[Development of a psychoanalytic memory theory].

A theory of memory for biographical material is proposed. This theory consists in the following central assumptions: a symbol formation process, which on the one hand maps affectively experienced object relations into inner propositions (representations) and on the other hand transforms representations into communicable symbols; repression which may affect representations and which thus establishes an unconsciousness which is rooted in object relations; defense mechanisms, which are part of the symbol formation process and which transform unconscious representations into conscious but distorted symbols. This theory is supposed to explain remembering, distorted remembering, and phenomena of compulsive repetition.