The concepts of consciousness as models for unconscious processes

1960 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Westby
Keyword(s):  
Unconscious Processes

“The Unconscious” in Current Psychology

2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 193-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Norman
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Psychology ◽  
Verbal Report ◽  
Psychological Research ◽  
Operational Definition ◽  
The Unconscious ◽  
Apparent Lack ◽  
Unconscious Processing ◽  
Unconscious Processes ◽  
Intermediate States ◽  
Definition Of

A series of vignette examples taken from psychological research on motivation, emotion, decision making, and attitudes illustrates how the influence of unconscious processes is often measured in a range of different behaviors. However, the selected studies share an apparent lack of explicit operational definition of what is meant by consciousness, and there seems to be substantial disagreement about the properties of conscious versus unconscious processing: Consciousness is sometimes equated with attention, sometimes with verbal report ability, and sometimes operationalized in terms of behavioral dissociations between different performance measures. Moreover, the examples all seem to share a dichotomous view of conscious and unconscious processes as being qualitatively different. It is suggested that cognitive research on consciousness can help resolve the apparent disagreement about how to define and measure unconscious processing, as is illustrated by a selection of operational definitions and empirical findings from modern cognitive psychology. These empirical findings also point to the existence of intermediate states of conscious awareness, not easily classifiable as either purely conscious or purely unconscious. Recent hypotheses from cognitive psychology, supplemented with models from social, developmental, and clinical psychology, are then presented all of which are compatible with the view of consciousness as a graded rather than an all-or-none phenomenon. Such a view of consciousness would open up for explorations of intermediate states of awareness in addition to more purely conscious or purely unconscious states and thereby increase our understanding of the seemingly “unconscious” aspects of mental life.

The two dreams in Freud’s (1905) Fragments of an Analysis of a Case of Hysteria (‘Dora’) (Draft of chapter to be published in the forthcoming Routledge book The Science and Art of Dreaming, by Blagrove and Lockheart.)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Blagrove ◽  
Julia Lockheart
Keyword(s):  
Sigmund Freud ◽  
Unconscious Processes ◽  
Science And Art

This chapter argues that the two dreams of ‘Dora’, told as part of her analysis with Sigmund Freud at the end of 1900, are poignant depictions of the distress, abuse and hopes in her life. The argument is that this can be seen clearly from Dora’s free associations to her dreams. Unfortunately, these interpretations of her dreams, although present in Freud’s account of the analysis, are overshadowed in the case study by the highly speculative further interpretations of the dreams by Freud, which derive from Freud’s own associations. Freud did have oppressive and patriarchal judgements and advice to Dora, yet he did believe that Dora was subjected to ‘persecution’ by Herr K. We must credit Freud, though, for recording, and interpreting the two dreams of Dora, on the basis of her free-associations to her waking life, even though his own associations may overshadow that success and instead relate the dreams to unconfirmable unconscious processes.

A history of the struggle against racism in the social unconscious of group analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 053331642098473
Author(s):  
Dick Blackwell
Keyword(s):  
Group Analysis ◽  
Institutional Racism ◽  
Unconscious Processes ◽  
Unconscious Process ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Unconscious ◽  
History Of ◽  
Conscious Belief

Institutional racism is a social unconscious process. It is the collective operation of shared unconscious assumptions and values that exist in groupings and cultures such as group analytic institutions where individuals may consciously believe they are not racist. In such cultures this conscious belief is protected by unconscious processes of denial, avoidance and negation. Attempts to address the issue within group analysis reveal some of its problematic dynamics.

scholarly journals The associative nature of human associative learning

2009 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Shanks
Keyword(s):  
Associative Learning ◽  
Pavlovian Conditioning ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Human Learning ◽  
Emergent Properties ◽  
Human Associative Learning ◽  
Unconscious Processes

AbstractThe extent to which human learning should be thought of in terms of elementary, automatic versus controlled, cognitive processes is unresolved after nearly a century of often fierce debate. Mitchell et al. provide a persuasive review of evidence against automatic, unconscious links. Indeed, unconscious processes seem to play a negligible role in any form of learning, not just in Pavlovian conditioning. But a modern connectionist framework, in which “cognitive” phenomena are emergent properties, is likely to offer a fuller account of human learning than the propositional framework Mitchell et al. propose.

Unresolved Trauma and Japanese Identity after the Second World War / Trauma No Resuelto e Identidad Japonesa Tras la Segunda Guerra Mundial

FORUM ◽  
2011 ◽  
pp. 85-100
Author(s):  
Kaoru Nishimura
Keyword(s):  
Second World War ◽  
War Trauma ◽  
World War ◽  
Transgenerational Transmission ◽  
Unconscious Processes ◽  
Indirect Transmission ◽  
Transmission Of Trauma ◽  
Unresolved Trauma ◽  
Second World ◽  
Transgenerational Transmission Of Trauma

I have never been in war. So, I hesitate to say anything about the injuries of war but the concept of Transgenerational Transmission of Trauma (TTT) helps me to think about the footprints of war surrounding me. I will focus on three types of TTT. First, transmission through unconscious processes in society as a whole; second, transmission through related media; and third, direct and indirect transmission within family. These overlap with one another and develop hand-in-hand.Nunca estuve en la guerra. Por ello me cuesta decir cualquier cosa sobre las heridas de guerra, pero el concepto de Transmisión Transgeneracional del Trauma (TTT) me ayuda a pensar sobre las huellas de la guerra que me rodean. Me centraré en tres tipos de TTT. Primero, la transmisión por procesos inconscientes en la sociedad global; segundo, la transmisión a través de medios relacionados; y tercero, la transmisión directa e indirecta dentro de la familia. Se solapan entre sí y se desarrollan mano-a-mano.

Maybe it helps to be conscious, after all

2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy F. Baumeister ◽  
Kathleen D. Vohs ◽  
E. J. Masicampo
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Human Behavior ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
The Unconscious ◽  
Unconscious Processes ◽  
Literature Reviews ◽  
Conscious Processes

AbstractPsychologists debate whether consciousness or unconsciousness is most central to human behavior. Our goal, instead, is to figure out how they work together. Conscious processes are partly produced by unconscious processes, and much information processing occurs outside of awareness. Yet, consciousness has advantages that the unconscious does not. We discuss how consciousness causes behavior, drawing conclusions from large-scale literature reviews.

Affect, Religion, and Unconscious Processes

1999 ◽  
Vol 67 (6) ◽  
pp. 1015-1046 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter C. Hill ◽  
Ralph W. Hood Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Unconscious Processes

The effect of the cognitive demands of the distraction task on unconscious thought

2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Waroquier ◽  
Marlène Abadie ◽  
Olivier Klein ◽  
Axel Cleeremans
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Unconscious Thought ◽  
Cognitive Demands ◽  
The Unconscious ◽  
Unconscious Processes ◽  
Distraction Task ◽  
Complex Decision Making ◽  
Complex Decision

AbstractThe unconscious-thought effect occurs when distraction improves complex decision making. Recent studies suggest that this effect is more likely to occur with low- than high-demanding distraction tasks. We discuss implications of these findings for Newell & Shanks' (N&S's) claim that evidence is lacking for the intervention of unconscious processes in complex decision making.

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