primary process
Also found in: Dictionary, Encyclopedia.
Related to primary process: secondary process, primary process thinking
pri·mar·y pro·cess
in psychoanalysis, the mental process directly related to the functions of the primitive life forces associated with the id and characteristic of unconscious mental activity; marked by unorganized illogical thinking and by the tendency to seek immediate discharge and gratification of instinctual demands. Compare: secondary process.
Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
primary process
Psychiatry In psychoanalysis, the unorganized mental activity of the unconscious, which is marked by the free discharge of energy and excitation without regard to demands of environment, reality, or logic. Cf Secondary process.McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
pri·mar·y pro·cess
(prī'mar-ē pros'es)psychoanalysis The mental process directly related to the functions of the primitive life forces associated with the id and characteristic of unconscious mental activity; marked by unorganized, illogical thinking and by the tendency to seek immediate discharge and gratification of instinctual demands.
Compare: secondary process
Compare: secondary process
Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing © Farlex 2012