The dissociation theory of Pierre Janet

Although the concept of dissociation had been described earlier, Pierre Janet was the first to show clearly and systematically how it is the most direct psychological defence against overwhelming traumatic experiences. He demonstrated that dissociative phenomena play an important role in widely divergent post‐traumatic stress responses which he included under the 19th‐century diagnosis of hysteria. His dissociation theory is outlined here as a background for Janet's specific studies of trauma, it is based on nine concepts developed or elaborated by Janet: psychological automatism, consciousness, subconciousness, narrowed field of consciousness, dissociation, amnesia, suggestibility, fixed idea, and emotion.