Dear Sheltering Psychologists:

In 1943, The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology (vol. 38) contained the article "Conflict, Frustration, and the Theory of Threat" by renowned psychologist Abraham Maslow. Maslow was the father of the hierarchy of needs, which postulated that humans are “wanting animals” driven by progressively higher levels of need fulfillment. Maslow’s theory postulated that simple desires may be repressed expressions of more complex unmet needs. From the article:

“A desire for an ice cream cone might actually be an indirect expression of a desire for love. If it is, then this desire for the ice cream cone becomes an extremely important motivation. If however the ice cream is simply something to cool the mouth with, or a casual appetitive reaction, then the desire is relatively unimportant. Everyday conscious desires are to be regarded as symptoms, as surface indicators of more basic needs. If we were to take these superficial desires at their face value we would find ourselves in a state of complete confusion which could never be resolved, since we would be dealing seriously with symptoms rather than with what lay behind the symptoms.”

I was reminded of the quote the other day while helping myself to a spoonful of Jamoca Almond Fudge. It occurred to me that we are currently living a massive social psychology experiment that can test Maslow’s theory of repressed unmet need. Who can deny that anti-maskers are not attempting to reject scientific research but in reality are displaying defiance against deep-seated feelings of repressed identity? 

As I moved on to the rocky road, I considered how my near-obsessive dedication to the Johns Hopkins dashboard may be an attempt to intellectualize and thereby actualize my own feeble desire for accomplishment and esteem. Absent-mindedly (or perhaps Freudianly) leaving the lemon sorbet to melt on the counter, I wondered if my neighbors who take no interest in appropriate social distancing are not merely jeopardizing social safety but are more nefariously challenging my own desire to belong.

Wondering if there was any more Gold Medal Ribbon in the back of the freezer, I began to understand how our desire to prepare a concrete timetable for reopening church was an obvious expression of our collective desire for self-actualization, which can only be fully realized in community.

Finding instead the raspberry pie, a gift from a generous FPCLG family, I congratulated myself for my unwavering discipline to avoid the bad habits of stress-sublimation so commonly found among more underdeveloped psyches. Fortunately, there are still a few Pearson’s Salted Nut Rolls to help me ponder even deeper self-understanding.

Growing in so many new ways, I remain,

With Love,
Jonathan Krogh
Your Pastor