Have you ever accidentally switched words, or spoke aloud without thinking? You may have experienced what psychologists call a Freudian Slip, or as we non-professionals jokingly nicknamed it, "a slip of the tongue". This slip of the tongue could be a hint into the unconscious—the part of the conscious brain that is almost imperceptible except for occasional behaviors that give a glimpse into a person's inner emotions, memories and desires. The founder of Psychoanalytic Theory, Sigmund Freud, was the first to establish the idea of an unconscious level and a research metrology that relied heavily on case studies. Though Freud seemed to believe that the unconscious level was mainly negative, psychologists today have found that the brain can develop positive reactions, mostly through establishing steady communication with the unconscious level, such as through therapy. WHAT IS THE CONSCIOUS MIND? There are three levels of the conscious mind: Conscious: the thoughts that a person is actively aware of in the present moment, such as walking across the street, or talking with a friend about a concert. Preconscious: anything and everything that could potentially enter your consciousness, such as yesterday's test or an upcoming bill. Unconscious: all your emotions, memories and desires. Freud believed that the unconscious level contained hidden fears that caused psychological issues in people. According to Scientific American, the unconscious level can effect perception, such as detecting inconsistencies. In one experiment, university students in Israel performed a masking technique in which bright colors were flashed into one eye as they made a picture slowly appear in the other. When the picture was of something logical, such as a woman putting a pie in an oven, the brain noticed the image in 2.64 seconds. However, when presented with an image of something illogical, such as a woman putting a chessboard in the oven, the brain noticed the image in 2.50. This shows that the unconscious level can detect things that are illogical, and effect perception. A mass of emotions, memories and desires, the unconscious level may affect an individual more that what is realized. Therefore, it is prudent for one to be in tune with their unconsciousness in order to maintain a healthy mental lifestyle. Sources: https://www.verywell.com/what-is-the-conscious-mind-2794984 https://www.verywell.com/what-is-a-freudian-slip-2795851 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3767904/ http://www.nlpacademy.co.uk/articles/view/understanding_your_mind_conscious_and_unconscious_processing/ Picture: http://islandsofthemind.tumblr.com/post/60167645776/desert-island-vs-the-conscious-unconscious-mind (To see the tumblr link where this picture came from, click here)
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