By Vaishnavi Dane
The labyrinth of our mind, where deep beneath, the darkness overpowers every action. The unconscious mind isn't a neuroanatomical structure but a complex familiar psychological phenomenon, containing repressed feelings, hidden memories, habits, thoughts, and desires that shape human behaviour¹. According to cognitive neuroscientists, the unconscious mind influences 95% of our day-to-day actions². Freud's theory states that emotions and thoughts outside of our awareness continue to exert an influence on our behaviour, even though we are unaware of these underlying influences³. This essay further discusses the potent influence of the unconscious.
The unconscious mind influences the conscious experience of the world in the most fundamental of ways, such as by forming unconscious bias. When meeting someone new, a first impression is formed before a conversation—observing the person's race, gender, or age—features that, once perceived, automatically connect to internalised stereotypes about how members of a particular group are apt to behave, causing individuals to treat them differently based on how they feel towards the particular group of people⁴. According to the Harvard Business Review article, Unconscious Bias Training That Works, these reactions complicate interpersonal relationships and fair treatment as they originate deep in the unconscious mind. Instead of recognising an unacknowledged racial bias, humans divert their attention to negative features or characteristics about the individual.
The unconscious mind shapes each day-to-day decision. John A. Bargh a psychology professor at Yale in his book, Our Unconscious Mind, discusses that people make decisions without having given them much thought—or, more precisely, before having given them much thought consciously. The unconscious stores our hidden memories, pleasant or unpleasant, and when individuals decide where to go for vacation, what to buy, where to eat, and myriad other things, the unconscious influences their decisions by going for an option they have a personal connection to or disregarding an option due to unpleasant memories or emotions.
The unconscious mind is responsible for keeping upsetting emotions and traumatic experiences locked away; however, as individuals repress these emotions, they develop internalised fears to which they are oblivious⁵. For example, in Freud's case study, Han's fear of horses, through psychoanalytic conceptualization, can be observed that Hans faced a traumatic experience with horses and that horses were a manifestation of the Oedipus conflict, an interiorized image of his father, whom Hans unconsciously feared⁶. Based on Freud's theory, solving the Oedipus conflict and working through the traumatic memory could potentially eliminate Hans' fear of horses.
The unconscious mind contains hidden desires. John A. Bargh states, that the stronger the unconscious influence, the harder individuals have to work consciously to overcome their desires⁴. An alcoholic might choose alcohol over water; an overweight person might choose potato chips over a healthy meal—both easily casting aside the countervailing urge towards restraint. To overcome the strong influence of unconscious desires, a person needs to regulate their behaviour by identifying automatic impulses and consciously overcoming them.
The unconscious mind is a force so potent that the unconscious thoughts influence human behaviour more than other levels of the mind by affecting day-to-day decisions, shaping our perspective on individuals, and having such a potent impact that individuals develop fears or unhealthy habits. The apprehensive thought is the unconscious influences us, however, we cannot control it; all we know is it simply exists.
1 Michael C. Miller. "Unconscious or Subconscious?". Harvard Health Publishing. 2 Aug. 2010. [https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/unconscious-or-subconscious/ last accessed: 26th December 2023]
² "Convert Your Brain to be a Change-Maker: The Importance of Intentionality". Carlton Fields. 25 Aug. 2022.
[https://www.carltonfields.com/insights/publications/2022/convert-your-brain-importance-of-intentionality/ last accessed: 2nd January 2024]
³ K. Cherry. "The Unconscious Mind, Preconscious Mind and Conscious Mind". Verywell Mind. 27 Feb. 2023. [https://www.verywellmind.com/the-conscious-and-unconscious-mind/ last accessed: 29th December 2023]
⁴ John A. Bargh. "How Unconscious Thought and Perception Affect Our Every Waking Moment". Scientific American. 1 Jan, 2014.
[https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-unconscious-thought-and-perception-affect-our-every-waking-mo ment/ last accessed: 28th December 2023]
⁵ D. David, S. Stefan, A. Szentagotai and D. Nechita. "Comprehensive Clinical Psychology". The Role of the Unconscious and Symptom Substitution. 11:2 (2022): 1-25.
⁶ S. Mcleod. "Freud's Theory of the Unconscious Mind: The Iceberg Analogy". Simply Psychology. 24 Oct, 2023. [ https://www.simplypsychology.org/unconscious-mind/ last accessed: 30th December 2023]
Bibliography
"Convert Your Brain to be a Change-Maker: The Importance of Intentionality". Carlton Fields. 25 Aug. 2022.
[https://www.carltonfields.com/insights/publications/2022/convert-your-brain-importance-of-intentionality/ last accessed: 2nd January 2024]
D. David, S. Stefan, A. Szentagotai and D. Nechita. "Comprehensive Clinical Psychology". The Role of the Unconscious and Symptom Substitution. Regina: Saskatchewan, 2022: 1-25.
F. Gino and K. Coffman. "Unconscious Bias Training That Works". Harvard Business Review. 30 Aug. 2021. [https://hbr.org/2021/09/unconscious-bias-training-that-works/ last accessed: 30th December 2023]
John A. Bargh. "How Unconscious Thought and Perception Affect Our Every Waking Moment". Scientific American. 1 Jan, 2014.
[https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-unconscious-thought-and-perception-affect-our-every-waking-mo ment/ last accessed: 28th December 2023]
John A. Bargh. Our Unconscious Mind. New Haven: Connecticut, 2014: 34-35.
K. Cherry. "The Unconscious Mind, Preconscious Mind and Conscious Mind". Verywell Mind. 27 Feb. 2023. [https://www.verywellmind.com/the-conscious-and-unconscious-mind/ last accessed: 29th December 2023]
Michael C. Miller. "Unconscious or Subconscious?". Harvard Health Publishing. 2 Aug. 2010. [https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/unconscious-or-subconscious/ last accessed: 26th December 2023]
S. Mcleod. "Freud's Theory of the Unconscious Mind: The Iceberg Analogy". Simply Psychology. 24 Oct, 2023. [ https://www.simplypsychology.org/unconscious-mind/ last accessed: 30th December 2023]
By Vaishnavi Dane
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