Metatheoretical shifts and extraclinical data - Comment on Langs (2005)

R. Langs's (2005) strong adaptive approach (SAA) represents an important contribution to psychoanalysis, with noteworthy theoretical and clinical implications. In delineating and evaluating the SAA, Langs incorporated findings from outside of psychology and from studies of analytic sessions. This response argues that a rigorous assessment of the SAA requires attention to research findings from other areas of psychology (e.g., cognitive, social) as well. Implications of these studies for Langs's conceptualization of conscious and unconscious information processing and the role of death anxiety in human mental life are discussed.