Unconscious

Unconscious (or unconscious mind) refers to the mental processes of which individuals make themselves unaware. Sigmund Freud introduced this concept in his structural model of the psyche. It includes processes such as thoughts, memories, interests, and motivations.

History

The concept of the unconscious mind has been acknowledged since ancient times and has been explored across a wide range of cultures. It was extensively studied by Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud, and Pierre Janet.

Freud's view

Freud viewed the unconscious mind as a repository of thoughts, feelings, and memories that are disturbing or traumatic, which are often repressed. His theory was that the unconscious mind influences behavior, even though individuals are unaware of these underlying influences.

Jung's view

Jung's view of the unconscious mind was more complex than Freud's. He divided it into two parts: the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious. The personal unconscious contains forgotten information and the collective unconscious holds universal patterns of human understanding.

Janet's view

Janet argued that underneath the layers of critical-thought functions of the conscious mind lay a powerful awareness that he called the subconscious mind.

Modern views

Modern psychology has moved away from these views to focus more on how the unconscious mind influences behaviors, feelings, and thoughts.

See also

• Subconscious
• Preconscious
• Consciousness
• Collective unconscious

External links

• Britannica: Unconscious