Originally published in 1989 and reissued here with a substantial new introduction Repression and Fear was a provocative new explanation of neurosis and psychosis. In this work, the author provides evidence that psychopathological theories at the time – most notably psychoanalysis, behaviorism, and medical models – were inadequate as means of explaining neurosis and psychosis. In their place, he proposes a new theory, which he terms psychobizarreness.

According to this theory, based largely on a new concept of repression, bizarre psychiatric symptoms are viewed as coping mechanisms. In sharp contrast to the psychoanalytic view, the author argues that repression is a conscious process without connection to childhood events, and that there should be a distinction made between ‘healthy’ and ‘pathological’ repression. Moreover, the psychobizarreness theory argues that the phenomenon of unawareness, characteristic of abnormal individuals, is more likely a temporary state produced by the conscious mind through self-deception rather than the result of a mysterious unconscious self.

The text also presents an in-depth review of the current research literature on fear, again arguing that currently accepted models are not adequate and suggesting a new conditioning model to explain normal as opposed to bizarre fear. Finally, the author presents a unified therapeutic theory, together with a multidimensional therapeutic strategy, to synthesize the seemingly conflicting findings in this area.

Yacov Rofé is a retired Professor of Psychology and former Chair of the Interdisciplinary Department of Social Sciences at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel. He also taught in the Department of Psychology at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and served as a visiting professor at Rutgers Medical School in New Jersey.

Professor Rofé has published extensively in leading psychology journals. Among his major contributions is Stress and Affiliation: A Utility Theory, published in Psychological Review (1984). Another influential article, published in Review of General Psychology (2008), offers a comprehensive critique of the concepts of repression and the Freudian unconscious.

Throughout his academic career, Professor Rofé has sought to resolve longstanding theoretical problems in psychopathology by developing a rational account of psychological disorders. His work has led to two complementary theoretical frameworks: Psycho-Bizarreness Theory (PBT), which explains bizarre psychopathological disorders as rational coping mechanisms under conditions of intolerable stress, and Rational-Automatic Conditioning Theory (RACT), which explains the development of non-bizarre fears and simple phobias through automatic fear conditioning.