Language structure of primary-process thinking

Abstract

This research was formulated within the framework of psychoanalytic theory and deals with the grammatical structure of primary-processing thinking investigated in a particular stae of weakened ego controls (alcohol intoxication). In line with Freud's and Rapaport's formulations on cognitive processes, two types of thinking are differentiated: Primary-process thinking (ideation) and secondary-process thinking (thought). Ideation is characterized as autistic, egocentric, and affect-laden. It is oriented to the immediate present, and does not consider past experiences or future possibilites. It lacks spatial, temporal, and causal organization, does not concern itself with the relations of time and space, and fails to make a definite estimation or evaluation of events and external reality. It is undifferentiated, diffuse, and vague. Since it abides by the laws of syncretic mechanisms, it manifests itself in symbolic forms and when expressed in speech, it is fragmented and disorganized. According to psychoanalytic theory, the primary thought processes can be observed in states of weakened ego controls, such as dreams, psychosis or sometimes neurosis [TRUNCATED]