The Unconscious

The concept of the unconscious refers to the processes of the mind that occur outside of our conscious awareness, but still affect our motivations and behavior. These include automatic reactions, subliminal beliefs and perceptions, repressed feelings, hidden desires, and latent phobias. Popularized by both Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung in the early twentieth century, the concept of the unconscious can be likened to the part of an iceberg that lies beneath the water, whereas the conscious mind is represented by the part above it. The unconscious continues to be explored by modern psychologists, especially the role it plays in the creation of bias, memory, and learning, as well as how unconscious beliefs can contribute to anxiety, depression, and other forms of mental or emotional distress.