„Devereux’S Cat” – The Observer’S Countertransference In Social Science Research

The applications of notion of countertransference as analyst’s critical instrument were extended to social research. In this paper, the author discusses the views of George Devereux, one of the first authors who indicate the existence, effects and uses of countertransference in social sciences research. While he shares the classical freudian views of countertransference as analyst’s transference, he adds a “complementary” perspective on countertransference, related with the cultural and social dimension, which broadens understanding of the observer-observed relation. However, in his theory it seems that there is a gap between individual and group – a subject cannot be understood in the same time as individual and member of the group. His way of using indeterminacy principle is discussed as indicating a “missing link” in his theory and projective identification is proposed as a possible solution.