The Unconscious

In psychoanalysis and other psychological theories, the unconscious mind (or the unconscious) is the part of the psyche that is not available to introspection.

The Freudian Unconscious

• Contains a hidden reservoir of repressed conflict, containing selfish desires, trauma, and aggressive and sexual desires.
• The mind uses repression and other defense mechanisms to push anxiety-provoking desires down.
• The id has primitive, pleasure-seeking drives and is trying to escape, manifesting itself through Freudian slips, nightmares, and neuroses.

The Jungian Unconscious

• Contains a layer of personal memories plus a second layer of collective unconscious.
• The collective unconscious is inherited from our evolutionary ancestors.
• It contains symbols and instincts called archetypes, such as the hero, the wise old man, the anima/animus, and the shadow.
• It is a source of wisdom and creativity, which is needed to balance the cold, logical ego.

The Neuroscientific Unconscious

• A system that automates sense perceptions and other processes, doing background work and passing the results, when necessary up to consciousness.
• Processes around 11m bits/sec of information, while the conscious mind can only manage 40-50 bits/sec.
• The Default Mode Network (DMN) activates when you are daydreaming or otherwise not focused on the outside world, consolidating memories.
• Provides "subliminal priming" by registering sensory inputs and changing your behavior automatically and without conscious thought.

Category:Concepts