EXPLORING THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MEDIUMSHIP: A REVIEW OF PREVIOUS RESEARCH
2.6 Mediumship and repression
In the above studies "subconscious constructions" were noted as something that may be apparent in the mediumship process; referring to the concept that spirit controls of mediums could be created from material in the subconscious. This is a view that was proposed by Frederic Myers, a leading influential figure prominent in mediumship research at the turn of the twentieth century. In his seminal work, Human Personality and Its
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Survival of Bodily Death, F. W. H. Myers (1903) proposed that the communicator a
medium claims to be in contact with, whilst in a trance or altered state, is actually a secondary personality. Furthermore, he believed this secondary personality represented an expression of repressed material that had been stagnant in the subliminal or subconscious mind. Flournoy (1911), another prominent psychologist of the era, also focused on the idea of repressed tendencies and introduced the concept of "cryptomnesia" - information acquired from the past, which has been stored in the subconscious, is presented by the medium as deriving from the Spirit world. The following sections will review studies that have investigated mediumship from the perspective that experiences, such as the spirit guide phenomena, represent repressed material and/or are an opportunity to express repressed emotions.
2.6.1 Secondary personalities as representations of repressed material?
Carrington (1934) was one of the first researchers to utilize psychological tests with a medium to explore the theory that mediumistic phenomena, or more specifically a supposed spirit control, is a representation of repressed tendencies. Carrington gave the Word Association Test devised by C. G. Jung to the medium Mrs Osborne Leonard in her normal waking state, and also when she was in trance to her control called Feda, to see how similar or dissimilar they were from each other. The procedure for the Word Association test involved a list of seventy-five stimulus words being read out to Mrs. Leonard whilst in her waking state. She then had to give the first word that came into her mind in response to a stimulus word. The time taken to respond is recorded and known as the "response time". If this time period is quite long, it is taken to mean that the word has some special significance for the person. The list of words is then repeated again in what is known as the "reproduction condition", to see if previous response words are repeated. The procedure was then repeated to the control Feda whilst Mrs Leonard was in trance and to alleged communicating spirits named John and Etta (S. Smith, 1964).
S. Smith (1964) has reviewed this work and states that Carrington concluded that the scores of Mrs Leonard and Feda were negatively correlated and ''showed an inverse, 'mirror' relationship to those of the medium in her non-trance state" (p. 2). Carrington
believed they were not what would be expected from testing the same person twice or from testing two different persons, which, to him, suggested Feda was a secondary personality created from repressed material in the subconscious (for a detailed review of this work see Thouless, 1937). However, S. Smith has pointed out that there were some flaws in his methodological techniques and statistical analyses, which prevented definitive conclusions. Firstly, researcher Oliver Gatty produced different reaction times, whilst
pretending to be different personalities during administration of the Word Association Test.
Secondly, it could be argued that a reproduction of the first response word could not only be taken as a mental or emotional association with that word, but also a retentive memory. Incidentally, Roll and Litt (1966) have noted that Mrs Leonard was found to have an excellent memory whilst in trance state; something William James and Sir Oliver Lodge also observed in the medium Mrs Piper.
2.6.2 Repressed emotions and escapism: A psychoanalytical framework for understanding mediumship
Lawton (1932) and Lay (1921) are illustrations of early psychological studies that focus on a psychoanalytical framework in their explorations of mediumship with reference to mediumship as an outlet for repressed emotions. Lay (1921) believed that the information acquired during trance states is displaced buried emotions "finding ventilation". In traditional psychoanalytical fashion, he puts forward the interesting view that belief in spirit existence is related to a "sadistic death-wish" (p. 261). Lay proposes that some children take pleasure in pain and if this inclination is acted out, it would result in them killing the object they wish to inflict injury upon. These desires are normally repressed into the unconscious, which cause tensions seeking attenuation. This is achieved "through the compensatory wish for the continuance of the life of the person wished dead" (p. 261); hence the belief in spirit communication is borne and atonement is given for their previous hostilities. The idea of a "sadistic death-wish" seems to be slightly far-fetched, and there does not appear to be any evidence of this trait anywhere else in the literature or in the autobiographies of mediums; though, it is doubtful that this is something that they would acknowledge!
