaptation is a form of adaptation where the subject attempts to change the environment when faced with a difficult situation. Criminality, mental illness, and activism can all be classified as categories of alloplastic adaptation.The concept of alloplastic adaptation was developed by...
: The subject tries to change the situation, i.e. the external environment.
Autoplasticity, hysteria and evolution
'HystericalHysteria
Hysteria, in its colloquial use, describes unmanageable emotional excesses. People who are "hysterical" often lose self-control due to an overwhelming fear that may be caused by multiple events in one's past that involved some sort of severe conflict; the fear can be centered on a body part, or,...
individuals appear to be turned inward. Their symptoms, instead of presenting actions directed outward (alloplastic activities), are mere internal innervations (autoplastic activities)'.
Freud, with 'his single-minded Lamarckianism
Lamarckism
Lamarckism is the idea that an organism can pass on characteristics that it acquired during its lifetime to its offspring . It is named after the French biologist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck , who incorporated the action of soft inheritance into his evolutionary theories...
', speculated that behind 'Lamarck's idea of "need"' was the 'power of unconscious ideas over one's own body, of which we see remnants in hysteria, in short, "the omnipotence of thought"'.
As a result, among his immediate followers, 'Insight into this regressive nature of the phenomenon of conversion
Conversion disorder
Conversion disorder is a condition in which patients present with neurological symptoms such as numbness, blindness, paralysis, or fits without a neurological cause. It is thought that these problems arise in response to difficulties in the patient's life, and conversion is considered a psychiatric...
may be taken as a starting-point for speculation about the archaic origin of the capacity for autoplastic conversion...according to which evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
took place through the autoplastic adaptation of the body to the demands of the environment'.
Cross-cultural autoplasticity
'Cross-cultural helpers have debated what has been called the autoplastic/alloplastic dilemma: how much should clients be encouraged to adapt to a given situation and how much...to change? Most Western helping modalities have a strong autoplastic bias; clients are encouraged to abandon traditional beliefs...to fit into a dominant society's mainstream'.The analytic relationship is sometimes seen in similar terms: 'the two practitioners in treatment are engaged in an unending struggle between changing the other and effecting internal change..."autoplastic" and "alloplastic"'.
External links
- "Psychiatry and the dilemmas of crime" by Seymour L. Halleck, page 64
- "Mediated learning experience (MLE)" by Reuven Feuerstein, Pnina S. Klein, Abraham J. Tannenbaum, page 14
- "Ferenczi's Trauma Theory" by Jay B. Frankel
- "Digital creativity" by Colin Beardon, Lone Malmborg, page 58
- PsychResidentOnline.com: Psychodynamic Theory Notes
- Psychology Glossary