What happens to representatives during family constellations? Attempts at explanation and comparison with other difficult-to-explain phenomena

IF 2.3 3区心理学 Q2 PSYCHOLOGY, EXPERIMENTAL

New Ideas in Psychology Pub Date : 2025-02-09 DOI:10.1016/j.newideapsych.2025.101147

Yolanda Alonso , Gonzalo-Andrés Jiménez

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Abstract

Despite the considerable controversy surrounding family constellations, this psychotherapeutic method has experienced significant growth over the past thirty years. Traditionally, family constellations are conducted in a group format in sessions called “constellations”, wherein certain individuals act as representatives for the family members of other participants. During these sessions, a phenomenon known in some literature as “surrogate perceptions” normally occurs, in which the representatives experience internal states that align with significant attitudes or life situations of the individuals they represent. Although there is substantial anecdotal evidence for this phenomenon, it has not been empirically studied, lacks a logical explanation, and appears to contravene the principle of locality in physics. This paper draws comparisons between surrogate perceptions and other exceptional phenomena documented in scientific literature, such as extended states of consciousness, telepathy, and synchronicity. It also critically reviews various attempts to explain the phenomenon, including theories involving mirror neurons, quantum physics, embodied memory, the collective unconscious, and formative causation. The paper provides a description of surrogate perceptions as changes triggered in an interpersonal process in which the explicit request to put oneself in the place of another specific person plays an essential role. Finally, potential avenues for future research are outlined.

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来源期刊

New Ideas in Psychology Multiple-

CiteScore

4.80

自引率

3.80%

发文量

期刊介绍： New Ideas in Psychology is a journal for theoretical psychology in its broadest sense. We are looking for new and seminal ideas, from within Psychology and from other fields that have something to bring to Psychology. We welcome presentations and criticisms of theory, of background metaphysics, and of fundamental issues of method, both empirical and conceptual. We put special emphasis on the need for informed discussion of psychological theories to be interdisciplinary. Empirical papers are accepted at New Ideas in Psychology, but only as long as they focus on conceptual issues and are theoretically creative. We are also open to comments or debate, interviews, and book reviews.