Understanding the Unconscious: A Deep Dive into Freudian Psychology
A Brief History of Psychology
Until 1878, psychology was considered a branch of philosophy and therefore was not regarded as a science. The human psyche was associated with the soul. From that date, the first psychological laboratory was established in Germany to study under Wundt, using a specific method and object of study, two important factors to consider in any discipline as a science. Years later, an American psychologist named Watson declared, based on his studies, that psychology had another method and another object. Around 1920 in Europe, psychoanalysis emerged, taking some elements from the above but constituting a new theory of its own.
When speaking of consciousness, we are referring to states of mind or inner life that can only be detected through introspection. Behaviorism states that states of consciousness cannot be detected other than by what can be subjective. After midday, it will mark a before and after in psychology; we refer to the unconscious. Psychology today adheres to the Freudian theory of the unconscious in its most refined form.
Second Freudian Scheme
- Id: This is driven by the pleasure principle. It represents the planner of instinct and does not recognize any logic. It represents the sole request that desires are met.
- Ego: Represents the balance entering the two forces and superego. It is handled with the reality principle. Every action we perform has the influence of moral standards.
- Superego: Represents social and cultural patterns. It is guided through rewards and punishments, in the act of moral conscience and the ideal ego. It serves to limit wishes.
Dreams
Dreams are one of the expressions used by the unconscious to perform desires that are unresolved. Dreams are made of two files: manifest and latent content.
The manifest content represents those pictures I can remember when I wake, sometimes incoherent images. However, everything in a dream has its interpretation. The latent content represents the meaning of the dream. Sometimes it has to be interpreted; in fact, they are used by psychologists to acquire greater knowledge about how our unconscious works. Dreams arise from the unconscious; they occur whenever we sleep but are not always remembered.
Personality
Personality refers to the study of behavior. It means style, way of life, how people behave in the world. The person is composed of three elements:
- Temperament: We understand that psychic inheritance makes us more nervous or retracted.
- Constitution: We understand the inheritance at a physical or genetic level to change the character’s personality, that element that constitutes me along with the contact of life experiences with peers.
- Character: This can be modified on the basis that it allows the person to adapt to the environment where it develops and feel more comfortable with its own nature.
Interpretations of the Unconscious
Freud defined the unconscious as that part of psychic activity for storing the expressions produced in early childhood. Remember that the unconscious elements are repressed and of a latent character.
The Process of Repression
These are the experiences that bring the subject to the satisfaction of his urge to pleasure, but that impede their adaptation to the social group. These experiences shall remain in the unconscious by a self-defense mechanism.
The Process of Sublimation
In themselves, they are vital forces that, like everything alive, tend to grow, manifest, and produce. Being repressed, they seek a way to arise. One of the ways is through the process of sublimation, by which they are implemented as creative energy. Sublimation activities are vital energy service packages for a socially valued end.
Structure of the Psychic Apparatus
- Description: How it is structured.
- Dynamic: How it works, how it mobilizes.
Conscious
These are mental representations that come from outside, that is, mental images of what we perceive as reality. We stopped consciousness; there are other unconscious representations that are present but dormant, that is, not directly manifested.
Preconscious
These are latent ideas that are able to return to consciousness when necessary, re-emerging as a memory.
Unconscious
It is not shown directly to our knowledge but is manifested in other ways, for example, sleep, fantasy, and failed acts. The barrier that prevents the passage of the unconscious to the conscious is called censorship. In it, we find a first scheme that separates the censorship of the preconscious from the unconscious. Then there is a second censorship that regulates the flow of representations from the preconscious to consciousness.
Example of the Unconscious: Slips
Slips are the actions that the subject executes despite wanting to act differently. They can manifest through speaking or writing errors, omissions, or involuntary loss.