What Are Freud's Three Levels Of Awareness

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According to Freud, there are three levels of awareness: conscious, preconscious, and unconscious. The unconscious mind is, as stated by Professor Smardan in class, like a file cabinet. It stores everything that is suppressed by the mind. The preconscious mind consists of thoughts that are unconscious, but can still be easily recalled. Lastly, the conscious mind is the state of being fully aware of the present moment. Freud also suggested that these three levels of awareness are linked to the Id, superego, and ego, which make up the personality. These three structures operate based off of unconscious, preconscious, and unconscious levels. Unconscious The unconscious mind is developed at a very young age. It is programmed by parents, teachers, caregivers, and other important figures from birth to around age 6. The unconscious mind is the "other" person within, meaning it is not really what we perceive ourselves as. When people get upset it …show more content…

"Freud proposed 3 systems of personality, each existing at one or more of the levels of conscious awareness." (Course Reader: Chapter 13/Section 1A, 2015) The Id is completely unconscious, the ego is for the most part conscious, and the superego both conscious and unconscious. Id and superego are opposites, the Id representing the "devil", which operates according to the pleasure principle, and the superego, representing the "angel", operates according to the morality principle. The id demands pleasure, while the superego demands morals, often bringing them conflict. Meanwhile the ego becomes the mediator by balancing the id and the superego. It maintains stability by pushing away anxiety. It is the realistic part of the personality. "This constant state of conflict is Freud's view of how personality works." (Course Reader: Chapter 13/Section 1B, 2015). He called this system the Mental

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