Abstract EN:

The self-observation experience using the videotape technique does not only raise problems of a technical and practical nature; it also poses psychological problems. When a person is confronted by his or her own image, a series of personnal problems occasionally arises whose consideration extends beyong the scope of the exercise itself. However, one may ask whether this is the main source of all the difficulties and uncertainties involved in the exercise, and principally of the risks to which those who use it lay themselves open. In practice the questions they put, either directly or indirectly, are not restricted to this aspect alone, and their observations allow us to identify four "areas of investigation": the first concerns the issues involved in interpersonal communication; the second, the intersubjective determinants of the self-image; the third concerns the specific nature of the electronic image itself and the use of the equipment; lastly, the fourth raises the question of the actual purpose of this technique. By considering the various areas in depth we are better able to identify the real issues involved in the use of closed-circuit tv and to draw a number of lessons on the requirements for their use, and at the same time to open up prospects for the training of those who use this technique and for the future research in this field.