On DLA tools... :: Psicoanalisis - Ciencias de la Subjetividad

On the DLA (David Liberman algorithm) tools for analyzing non verbal manifestations and its psychoanalytic foundations
D. Maldavsky, O. Bodni, I. Cusien, C. Falise, E. Garzoli, C. R: Roitman, R. Sloin de Berenstein, C. Tate de Stanley, E. Tarrab

I. Foundations of the tools
Freudian theory for understanding clinical manifestation takes into account two concepts: 1) libidinal fixations and 2) defenses.

Erotogenicities

Defenses

IL    Intrasomatic libido
O1    Primary oral
O2    Secondary oral sadistic
A1    Primary anal sadistic
A2    Secondary anal sadistic
UPH  Urethral phallic
GPH  Genital phallic

Main defense	State
Main defense	Successful	Failed	Both
Creativity and sublimation
Repression
Disavowal
Foreclosure of the reality and the ideal
Foreclosure of the affection

Using David Liberman algoritm (DLA), erotogenities and defenses can be investigated in the scenes displayed or narrated by the patient (and eventually also the therapist). Some DLA tools allow to detect libidinal fixations and defenses in narration and speech acts levels of the discourse. While narration level allows to detect extratransferential conflicts, speech acts level permits to research the transferential ones. The basic scenes (narrated or displayed as speech acts) are:

Grid of scenes

EROTICISM SCENE	GENITAL PHALLIC	PHALLIC URETHRAL	SECONDARY ANAL SADISTIC	PRIMARY ANAL SADISTIC	SECONDARY ORAL SADISTIC	PRIMARY ORAL	INTRA-SOMATIC LIBIDO
Initial state	Aesthetic harmony	Routine	Hierarchical order	Natural legal equilibrium	Paradise	Cognitive peace	Equilibrium between tensions
First transformation = Awakening of desire	Desire for aesthetic completion	Ambitious desire	Desire to dominate an object in the framework of a public oath	Desire driven by thirst for justice	Temptation Expiation	Abstract cognitive desire	Speculative desire
Second transformation= Attempt to consummate desire	Reception of a Power-Gift	Finding the mark of the father deep in the object	Discerning that the object is faithful to corrupt subjects	Revenge	Sin Reparation	Access to a truth	Gain in pleasure through organic intrusion
Third transformation= Consequences of the attempt to consummate desire	Pregnancy Aesthetic disorganization	Challenge of adventure Challenge of routine	Virtue recognized Social condemnation and moral expulsion	Leadership formally recognized, honoured Being unable to move; being locked away and humiliated	Forgiveness and loving recognition Expulsion from Paradise	Recognition of genius Loss of lucidity; the other enjoys objective cognition	Organic euphoria Asthenia
Final state	Shared harmony Lasting feeling of disgust	Adventure Pessimistic routine	Moral peace Moral torment	Evocation of heroic past or Return to lasting peace Lasting resentment	Vale of tears Recovery of Paradise	Bliss in revelation Loss of the essence	Balance of tensions with no energy loss Lasting tension or asthenia

II. Tools for analyzing erotogenicities
The previous foundation is useful for investigating different kinds of non verbal manifestations: sounds of verbalizations, visual images, movements, intersubjective distances.

II. 1. Tool for analyzing paraverbal manifestations
The acoustic components of the words interchanged during the session can be studied considering 1) tone, 2) timbre, 3) rhythm, 4) sounds. The corresponding grid allows to detect the scene displayed in this level of analysis. Like phrases, the grid of paraverbal components allows us to infer transferential conflicts.

