Freud and sociobiology

Discusses comments made by M. Eber (see record) and E. I. Pollak (see record) on a synthesis of Freudian psychoanalysis and sociobiology by the present authors (Leak and Christopher; see record). Eber writes from the psychoanalytic perspective and criticizes the stress on the biological/scientific aspect of Freud's work. Pollak takes a more sociobiological approach and criticizes the present authors' article for stressing those aspects of sociobiological theory that place greater emphasis on biological determinism as opposed to behavioral plasticity. The present authors reply that (1) the original Freudian conception of psychoanalysis is the version that offers valuable insights for mainstream scientific psychology, and (2) many of Freud's notions are quite similar to contemporary sociobiological concepts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).