Undoing (psychology)
Encyclopedia
Undoing is a defence mechanism
in which a person tries to 'undo' an unhealthy, destructive or otherwise threatening thought or action by engaging in contrary behaviour. For example, after thinking about being violent with someone, one would then be overly nice or accommodating to them. It is one of several defence mechanisms proposed by the noted psychiatrist
Sigmund Freud
during his career, many of which were later developed further by his daughter Anna Freud
.
It was two decades later in 1926 that he formalised the ego defence as' undoing what has been done....it is, as it were, negative magic, and endeavours, by means of motor symbolism, to blow away not merely the consequences of some event (or experience or impression) but the event itself'. Freud then went on to use '"undoing" what has been done...[as] good enough grounds for re-introducing the old concept of defence, which can cover all these processes that have the same purpose - namely the protection of the ego against instinctual demands' - one of the major technical advances of his later years.
listed it among the ego mechanisms; Ernest Jones
and Ella Freeman Sharpe
both wrote articles linking it with 'actions and attitudes aimed at the undoing of imaginative destructions. Strivings for reparation may...be the main motive'. Otto Fenichel
devoted a substantial section of his "mechanism of defense" to summarising past work in his encyclopaedic Theory of Neurosis: he was especially interested in how 'the undoing sometimes does not consist in a compulsion to do the opposite of what has been done previously but in a compulsion to repeat the very same act...with the opposite unconscious meaning'.
The second half of the twentieth century saw little new theoretical or creative work around the concept. Jean Laplanche
and J. B. Pontalis laid stress on how 'Undoing in the pathological sense is directed at the act's very reality, and the aim is to suppress it absolutely, as though time were reversed'. The Freud encyclopaedia highlighted how 'Acts of expiation can be seen as forms of undoing; George Eman Vaillant
placed undoing among the neurotic defences in his hierarchy of defense mechanisms.
Melanie Klein in her early work had written of undoing in terms of a kind of magical reparation: 'a tendency to undo harm and put objects to right magically'. Later, however, she would use it in terms of a kind of ego disintegration - 'a process of undoing, or what she called "a falling into bits"' - and it was in this latter, rather different sense of the term that later Kleinians would tend to use it: 'an invitation to dissolution and undoing...leaving the mental field open for enactment and horror'.
For some people undoing can be used to reduce cognitive dissonance
, the uncomfortable feeling created when an attitude and an action, or two attitudes are in conflict with one another.
In criminal profiling the term refers to a pattern of behaviour by which an offender tries to undo their crime symbolically, e.g. by painting the face of a person killed by the perpetrator, covering up and decorating the corpse with flowers, personal belongings and jewellery, or folding the hands, imitating a laying-out.
and Robert Levenson have come up with the undoing hypothesis. In essence what the hypothesis states is that people might hold in the effects of their positive emotions to counterbalance the effects of their negative emotions.
Defence mechanism
In Freudian psychoanalytic theory, defence mechanisms are unconscious psychological strategies brought into play by various entities to cope with reality and to maintain self-image. Healthy persons normally use different defences throughout life...
in which a person tries to 'undo' an unhealthy, destructive or otherwise threatening thought or action by engaging in contrary behaviour. For example, after thinking about being violent with someone, one would then be overly nice or accommodating to them. It is one of several defence mechanisms proposed by the noted psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
during his career, many of which were later developed further by his daughter Anna Freud
Anna Freud
Anna Freud was the sixth and last child of Sigmund and Martha Freud. Born in Vienna, she followed the path of her father and contributed to the newly born field of psychoanalysis...
.
Freud's development of the concept
Freud first described the practice of undoing in his 1909 "Notes upon a Case of Obsessional Neurosis". Here he recounted how his patient (the "Rat Man") first removed a stone from the road in case his lady's carriage should overturn upon it, and thereafter 'felt obliged to go back and replace the stone in its original position in the middle of the road'. Freud argued that his 'undoing this deed of love by replacing the stone where...her carriage might come to grief against it...was determined by a motive contrary to that which produced the first part' by hate, not love.It was two decades later in 1926 that he formalised the ego defence as' undoing what has been done....it is, as it were, negative magic, and endeavours, by means of motor symbolism, to blow away not merely the consequences of some event (or experience or impression) but the event itself'. Freud then went on to use '"undoing" what has been done...[as] good enough grounds for re-introducing the old concept of defence, which can cover all these processes that have the same purpose - namely the protection of the ego against instinctual demands' - one of the major technical advances of his later years.
In psychoanalysis after Freud
The first psychoanalytic half-century saw several writers exploring the concept of undoing in Freud's wake. Anna FreudAnna Freud
Anna Freud was the sixth and last child of Sigmund and Martha Freud. Born in Vienna, she followed the path of her father and contributed to the newly born field of psychoanalysis...
listed it among the ego mechanisms; Ernest Jones
Ernest Jones
Alfred Ernest Jones was a British neurologist and psychoanalyst, and Sigmund Freud’s official biographer. Jones was the first English-speaking practitioner of psychoanalysis and became its leading exponent in the English-speaking world where, as President of both the British Psycho-Analytical...
and Ella Freeman Sharpe
Ella Freeman Sharpe
Ella Freeman Sharpe was 'a pioneer of British psychoanalysis and one of the few natives of the United Kingdom among its leaders'. In 1947 she was 'said by Sylvia Payne [to have undertaken more training analyses than any other analyst in England'...
both wrote articles linking it with 'actions and attitudes aimed at the undoing of imaginative destructions. Strivings for reparation may...be the main motive'. Otto Fenichel
Otto Fenichel
Otto Fenichel was a psychoanalyst of the so-called "second generation".Otto Fenichel started studying medicine in 1915 in Vienna. Already as a very young man, when still in school, he was attracted by the circle of psychoanalysts around Freud...
devoted a substantial section of his "mechanism of defense" to summarising past work in his encyclopaedic Theory of Neurosis: he was especially interested in how 'the undoing sometimes does not consist in a compulsion to do the opposite of what has been done previously but in a compulsion to repeat the very same act...with the opposite unconscious meaning'.
