- Original name:
- Otto Rosenfeld
- Born:
- April 22, 1884, Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now in Austria]
- Died:
- October 31, 1939, New York City, New York, U.S. (aged 55)
- Subjects Of Study:
- anxiety disorder
- psychoanalysis
- will
Otto Rank
-
Who was Otto Rank?
Otto Rank (1884–1939) was an Austrian psychologist who applied psychoanalytic theory to art, myth, and creativity. He believed that anxiety neurosis stems from psychological trauma at birth.
Inspired by Sigmund Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams, Rank wrote Der Künstler (1907), explaining art through psychoanalysis. This work led to a close association with Freud, who supported Rank's education at the University of Vienna, where he earned a doctorate in philosophy in 1912. He served as secretary of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society and editor of its journal.
His 1924 book, The Trauma of Birth, caused a rift with Freud and the society, leading to his expulsion. Rank then taught and practiced in the United States and Europe, developing his concept of will as a guiding force in personality development.
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What is Otto Rank known for in psychology?
Otto Rank, an Austrian psychologist, is known for extending psychoanalytic theory to legend, myth, art, and creativity studies. He suggested that anxiety neurosis comes from psychological trauma during birth. His work The Trauma of Birth (1924) led to a break with Freud and the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society, which expelled him from its membership.
During the 1930s, Rank developed the concept of will as the guiding force in personality development. He viewed the will as a positive force for controlling instinctual drives, differing from Freud's view. Rank's emphasis on personal growth, self-actualization, and applying psychoanalytic theory to art and myth remains influential in psychology.
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Which famous psychologist did Otto Rank work closely with?
Otto Rank worked closely with Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis. Rank's encounter with Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams led him to write Der Künstler, which caught Freud's attention. Freud assisted Rank's enrollment at the University of Vienna, where he earned his doctorate in philosophy in 1912. Rank served as secretary of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society and edited its journal from 1912 to 1924. He also founded a publishing house for psychoanalytic works in 1919, which he directed until 1924. However, Rank's publication The Trauma of Birth caused a schism with Freud and the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society, leading to his expulsion.
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What was Otto Rank’s main idea about human motivation?
Otto Rank, an Austrian psychologist, believed that the will is the primary guiding force in personality development. This differed from Sigmund Freud's emphasis on instinctual drives as motivators.
Rank saw the will as a positive force that could control a person’s instincts. He controversially argued in The Trauma of Birth that the anxiety caused by the trauma of birth could persist into adulthood as neurosis. During psychoanalysis, Rank used a patient's resistance as a tool for self-discovery rather than trying to diminish it, which was the Freudian approach.
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How did Otto Rank’s theories differ from Sigmund Freud’s?
Otto Rank, an Austrian psychologist, initially followed Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theories, even applying them to art and myth. However, Rank eventually diverged from Freud, leading to his expulsion from the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society.
A primary difference emerged with Rank's publication of The Trauma of Birth, which posited that birth trauma is a key cause of anxiety, a view that conflicted with core psychoanalytic concepts. Later, Rank emphasized the will as a guiding force in personality development, in contrast to Freud's focus on instinctual drives. Rank saw patient resistance as a positive manifestation of will to be used for self-discovery, rather than a negative factor to be suppressed, as Freud believed.
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What impact did Otto Rank’s ideas have on modern therapy and psychology?
Otto Rank, an Austrian psychologist, significantly influenced modern therapy and psychology through his extension of psychoanalytic theory to art, myth, and creativity, and his postulation that anxiety neurosis stems from birth trauma.
Rank's idea of will as a guiding force in personality development marked a departure from Freudian psychoanalysis. He saw patient resistance as a positive manifestation of will, using it for self-discovery rather than suppressing it, which influenced therapeutic approaches.
Although his attempt to base all psychology on birth trauma is not seen as scientifically sound, his focus on personal growth, self-actualization, and the use of psychoanalytic theory in interpreting art and myth have been influential.
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Otto Rank (born April 22, 1884, Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now in Austria]—died October 31, 1939, New York City, New York, U.S.) was an Austrian psychologist who extended psychoanalytic theory to the study of legend, myth, art, and creativity and who suggested that the basis of anxiety neurosis is a psychological trauma occurring during the birth of the individual.
Rank came from a poor family and attended trade school, working in a machine shop while trying to write at night. His reading of Sigmund Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams inspired him to write Der Künstler (1907; “The Artist”), an attempt to explain art by using psychoanalytic principles. This work brought him to the attention of Freud, who helped arrange his entry to the University of Vienna, from which he received his doctorate in philosophy in 1912. While studying at the university, he legally adopted his pen name of Otto Rank and published two more works, Der Mythus von der Geburt des Helden (1909; The Myth of the Birth of the Hero) and Das Inzest-Motiv in Dichtung und Sage (1912; “The Incest Motif in Poetry and Saga”), in which he attempted to show how the Oedipus complex supplies abundant themes for poetry and myth.
Rank served as secretary to the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society and as editor of its minutes, and from 1912 to 1924 he edited the Internationale Zeitschrift für Psychoanalyse (“International Journal of Psychoanalysis”). In 1919 he founded a publishing house devoted to the publication of psychoanalytic works and directed it until 1924.
Publication of Das Trauma der Geburt und seine Bedeutung für die Psychoanalyse (1924; The Trauma of Birth) caused Rank’s break with Freud and other members of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society, which expelled him from its membership. The book, which argued that the transition from the womb to the outside world causes tremendous anxiety in the infant that may persist as anxiety neurosis into adulthood, was seen by many members of the Viennese society as conflicting with the concepts of psychoanalysis. Following the break, which became complete in the mid-1920s, Rank taught and practiced in the United States and Europe (chiefly Paris) for about 10 years, settling in New York City in 1936.
During the 1930s Rank developed a concept of the will as the guiding force in personality development. The will could be a positive force for controlling and using a person’s instinctual drives, which were seen by Freud as the motivating factors in human behaviour. Thus, in Rank’s view, resistance by a patient during psychoanalysis was a manifestation of this will and not inherently a negative factor; instead of wearing down such resistance, as a Freudian analyst would attempt, Rank would use it to direct self-discovery and development.
Rank’s attempt to reduce all of psychology to a monolithic system based on the birth trauma is viewed as a serious departure from a scientific orientation. But his emphasis on personal growth and self-actualization and his application of psychoanalytic theory to the interpretation of art and myth have remained influential.