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