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Nina Saadat

Dr. Delgado

Psychology 275

8 November 2020

Conclusions Assignment

Psychoanalysis and transactional analysis are similar in that they have both fallen out of

favor within the mainstream psychological community. They also share similar pseudoscientific

characteristics, (especially the false cause fallacy), which likely contributed to the

marginalization of each. Future psychology researchers should study and avoid the theories’

errors.

As I noted in my review of psychoanalysis research literature, scientists have investigated

the treatment's efficacy since its inception, and the major psychoanalytic journals are refereed but

have low Scimago rankings.

Today, the International Journal of Psychoanalysis publishes various studies, but those

attempting to prove psychoanalysis's effectiveness tend to be case studies. For instance, in 2017,

the journal published a paper called "Case study: Analysis of a traumatized hemophiliac boy"

(Scharff). This paper concludes with a strong endorsement of the child's psychoanalytic

treatment, claiming that by its completion, he "...had demonstrated his capacity...for accepting

loss, for empathy, for masculinity and courage....and for facing the reality of his hemophilia."

(Scharff).

The most notable of psychoanalysis's fallacies are vague phrases and false cause. As

Fisher indicates in his book, The Scientific Credibility of Freud's Theories and Therapy, there is

no consensus among modern psychoanalysts concerning the treatment's goals. One group in the
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community argues that alleviation of symptoms is the mark of successful sessions, while another

contends that self-knowledge, even if it does not aid in the patient's emotional experience, is the

proper end (Fisher). If treatment can provide the impression of either, the analyst can point to it

as evidence for psychoanalysis' efficacy. Another of Freud's critics, Crews, writes in his piece,

Analysis Terminable, that other factors can better explain psychoanalysis' positive effects than

the theory's viability. For example, he argues that it is more likely that analysts encourage

analysands to produce repressed memories than is the patients’ ability to recall events from their

infancies. To substantiate his claim that psychoanalysis is pseudoscience, Crews cites the

theory's lack of contributions in psychology research and its relative ineffectiveness compared to

more recent forms of treatment.

Of Pratkanis's nine methods from his piece, How to Sell a Pseudoscience, psychoanalysis

employs the fourth (establish a granfalloon), sixth (create vivid appeals), and first (create a

phantom) the most prominently. Psychoanalysis's granfalloon is its jargon, accessible only to its

group of experts (Sachs, Grünbaum). Its vivid appeals come from patients' positive testimony,

the claims of which practitioners can maintain are exclusively available through psychoanalysis

(Sachs, Grünbaum). As philosopher Karl Popper points out, psychoanalysis is unfalsifiable as it

can thoroughly explain any psychic phenomena (Sachs, Grünbaum). Psychoanalysis's phantom is

the discovery of an all encompassing theory, that in Crew's words, "...spans the entire history of

our species.... and unveils the innermost scandalous wishes animating heroes and ordinary folk,

great works of art...and religion." Any thought system with such a broad and ambitious purpose

is unlikely to describe any specific topic adequately.

Despite its problems, some credible research has indicated positive but limited

psychoanalytic treatment outcomes (Knekt et al., Lindfors et al.) Some analysands benefit from
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the therapy. However, patients can experience extensive losses in time (as psychoanalytic

treatments tend to be long term) and money, as well as unhealthy relationships with their analysts

and psychological harm (Senior).

Transactional analysis has been studied far less than psychoanalysis, and as I noted in my

review of the research, transactional analysis proponents conduct the majority of modern

investigation. Much of the psychological research is composed of case studies published in

transactional analysis journals, and the rest deals with the theory's implementation in workplace

settings. Some of the research is of notably low writing quality or contains significant

methodological errors.

The most common fallacy in transactional analysis study is false cause and the

bandwagon effect. For instance, during my review of transactional analysis literature, I found

research that compared an experimental group of patients treated with transactional analysis to a

control group that received no treatment (Zadeh et al.). This error means that the paper fails to

demonstrate transactional analysis' effectiveness, as any form of counseling is more likely to

improve a patient's condition than none. I also found research claiming that transactional analysis

studies in the workplace do not report negative feedback from participants (Neath), likely

because enthusiasm concerning corporate initiatives is encouraged in professional environments.

Proponents of transactional analysis use the same persuasive tactics as psychoanalysts.

Transactional analysis' granfalloon is its detailed categorizations of patients' ego states, complex

therapeutic processes, and its practitioners' insular community. It, too, seeks credibility through

vivid appeals through case studies instead of properly conducted clinical trials. Finally,

transactional analysis endeavors to discover a phantom: the perfect communication method

between people in all types of relationships.

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Few credible studies support transactional analysis, but their participants report

satisfaction with courses and a higher quality of life (McLeod, Horn, et al.). As with

psychoanalysis, transactional analysis may be an effective treatment for some patients. However,

others may find that better-substantiated therapies are a more efficient use of their time and

money.
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Works Cited

Crews, Frederick. “Analysis Terminable.” Commentary (New York), vol. 70, no. 1, 1980, p. 25.

Fisher, Seymour, and Roger P. Greenberg. The Scientific Credibility of Freud's Theories and

Therapy. Columbia Univ. Press, 1985, Internet Archive,

archive.org/details/scientificcredib0000fish.

Horn, Eva, et al. “Cost-Effectiveness of Short-Term Inpatient Psychotherapy Based on

Transactional Analysis in Patients with Personality Disorder.” Journal of Personality

Disorders, vol. 30, no. 4, 2016, pp. 483–501.

Knekt, Paul, et al. “Quasi-Experimental Study on the Effectiveness of Psychoanalysis, Long-

Term and Short-Term

Lindfors, Olavi, et al. “Effectiveness of Psychoanalysis and Long-Term Psychodynamic

Psychotherapy on Personality and Social Functioning 10 Years after Start of Treatment.”

Psychiatry Research, vol. 272, 2019, pp. 774–783.

McLeod, Julia. “Process and Outcome in Pluralistic Transactional Analysis Counselling

for Long‐Term Health Conditions: A Case Series.” Counselling and Psychotherapy

Research, vol. 13, no. 1, 2013, pp. 32–43.

Neath, Mark. “Evaluating Transactional Analysis as a Change Strategy for

Organizations.” Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 16, no. 1, 1995, p.

13.
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Pratkanis, Anthony R. “How to Sell a Pseudoscience.” Skeptical Inquirer, 1995, pp. 19–25.

Sachs, David, and Adolf Grunbaum. “In Fairness to Freud: A Critical Notice of the Foundations

of Psychoanalysis.” The Philosophical Review, vol. 98, no. 3, 1989, p. 349.,

doi:10.2307/2185023.

Scharff, Jill S. "Case Study: Analysis of a Traumatized Hemophiliac Boy." International Journal

of Psychoanalysis, vol. 98, no. 1, 2017, pp. 71-90. ProQuest,

http://access.library.miami.edu/login?

url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1875335606?accountid=14585,

doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1745-8315.12614.

Senior, Jennifer. “Sorry, Your Time Is Not Up.” New York Magazine , 20 Aug. 2001,

nymag.com/nymetro/health/features/5091/.

Zadeha, Seyedeh Maryam Emam Jomeh, et al. “A Social Work Study on Effectiveness of

Transactional Analysis Training on Social Adjustment: A Case Study of Women with

Spouses with Drug Addiction.” Management Science Letters, vol. 3, no. 2, 2013, pp.

431–434., doi:10.5267/j.msl.2013.01.005.
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