Transference in Child Therapy: A Third Replication

Abstract

A case is made for basing personality research on samples of observations about a single individual rather than on samples of subjects. A study of transference in therapy, a third replication, is reported on an institutionalized retarded boy. Attitudes toward the therapist and parents at various times were inferred by independent observers, Q sorted, intercorrelated, and factor analyzed. The hypothesis was again supported that the therapist is seen as a parent figure but not necessarily the same-sexed parent. The male therapist appeared to be a mother figure and his male successor a father figure. Both quantitative and clinical data were used to speculate on the dynamics of the learning process.