Difference between unconscious and subconscious

Unconscious and subconscious are responsible for reflected actions, they are the seat of personality and emotions; communicate messages, signals and emotions through body and behaviors. It should be noted that while it is true that each expression has a different meaning, some people use the terms unconscious and subconscious interchangeably.

With this Psychology-Online article we will discover the inaccuracy of this practice, easily analyzing what the subconscious is, what the unconscious is and, ultimately, we will see together the difference between unconscious and subconscious. Interesting, right? Keep reading!

Index

1. what is the unconscious
2. what is the subconscious
3. What is the difference between the unconscious and the subconscious?

This term is used in relation to temporarily or permanently unconscious parts or mental processes. In this area, the unconscious is distinguished in two ways:

• as irrational intelligence
  : the unconscious appears as an irrational intelligence, endowed with its own procedural and productive norms, and its own symbology of complex understanding;
• As a field of psychic activity: the unconscious can be considered as the neutral field of psychic activity and unconscious computation (short-term memory, automatic responses, subliminal mechanisms, etc.).

What is the unconscious according to Freud

With the term unconscious, Freud understood a complex of processes, contents and impulses that do not surface to the consciousness of the subject and therefore are not rationally controllable. Now, what is the unconscious and how does it work according to Freud?

First of all, he referred to the term as a part of the mind in which the withdrawn psychic contents are located, and then he went on to indicate the contents themselves that can resurface in Dreams in symbolic form, or manifest as missing acts, such as lapses and distractions.

In summary, in our psyche there is an unconscious and irrational dimension, in which a series of instincts and desires are hidden whose content does not manifest on a conscious level, but whose satisfaction is necessary.

What is the unconscious according to Carl Gustav Jung

Carl Gustav Jung believed, instead, that a psychology of the unconscious had been present since the dawn of humanity, linked to the ancient shamanic practices of primitive peoples. The term unconscious, in any case, has only been used as a noun since the nineteenth century, while formerly it was mainly used as an adjective to denote those thought processes hidden from view. conscience.

It is a term used in the field of psychology and psychopathology at the end of the 19th century, in particular by Janet, to explain the phenomena of split personality based on the hypothesis of a second consciousness, more attenuated, responsible for the psychic split.

Indeed, the term subconscious was introduced by Pierre Janet, contemporary French psychiatrist of Freud, to indicate the contents of the mind that were at a lower level of consciousness.

Janet developed a complex theory of mind, based on the concepts of subconsciousness and dissociation, and was the first to hypothesize that the dissociated (or deleted) subconscious contents were in the origin of neurotic symptoms in some cases.

The same term was used by Sigmund Freud in his early work, but was soon abandoned for its ambiguity, and replaced by "unconscious"; even in the psychoanalytic literature this last term is used as a synonym of subconscious.

Click on our title What is the subconscious and how does it work? to learn more about this topic.

The unconscious and the subconscious are two concepts that are often misunderstood and confused. So let's see some differences:

Its accessibility

Now that you know what the subconscious of a person is, it will be easier for you to understand that, in contrast to the unconscious, the subconscious mind is just below the conscious and iseasily accessible if you pay attention to it. When someone asks you to describe your perfect day, you tap into your subconscious for these memories.

However, if someone asks you to describe the worst day you've ever had, especially if it was particularly traumatic, you may not be able to describe the worst: you could discuss memories in your subconscious that were horrible, but a traumatic day could be partially or totally repressed.

Thus, one of the differences between the unconscious and the subconscious is that, at least in Freud's estimation, the unconscious functioned as a protective force over the mind.

its functionality

Another difference between unconscious and subconscious is that the subconscious is the emotional part of the mind, the one that allows man to feel, connect with someone and develop strong connections, the one that relies the most on memories.

The unconscious mind, on the other hand, is the most primitive part and at the same time essential, the one that delineates us as human beings and is guided by the natural evolution of our species, with the task of store all the experiences lived throughout the centuries (not remembering them, of course, but making them their own innately).

His, her nature

Subconscious impulses are mainly cultural and ontogenetic in nature (influences that the subject has suffered during its growth and development, beginning with its birth).

In other words, the difference between the unconscious and the subconscious is that the drives unconscious, on the other hand, are mainly due to psychobiological aspects, associated with drives derivatives of phylogenesis of the individual (influences derived from the history of the species and its biology).

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Difference between unconscious and subconscious, we recommend that you enter our category of cognitive psychology.

• Petrini P, Renzi A, Casadei A, Mandesem A. (2013). Dictionary of psychoanalysis. With elements of psychodynamic psychiatry and dynamic psychology. Milan: Franco Angeli.