An attempt has been made to define psychic structure in strictly psychological terms. The concept of psychic structure refers to enduring aspects of the personality and to means-end functions that do not have to be created de novo each time one is faced with a similar situation. A psychic structure is a functional organization that generates a range of meaningful contents. Structures are categorical in nature and display relative functional equivalence. The above formulation provides a place for meaning in the theory and distinguishes structured functions from structured contents. The latter are the end product of a behavioural sequence and not centres of action. In this analysis, percepts, thoughts, images, wishes, fantasies, affects and internal objects are contents, not dynamic systems that make things happen. Only people make things happen, employing operational systems as tools of adaptation. Structure formation transform temporal sequences into the units of experience and action. The spatialization of temporal order fosters the treatment of mental processes as if they occupied space in the mind as a place. This error accounts for the ready confounding of structure and content. The present analysis accepts the traditional definition of psychic structure in terms of function and organization, but without recourse to a physicalistic theory of energy and force. The above analysis was applied to a number of special problems in the theory of structure. Consideration was also given to the concept's range of application, systemic relevance and heuristic value.
人们曾试图用严格的心理学术语来定义心理结构。心理结构的概念指的是人格中持久的方面以及目的手段功能，这些功能在每次面对类似情况时不必重新创造。心理结构是一种功能组织，它产生一系列有意义的内容。结构本质上是分类性的，并表现出相对的功能等效性。上述表述在理论中为意义提供了一席之地，并将结构化功能与结构化内容区分开来。后者是行为序列的最终产物，而非行动中心。在这种分析中，感知、思想、意象、愿望、幻想、情感和内在客体都是内容，而不是使事情发生的动力系统。只有人利用操作系统作为适应工具来使事情发生。结构形成将时间序列转化为经验和行动的单位。时间顺序的空间化促使人们将心理过程当作仿佛在头脑中占据一个空间位置来处理。这个错误导致了结构与内容的轻易混淆。当前的分析接受了传统上关于心理结构在功能和组织方面的定义，但不诉诸能量和力的物理主义理论。上述分析被应用于结构理论中的一些特殊问题。同时也考虑了该概念的应用范围、系统相关性和启发价值。
