21. Summarize Freud's conception of the unconscious.
Freud believed that the unconscious perhaps held greater substance about who we were than our consciousness. All of our thoughts, feelings, experiences we have had even though we could not recall them were stored there. He believed that right below our conscious thought was an area of preconsciousness. These were things that we had stored away, but could easily retrieve. For example this might be memories of a loved one that has died or a memory of childhood.
Freud also believed in the existence of an unconsciousness, a level of memory deeper than the preconsciousness. He theorized that memories here were not readily accessible. However, they contained many of the experiences, emotions, and feelings that contributed to who we were as a person. Recognizing this, he felt that this area was also a place that the brain used as a way for self-preservation. In the cases where people underwent incidents that were so traumatic and debilitating, the the brain stored them for protection. For example, children who suffered extreme neglect or abuse and were unable to process the situation.
Freud suggested that the brain was a complex and extremely powerful organ. To get to the unconscious part of the mind, often relaxation techniques or hypnosis was the only key. He hypothesized that these repressed thoughts were forcible blocked because they were too unsettling for the body to acknowledge when fully conscious. While they couldn’t be accessed easily they could often influence decisions that we made, fears and phobias we had, and various parts of our personality. For example, a child that has repressed his or her abuse, as an adult experiences anxiety around certain individuals.
Artifact #2
http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/a/consciousuncon.htm
This link will help to describe more about what Freud wanted us to believe about the unconscious state.
Freud believed that the unconscious perhaps held greater substance about who we were than our consciousness. All of our thoughts, feelings, experiences we have had even though we could not recall them were stored there. He believed that right below our conscious thought was an area of preconsciousness. These were things that we had stored away, but could easily retrieve. For example this might be memories of a loved one that has died or a memory of childhood.
Freud also believed in the existence of an unconsciousness, a level of memory deeper than the preconsciousness. He theorized that memories here were not readily accessible. However, they contained many of the experiences, emotions, and feelings that contributed to who we were as a person. Recognizing this, he felt that this area was also a place that the brain used as a way for self-preservation. In the cases where people underwent incidents that were so traumatic and debilitating, the the brain stored them for protection. For example, children who suffered extreme neglect or abuse and were unable to process the situation.
Freud suggested that the brain was a complex and extremely powerful organ. To get to the unconscious part of the mind, often relaxation techniques or hypnosis was the only key. He hypothesized that these repressed thoughts were forcible blocked because they were too unsettling for the body to acknowledge when fully conscious. While they couldn’t be accessed easily they could often influence decisions that we made, fears and phobias we had, and various parts of our personality. For example, a child that has repressed his or her abuse, as an adult experiences anxiety around certain individuals.
Artifact #2
http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/a/consciousuncon.htm
This link will help to describe more about what Freud wanted us to believe about the unconscious state.