Erotogenicities and sounds

LI	O1	O2	A1	A2	UPH	GPH
Tone: 1) apathetic	Tone: 1) metallic	Tone: 1) sardonic	Tone: 1) angry	Tone: 1) contemptuousdepreciative	Tone: 1) anxious	Tone: 1) flattering
2) monotonous	2) languishing	2) depressive	2) upset and bored	2) ironic	2) distrustful	2) compliment
3) pleading	3) lack of affectivity	3) excited or manic	3) protest	3) rational	3) with excuses	3) promising
4) flattering	4) intellectual humor	4) desperate	4) suspicious	4) admonitory	4) whispering	4) inviting
5) sleepy	Rhythm, timbre and sounds: 1) lack of resonance	5) impatient	5) accusing	5) controlled	5) pessimistic	5) seductive
6) languishing	2) little difference in pitch	6) sarcastic	6) mockery	6) imperative	6) with proverbs	6) disgusting
7) bathroom humor	3) clucking sound of the tongue	7) reproaching	7) provocative	7) judgmental	7) pleasing	7) declamatory
8) lack of affectivity	4) “contained laughter” (with lips closed)	8) begging	8) insulting	8) critical	8) premonitory	8) infantile
9) infantile		9) compassio-nate	9) arrogant	9) clarifying	9) corrosive and poignant humor	9) laughably
rhythm, timbre and sounds: 1) nasal		10) litany	10) insinuating	10) explaining	rhythm, timbre and sounds 1) shrill sounds	rhythm, timbre and sounds 1) hoarse
2) scream		11) pleasing	11) imperative	11) indicative	2) hissing sounds	2) exclamation of joy
3) acceleration		12) guilty	12) resentful	12) sententious	3) whistling	3) exclamation of anger
4) agitation		13) laughing	13) spiteful	13) solemn	4) sudden drop in sound intensity	4) exclamation of disgust
5) cough		14) choleric	14) choleric	14) doubtful		5) exclamation of surprise
6) sneeze		15) sardonic humor	15) threatening	15) gallows humor		6) exclamation of admiration
7) sniff		16) gallows humor	16) defiant	rhythm, timbre and sounds sustained		7) onomatopoeia
8) hiccup		17) festive humor	17) provocative and hurtful humor			8) cough
9) bowel sounds		rhythm, timbre and sounds 1) whispering	rhythm, timbre and sounds 1) onomatopoeia			9) clearing the throat
10) clearing the throat		2) sobbing
11) burp		3) painful (due to psychic pain)
12) yawn		4) lament
13) crying		5) laughing
14) sobbing		6) acclamation
15) pant		7) slowness
16) slowness		8) shortening
17) puffing
18) complaint (about physical pain)
19) litany
20) onomatopoeia
21) snuffling
22) silly laugh
23) quiet, muted
24) grind

II. 2. Tool for analyzing motrix activity
Each movement of the patient can be understood including it into a motrix program. To each erotogenicity corresponds a specific motrix program.

Erotogenicities and motrix program

Erotogenicity	IL	O1	O2	A1	A2	UPH	GPH
Motricity	Tending to inner alteration (i.e., self-soothing procedures)	Tendency to the extraction of an essence (or liquid), or of an abstract clue (fingers, tongue, eyes)	Tending to express affects	Tending to vengeance on the other	Tending to grasp and dominate the object	Tending to penetrate	Waving, tending to aesthetic totality

The motrix activity contains some movements expressing states and other ones (active or passive) corresponding to actions. These ones can be prepatatories, consumatives or complementaries. Other movements correspond to the efforts for dominate and coordinate the own specific motrix apparatus (ocular coordination, walking, writting, etc.)

II. 3. Tool for analyzing visual manifestations
Visual images can be studied considering iconic or plastic level. The tool for analyzing the narrated scenes previously exposed can be useful for studying iconic level. For studying plastic level, DLA contains a description of the specific formalization of the perceptive world, each one expressing an erotogenicity:

Erotogenicity and formalization of the perceptive world

Erotogenicity	IL	O1	O2	A1	A2	UPH	GPH
Formalization of perceptive world	Frequency	Punctiform	Perception of affective states	Discrete traits	Hierarchic order for observing totality and classifying details	Fascination with an enigmatic (incomplete) aspect in the nucleus of the object	Totalizing fascination

II. 4. Tool for analyzing the subjective distance
The analysis of movements and visual manifestation can be combined with the study of the distance, either between the characters in a design or between the subject in movement and the others. DLA contains a tool useful for this kind of analysis.

Erotogenicity	IL	O1	O2	A1	A2	UPH	GPH
Distance	Intracorporal	Public	Intimate	Intimate (in the moment of the vengeance) Public (in the moment of the consequences of the vindictive act)	Social	Personal (the distance of the extended arm)	Simultaneously intimate and public

III. Tools for analyzing defenses
The tools for the analysis of non verbal manifestations also allow to detect the defenses and their state. For this, a sequence of steps of analysis is available.

Steps for analyzing defenses

Problem	Procedure
1. To decide which defense prevails	Detecting which is the dominant language
2. To decide whether the defense is repression, disavowal, foreclosure or creativity / sublimation	Detecting whether the language contained in the scene narrated harmonizes with the context
3. To decide whether the defense (repression, disavowal or foreclosure) is functional or pathological	Detecting whether one language dominates the others, or uses them and becomes hypertrophied
4. To decide whether the pathological defense is failed, successful or both	Detecting the position of the narrator and the prevalence of actions or states

IV. Comments
The application of each tool gives multivariate results on erotogenicities and defenses. This fact demands a decision of the researcher concerning the relative relevance of each erotogenicity and defense. Besides, it’s possible to combine the application of various of these tools. Also the researcher can combine one of more of the tools for analyzing non verbal manifestations with other ones studying the discourse of one or more interlocutors.

EROTICISM

SCENE