INTRODUCE TOPIC
I suggest that we don't use this as much today, except for the descriptions of whether material is accessible to consciousness. I will ask students to shift their attention to what they had for breakfast to demonstrate pcs qualities. One useful remnant form topographic theory is that excess primary process in consciousness often suggests psychosis.
Jerome S. Blackman, M.D.
Adjunct Professor of Psychology
Virginia Wesleyan College
Jsbmd1@cox.net
jblackmanmd@aol.com
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I demonstrate this with symptoms, dreams, and slips of the tongue.
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I use a graphic of the ice berg, but add that the Preconscious is sort of like the splashy area at the surface, where the waves hit. It is neither fully above or below and acts as the censorship device to hold material in the unconscious.
Matthew Westra
Psychology Coordinator
MCC-Longview
Matthew.westra@mcckc.edu
http://www.mcckc.edu/~westra/WESTRA.HTML
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The most convincing point I make to students about the unconscious is observing that they and their friends all continue to repeat behaviors, choices, and patterns that they can clearly see are problematic. Yet, they cannot seem to do things differently.
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This makes absolute sense to students (up to a certain point, of course). In a sexuality course, I tell them quite frankly that I'm going to try to sell them a theory, that they should watch out!
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After covering object relational models, I use the following phrasing to explain the dynamic unconscious. “Here’s what’s important about the contents of the unconscious mind: despite the fact that the thoughts are unconscious (that is, outside of our awareness) they are often running the show of daily life. For example, you don’t walk into a bar and think ‘Hey, look at that guy…he looks kind of aloof and reserved in the same way my father was. Perhaps if I could get that guy to take a strong interest in me, I could magically undo the painful fact that I felt ignored and unloved by my father.’ What you actually think when you walk into the bar is ‘Hey, that guy’s attractive!’”
Lisa Damour, Ph.D.
Adjunct Professor of Psychology
John Carroll University
ldamour@jcu.edu
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It is very important to show students that Freud thought there were many things in the preconscious and hence unconscious to us that weren't repressed. He was primarily interested in understanding structure, process and the repressed bits. I note that neuroscience still agrees largely with the model he proposes in book 7 of Interpretation of Dreams. It is also very important that they understand the idea of 'associative pathways'. This idea helps them with condensation, displacement, etc., and with the motive for unconscious activity, i.e. ucs. wishes seeking expression and then motility through cs.
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RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
Freud, S. (ed. R. Robertson;J. Crick, trans.) (1999). The Interpretation of Dreams. London: Oxford Univ. Press
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I use general introductory materials, such as Brenner's Elementary Textbook.
- I ask specific questions about theory - e.g. their understanding of repression, defense mechanisms, the Oedipus complex.
Brenner, C. (1973). An Elementary Textbook of Psychoanalysis. New York: Doubleday.
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Kihlstrom, J. F. (1987). The cognitive unconscious. Science, 237, 1445-1452.
COURSE ASSIGNMENT
I assign a dream paper. Students are instructed to describe a recent dream or a recurring dream, to provide their associations to the main images in the dream, and to interpret it--using Freud's Irma Dream as a starting point model. They love this assignment and often do a bang up job with it.
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