3 Levels of awareness

3 Levels of awareness 

 

 

Freud: History and Concepts

Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who founded the psychoanalytic school of psychology. Freud is best known for his theories of the unconscious mind and the defense mechanism of repression. He is also renowned for his redefinition of sexual desire as the primary motivational energy of human life which is directed toward a wide variety of objects. As well as his therapeutic techniques, including his theory of transference in the therapeutic relationship and the presumed value of dreams as sources of insight into unconscious desires.



According to Freud the id, ego, and superego all operate across three levels of awareness in the human mind. They are the conscious, unconscious, and preconscious.

The conscious: The conscious consists of what someone is aware of at any particular point in time. It includes what you are thinking about right now, whether it is in the front of you mind or the back. If you are aware of it then it is in the conscious mind



 

The Preconscious: The preconscious contains information that is just below the surface of awareness. It can be retrieved with relative ease and usually can be thought of as memory or recollection.

 
 
The Unconscious: The unconscious contains thoughts, memories, and desires that are buried deep in ourselves, well below our conscious awareness. Even though we are not aware of their existence they exert great influence on our behavior.
     * BAD MEMORIES



 Practical Application:
CONSCIOUS MIND.
 Example: Right now as you are reading about Freud you could be thinking about what is being said in the text and that your eyes are tired from staring at this screen. In the back of your mind, however, you might be thinking "wow this website is really cool, if I was a psychology teacher I would give whoever made it an A". Both of these thoughts occur in the conscious mind.

PRE-CONSCIOUS MIND.
 Example: Right now think of your middle name. That is an example of preconscious memory. Similar example could be what is your mom's birthday, when did it last rain, and how long does it take to drive to the mall.

UNCONSCIOUS MIND.
 Example: Things in your unconscious would be forgotten negative experiences in your past, extreme dislike for a parent, or a terrible event that you pushed out of your preconscious.