The Unconscious Mind (PSYC30012)

Ever since Freud, the unconscious mind has been a critical part of our understanding of the human mind and behaviour. Despite its power to captivate popular imagination, scientific psychology's treatment of unconsciousness has a history of vicissitudes. This subject has three main components: historical background, contemporary theory and research, and applications and implications in contemporary culture and society. First, the subject traces the historical origin and subsequent development of the idea of the unconscious mind in psychological theories and practice. In so doing, Freud's notion of unconsciousness, as well as lesser known, but critically important theorists' contributions are examined and their contemporary implications are discussed. Second, the modern methods used in the contemporary examination of unconscious processes are introduced, and the current understanding of psychological unconsciousness is discussed from neuroscientific, perceptual, cognitive, developmental, social, and clinical perspectives. Third, we survey the uses of the scientific understanding of unconscious processes in a variety of applied contexts and explore implications of the psychological knowledge about the unconscious mind in contemporary culture and society. This includes a critical examination of the evidence for the role of unconscious processes in abnormal human behaviour and discussions about implications of the unconscious mind for identity and responsibility.