Regression in the Service of the Ego in Young Children

Abstract

Analysis of studies of primary process thinking as manifested in Rorschach and TAT production of young children (ages 6 to 10) indicate that children show approximately the same amount of primary process production as do young adults (48% vs 54%). However, this primary process does not appear to be clearly related to the child's creative, scholastic, or perceptual-motor development as measured by appropriate tests. High levels of primary process appear to be significantly related only to the negative qualities of the personality, that is, to high levels of tension, anxiety, and poor control of aggression. It is possible that young children have not yet learned to use it in the service of the ego, although they do not seem to be encumbered by its presence.

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