Perspectives on Consciousness

Introduction to Consciousness

In daily life, we frequently engage in behaviors without actively paying attention to them. A common experience involves driving to a destination and failing to recall specific landmarks. This suggests that various levels of consciousness are at play in our daily experiences.

Levels of Consciousness According to Freud

Freud proposed a model of consciousness that includes three levels of awareness:

  1. Conscious Mind

    • This level consists of thoughts and perceptions that we are actively aware of at any given moment.

    • Example: The sentence just heard is processed through the conscious mind if one was paying attention.

  2. Preconscious Mind

    • Contains thoughts and feelings that are not currently in conscious awareness but can be easily accessed.

    • Analogy: Freud likened the preconscious mind to a mental waiting room, where thoughts reside until they catch the attention of the conscious mind.

    • Example: One may not think of their mobile phone number until prompted, showcasing the accessibility of the preconscious.

    • Emotional experiences may also exist at this level. Positive or negative emotions may linger here, with traumatic experiences being repressed.

  3. Unconscious Mind

    • The unconscious mind is inaccessible to conscious awareness, often due to the anxiety-provoking nature of its contents, which leads to repression.

Criticism from Behaviorists

Behaviorists criticized Freud's approach, arguing against the need for conscious mental processes to explain behavior. However, modern cognitive psychologists and some Freudian scholars support the idea that unconscious processes can influence behavior.

  • Example: A person may feel inexplicably sad or happy due to environmental influences they are unaware of. This demonstrates the impact of the unconscious on mood.

Research on Unconscious Influences

Chartrand and colleagues conducted research where university students were subliminally exposed to various nouns with emotional value:

  • Strongly negative nouns (e.g., cockroach, cancer)

  • Mildly negative nouns (e.g., Monday, worm)

  • Mildly positive nouns (e.g., parade, clown)

  • Strongly positive nouns (e.g., friends, music)
    Results showed that students exposed to negatively charged nouns reported feeling sadder, while those exposed to positively charged nouns reported feeling happier. This exemplifies how unconscious stimuli can significantly influence mood.

Cognitive Perspective on Consciousness

The cognitive standpoint sees conscious and unconscious processes as complementary aspects of information processing.

  • Personal example: Learning to drive involved a conscious effort where attention was highly focused initially. As proficiency developed, driving became almost automatic, indicative of unconscious processing.

  • Controlled Processing: Initially requires attention and effort (e.g., learning to write, drive).

  • Automatic Processing: Occurs without conscious awareness; often becomes the norm after practice.

Capacity and Flexibility of Conscious Processing

  • Controlled/Conscious Processing

    • Has limited capacity; tasks or stimuli compete for attention.

    • Example: One cannot simultaneously see the ambiguous gestalt figure as both two faces and a vase at the same time; attention must shift between interpretations.

  • Automatic/Unconscious Processing

    • Allows for multitasking (e.g., driving while listening to music or conversing).

    • Reduces the likelihood of discovering new approaches to problems due to rote responses and lack of flexibility.

Freud's Three Types of Mental Activities

  1. Conscious Processes: Currently aware of thoughts and perceptions.

  2. Preconscious Processes: Accessible thoughts that can be brought into awareness.

  3. Unconscious Processes: Thoughts and impulses kept from conscious awareness due to their threatening nature.

Conclusion: Distinction between Psychological Perspectives

Cognitive psychologists reject Freud's notion of the unconscious mind being driven by instinctual urges and repressed conflicts. Instead, they view conscious and unconscious processing as two complementary forms that interact to aid information processing, with controlled and automatic processes working in harmony to navigate daily behaviors and tasks effectively.