I am somewhat confused about what exactly is meant when
talking about denial. As Doug Edwards suggests, the term has Freudian
origins. This implies that it is an unconscious mechanism the purpose of
which is to defend against (also unconscious) anxiety. This raises two
lines of questions:
To what extent can the denial response be influenced or controlled by the
individual?
Should denial be considered something entirely within an individual, or are
there aspects of denial which are best thought about as situational or even
group phenomena?
The Freudian answer would probably be that is internal to the individual
and that, being unconscious, it cannot be identified or modified without
the help and interpretation of a psychoanalyst. This is where people run
into problems with psychodynamic tests (DMT?) and psychodynamics in
general. Relying on the subjective interpretations of a psychoanalyst
hardly meets the requirements for observability, replicability and
potential refutability required by the scientific method, though it does
provide employment for
psychoanalysts. Treating denial as a personality factor also tends to
assume it is something internal and relatively stable (therefore difficult
to change).
What then of possibilities for personal intervention and change? Is it
really possible for people to access their own unconscious processes,
contrary to the psychoanalytic assumption? Does Richard Jensen's
description of denial as an 'attitude' imply that it is in fact available
to conscious introspection? Doug also intimates that denial is influenced
by all sorts of situational variables. This being the case, can it really
be treated as a personality trait which causes an individual to exhibit
fairly stable behaviors across situations? Even the term 'attitude'
implies something possessed by an individual, rather than a response to
situational stimuli.
Finally, can denial be contagious in a group situation? Can unconscious
processes usefully be thought of as group phenomena (as proposed by Wilfred
Bion)?
I know I have asked more questions than I have answered, but I hope this is
helpful anyway.
Piers Herbert
Pilot, BAe 146 fleet
KLM uk