Lawton (1932) describes mediumship as a "safety valve" (p.420). He argues that the act of mediumship, represented by dissociation, aids an individual by reducing tension that has its aetiology in psychodynamic conflict. In explaining visions, he asserts that "hallucinations are picturizations, usually symbolical, of wishes and desires which have been repressed, or which have been frustrated" (p.429). Material claimed to have its origin in communication with spirits is therefore believed to be imaginative information derived from latent memories or desires, which have been inhibited. Lawton, in addition to describing mediumship as a "safety valve", also claimed mediumship had a "twofold basis/ /
- a neurological tendency to dissociate and a desire to use this to satisfy personality needs. These included: a) the protective ability to withdraw from life conflicts and enter the field of fantasy; he believed trance states were a magnified form of the day dream, and were pronounced in children who were isolated or suffering from illness. To Lawton, trance served a function, and its purpose was escapism to a place where suppressed needs and wants were seemingly fulfilled, b) preoccupation with self and an opportunity to perform, and c) an increased status in the community; he believed spiritualists helped to reinforce the mediumship role in society, by providing an audience and a demand for mediumship. This proposal seems entirely plausible, given that there are now over 400 spiritualist churches in Great Britain (Walsh, 2007), with most of them having a development group or "open circle", whereby an existing medium instructs potential mediums, together with a weekly demonstration of mediumship to the general public.
2.6.3 Psychodynamic case study of a medium
In the more recent literature, de Carvalho and do Amaral (1994) report a fascinating case study of a medium called Cristina that further explores the concept of repression and the psychodynamics involved in her experiences. When Cristina was aged thirty-eight, her father passed away, and she subsequently became depressed and suffered with psychosomatic symptoms. She then met several people from Candomble and Umbanda mediumship groups who told her they could see spirits around her. Most of her friends were also psychics or believed in spiritualism and her status as a medium helped her to interact socially. Although it could be argued that this lends support for the argument that mediumship is socially constructed, de Carvalho and do Amaral suggest the existence of a
"Paranormal Defence Mechanism", which is considered an extension of normal defence processes and which manifests to protect "personality disruption" (p. 29). They believe Cristina exhibited psi information to reinforce her cultural and religious beliefs, to reduce anxiety, and to "sustain her defensive behaviour during situations that are need-relevant but in which she cannot exert her usual control" (p. 36). Results from the Rorschach Ink- Blot and House-Tree-Person psychological test (both projective personality tests) identified Cristina to be of introspective personality, as having strong sexual impulses, as communicating socially in a superficial way, as having little ability to cope with frustration, and as using fantasy as a defence mechanism.
Although, the De Carvalho and Do Amaral study is very interesting, by virtue of it being one of the few studies in the recent literature on the psychology of mediumship, and for its novel psychological analysis, we should be aware that it is an isolated case, and thus may not be representative of other mediums. Nevertheless, personality studies seem promising and worth pursuing in future work. However, projective personality tests like the ones used here, require a trained administrator and have attracted a significant amount of criticism regarding their reliability and validity (Wood, Nezworski, Lillienfeld, & Garb, 2003). For instance, Wood et al. argue that they rely on individual interpretation and are based on the controversial concept of projecting one's own personality attributes onto a neutral stimulus; a Freudian concept that could be seen by psychologists as outdated. Furthermore, with the survey being exploratory and self-report, it would seem more appropriate to choose a personality test that would cover a broader range of traits and was simple to complete. The "Big Five" model of personality, for example, is a general taxonomy of personality traits (Openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) that provides a common framework for understanding individual differences (John & Srivastava, 1999).
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