Who coined the phrase "tertiary process"?

Who coined the phrase "tertiary process"?

• A. Silvano Arieti
• B. Sigmund Freud
• C. Carl Jung
• D. Erik Erikson

Answer: (A)

The main idea behind this phrase is a cognitive mode that sits between the primitive, wish-driven thoughts of the unconscious and the organized, reality-checking thinking of the ego. Silvano Arieti introduced and used the term tertiary process to describe this intermediate, reality-connected way of thinking that coordinates imagination, symbol formation, and problem-solving with external constraints. This concept helps explain how creative thinking or adaptive cognition can integrate images and drives with reality, rather than being purely impulsive or purely rational. Freud laid out primary processes (unconscious, instinct-driven thinking) and secondary processes (reality-testing and planning) but did not coin the phrase tertiary process. Jung and Erikson didn’t introduce this term in their theories, so Arieti is the scholar credited with naming and popularizing it.

The main idea behind this phrase is a cognitive mode that sits between the primitive, wish-driven thoughts of the unconscious and the organized, reality-checking thinking of the ego. Silvano Arieti introduced and used the term tertiary process to describe this intermediate, reality-connected way of thinking that coordinates imagination, symbol formation, and problem-solving with external constraints. This concept helps explain how creative thinking or adaptive cognition can integrate images and drives with reality, rather than being purely impulsive or purely rational.

Freud laid out primary processes (unconscious, instinct-driven thinking) and secondary processes (reality-testing and planning) but did not coin the phrase tertiary process. Jung and Erikson didn’t introduce this term in their theories, so Arieti is the scholar credited with naming and popularizing it.