prototaxicadj.
/ˌprəʊtə(ʊ)ˈtaksɪk/, U.S. /ˌproʊdoʊˈtæksɪk/ Psychology.
Designating a hypothetical first stage of experiencing or receiving impressions; spec. designating the most basic or primal mode of experience (normally in the first year of life) in which awareness of self, time, and space is lacking. Also: relating to a primal experience. Cf. parataxic adj., syntaxic adj.Chiefly associated with the American psychiatrist H. S. Sullivan (1892–1949).
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the mind > mental capacity > psychology > developmental psychology > [adjective] > relating to basic experiences
prototaxic1945
inner-directed1950
1945 P. Mullahy in Psychiatry 8 183/2 Prototaxic symbolization seems without reference to an ego, to ‘I’ or ‘me’ because the infant has no, or only a rudimentary, self.
a1949 H. S. Sullivan Interpersonal Theory of Psychiatry (1955) ii. 29 The prototaxic mode, which seems to be the rough basis of memory, is the crudest..the earliest, and possibly the most abundant mode of experience.
1975 J. C. Gowan Trance, Art & Creativity ii. 24 The prototaxic mode is notable for the scary, hair-raising aspect of the numinous.
1999 D. M. Rungapadiachy Interpersonal Comm. & Psychol. ix. 122 Prototaxic experience is described as a primitive kind of experience which is beyond any comprehension and understanding on the part of the infant.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1945