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International audience; Freud (1895/1966; 1900/1953; 1915/1957) has proposed that primary process functioning is typical for acute psychosis. A nonverbal method, the 'Geocat' (Brakel, Kleinsorge, Snodgrass, & Shevrin, 2000), measures primary processes operationalized as attributional categorization, which considers exemplars as similar if particular features match, even if these components are arranged in a quite different configuration. With the use of GeoCat we explored primary process mentation in 127 psychiatric patients. Results show that (1) there are substantially higher levels of attributional choices in our sample of psychiatric patients, independently of diagnosis, than in a non-patient population; (2) psychotic patients tend to have more attributional choices than non-psychotic patient; patients with acute psychotic symptoms show more attributional responses than patients without acute psychotic symptoms; (3) this increase of attributional choices with the psychotic condition is independent of self-rated anxiety or medication intake. We propose that, instead, this increase of attributional levels in the acutely psychotic patients reflects a predominance of primary processing which is specifically tied to the acutely psychotic condition, as proposed by Freud.

The GEOCAT is a short nonverbal test for measuring two types of cognition that tally with Freud's distinction between primary and secondary unconscious processes: attributional and relational similarity judgment. Attributional similarity judgment is a mode of cognitive categorization in which stimuli are classified based on perceptual resemblances between attributes and features, just like in primary processing. Relational similarity judgment is a mode of cognitive categorization that builds on higher order relationships between stimuli, just like in secondary processing. The GEOCAT can be used in diverse research contexts, and test administration takes 2 minutes. The present study investigates the construct validity and internal consistency of this instrument in a sample of Belgian university students. A confirmatory factor analysis for binary items indicates that a dimension reflecting relational or attributional categorization processes lies behind the GEOCAT items, that this model has a good fit to the data, and that all items are equally good indicators of these processes. We also compared the GEOCAT to an alternative measure that builds on a continuous scale for similarity judgment. Correlations between corresponding subscales were moderate and three GEOCAT items proved to be problematic. Internal consistency proved to be good. Suggestions for future research on similarity judgment and primary and secondary processes are discussed.

International audience

International audience; A neuropsychoanalytically framed hypothesis considering dreams as the ‘motor exercising’ of humans most typical behavior, namely language, is presented. In psychoanalysis dream bizarreness is often resolved by reading the dream content textually. It is defended that this literal interpretation comes down to analyzing language on its articulatory or phonemic structure. While in awake language, lexical (or ego) control is exercised in such a way that scansion of the phoneme structure is operated meaningfully in line with the context, this control is thought not to operate in dreams where it is the motor part (i.e. the articulation) which is thought to be important. The uncontrolled running of these articulatory programs could then result in phonemic ambiguities, thereby accounting for the bizarre elements of the dream.

International audience

International audience

International audience

International audience

International audience

International audience

info:eu-repo/semantics/published