The second half of the twentieth century saw little new theoretical or creative work around the concept. Jean Laplanche
Jean Laplanche
Jean Laplanche is a French author, theorist and psychoanalyst. Laplanche is best known for his work on psychosexual development and Sigmund Freud's seduction theory, and has written more than a dozen books on psychoanalytic theory...
and J. B. Pontalis laid stress on how 'Undoing in the pathological sense is directed at the act's very reality, and the aim is to suppress it absolutely, as though time were reversed'. The Freud encyclopaedia highlighted how 'Acts of expiation can be seen as forms of undoing; George Eman Vaillant
George Eman Vaillant
George Eman Vaillant, M.D. is an American psychiatrist and Professor at Harvard Medical School and Director of Research for the Department of Psychiatry, . Dr. Vaillant has spent his research career charting adult development and the recovery process of schizophrenia, heroin addiction,...
placed undoing among the neurotic defences in his hierarchy of defense mechanisms.
Melanie Klein in her early work had written of undoing in terms of a kind of magical reparation: 'a tendency to undo harm and put objects to right magically'. Later, however, she would use it in terms of a kind of ego disintegration - 'a process of undoing, or what she called "a falling into bits"' - and it was in this latter, rather different sense of the term that later Kleinians would tend to use it: 'an invitation to dissolution and undoing...leaving the mental field open for enactment and horror'.
Further uses
Undoing can be used to 'explain away' habits or behaviours that are not in line with an individuals' personality. For example, in the case of a person who is well organised in the workplace, yet always forgets to pay bills on time at home, Freudian psychologists could argue that his tardiness with bills is an undoing of his desire to be orderly, or vice-versa. Freud's theory has been criticised because of examples such as this because his theory is so complicated most problems can be explained by another part of the theory.For some people undoing can be used to reduce cognitive dissonance
Cognitive dissonance
Cognitive dissonance is a discomfort caused by holding conflicting ideas simultaneously. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance. They do this by changing their attitudes, beliefs, and actions. Dissonance is also reduced by justifying,...
, the uncomfortable feeling created when an attitude and an action, or two attitudes are in conflict with one another.
In criminal profiling the term refers to a pattern of behaviour by which an offender tries to undo their crime symbolically, e.g. by painting the face of a person killed by the perpetrator, covering up and decorating the corpse with flowers, personal belongings and jewellery, or folding the hands, imitating a laying-out.
The Undoing Effects of Positive Emotions
Happiness, joy, love, excitement are all positive emotions and there is no arguing that these emotions contribute in large to how we act, how we think, and what we do. In contrast there are also negative feelings such as sadness that can lead us to act in certain ways that may not necessarily be good. Studies have been performed that have shown that positive emotions can be used to "correct" or "undo" the effects of negative emotions. Barbara FredricksonBarbara Fredrickson
Barbara L. Fredrickson is a professor in the department of Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she is the Kenan Distinguished Professor of Psychology....
and Robert Levenson have come up with the undoing hypothesis. In essence what the hypothesis states is that people might hold in the effects of their positive emotions to counterbalance the effects of their negative emotions.
Classification
Undoing is tentatively classified at the "Mental inhibitions (compromise formation) level" in DSM-IV-TR's proposed Defensive Functioning Scale (under Appendix B, "Criteria Sets and Axes Provided for Further Study.")See also
- Sigmund FreudSigmund FreudSigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
- Anna FreudAnna FreudAnna Freud was the sixth and last child of Sigmund and Martha Freud. Born in Vienna, she followed the path of her father and contributed to the newly born field of psychoanalysis...
- Defence mechanismDefence mechanismIn Freudian psychoanalytic theory, defence mechanisms are unconscious psychological strategies brought into play by various entities to cope with reality and to maintain self-image. Healthy persons normally use different defences throughout life...
- Cognitive dissonanceCognitive dissonanceCognitive dissonance is a discomfort caused by holding conflicting ideas simultaneously. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance. They do this by changing their attitudes, beliefs, and actions. Dissonance is also reduced by justifying,...
- Critical reactions to Freudian theory
Further reading
- Kosslyn, S.Stephen KosslynStephen Michael Kosslyn is an American psychologist who specializes in the fields of cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Until 31 December 2010 he was John Lindsley Professor of Psychology in Memory of William James and Dean of Social Science at Harvard University, having previously...
& Rosenberg, R. (2004) Psychology: The brain, the person, the world. (2nd ed.) Boston: Pearson Education - Schröer J & Püschel K (2006) Special aspects of crime scene interpretation and behavioral analysis: The phenomenon of "undoing". Forensic pathology reviews, 4, 193-202.