The 3 differences between unconscious and subconscious

We explain how to distinguish between the concepts of unconscious and subconscious.

The existence of a sphere of psychic or mental activity that is not accessible to consciousness was already studied by classical philosophers and aroused great interest between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th to psychoanalysts such as Sigmund Freud or Carl Gustav Jung, among others. others, who referred to it with the term known as “unconscious”.

There are some differences between the unconscious and the subconscious, such as the nature of each one, its functionality, the degree of accessibility to human consciousness, and also its level of recognition in the field of psychology and psychoanalysis. In this article, we will talk in more detail about the differences between the unconscious and the subconscious.

Learning to distinguish between the unconscious and the subconscious

Before seeing what the differences between unconscious and subconscious are, it is convenient to explain what both concepts consist of within the field of psychology and especially in psychoanalysis.

1. The unconscious

The term "unconscious" is usually used to refer to those mental processes or parts that are not accessible to consciousness temporarily or even permanently, and this sphere of psychic and mental activity can be in two ways: the first would be as an intelligence rational, which is one that is endowed with its own productive and procedural rules, whose understanding is usually complex; second, as a domain of psychic activity, referring to inherent psychic activities (eg, automatic responses, short-term memory, etc.).

Freud referred to the unconscious as a series of psychic contents and processes, as well as impulses that were not accessible to people's consciousness so that they could not be rationally controlled. He also understood that in the unconscious part there were some psychic contents that had been withdrawn from the concert and said contents could come to the surface in the mind through dreams in a symbolic way or even through slips (involuntary errors or mistakes).

For Freud, who included the unconscious part in his first psychoanalytic theory (first topic), in which he divided the mind into three parts (unconscious, preconscious, and unconscious), he referred to the unconscious part as the non-logical part, the central seat of the repressed instincts and desires that, therefore, do not manifest themselves on a conscious level, but that each person must manage to satisfy.

On the other hand, Jung referred in his theories to two types of the unconscious: the personal, which was related to the hidden and repressed aspects that had arisen as a result of the interactions between the person and his environment, and; the other hand, the collective, which was on which Jung came to put more emphasis referring to this concept as the psychic part that contains the collective and historical elements that are responsible for modulating the way in which people think, feel and act , so that the collective unconscious contains socially constructed and heritable psychological structures (archetypes).

2. The subconscious

It should be noted that the term "subconscious" is practically in total disuse today in the field of Psychology; however, it is a concept that is heard quite frequently at a colloquial level and has even come to be used as a synonym for the unconscious, being another reason why it is convenient for us to know the differences between the unconscious and the subconscious.

The subconscious concept was used in the field of psychology at the end of the 19th century by the psychiatrist and neurologist Pierre Janet, a contemporary of Freud, to refer to those phenomena of splitting personality, based on a hypothesis that there was a second consciousness. , more attenuated and less accessible than the conscious part; so that the subconscious would be responsible for the split at the psychic and mental levels.

In her theory of the mind, Janet developed several investigations based on the concepts of subconscious and dissociation, associating in her hypotheses the origin of the neurotic symptoms of several of her patients with the contents of the subconscious that they had dissociated. This term came to be used also by Freud in his first investigations; however, he ended up substituting the term subconscious for the unconscious, being the reason that has led to their being used as synonyms in many cases, although today it would be more accurate to use the term unconscious.

The main differences between unconscious and subconscious

Although the terms unconscious and subconscious are sometimes used interchangeably, there are actually differences between the two concepts. Of course, some of these differences are quite subtle, so making a contrast between both psychic entities can be somewhat complex. Therefore, we are going to explain below what are the main differences between the unconscious and the subconscious.

Before detailing all the differences between unconscious and subconscious, it should be mentioned that, in general, the term "unconscious" is usually used to refer to the most inaccessible and deepest area of ​​the mind; while the “subconscious” is used to refer to that most superficial area of ​​the non-conscious mind, is the one just below the threshold of consciousness.

1. Recognition in the field of psychology and psychoanalysis

Among the differences between the unconscious and the subconscious, it should be noted that the idea of ​​the unconscious was quite developed by Freud in his psychoanalytic theories, a field of psychology in which it continues to be studied and used today, while the term subconscious, although it was Initially used by Freud and also by Janet, among others, it is a term that has been falling into disuse and is currently not officially recognized by modern psychology or by psychoanalysis.

The subconscious today is a concept that is heard more in the colloquial field, is sometimes used as a synonym of the unconscious; however, this term has been relegated to a more metaphorical field of the mind or mystical.

2. The degree of accessibility of each

Another difference between the unconscious and the subconscious is the degree of accessibility of each one so that the subconscious is more accessible to consciousness if you pay attention; while the unconscious is the psychic part that is least accessible to consciousness.

In this way, the subconscious would be considered as an intermediate part between consciousness and unconsciousness, being a term that could be partially similar to the preconscious, one of the psychic parts that Freud spoke about in his first topic or first psychoanalytic theory.

It is worth mentioning that when we refer to the subconscious part we could be talking about suppression so that when a painful memory is suppressed, it is being forced to be located below the threshold of consciousness. On the other hand, when we talk about the unconscious part, we use the term suppression to refer to an instinctive and involuntary reaction that a traumatic event keeps in the unconscious part with which to protect that person, being a psychological defense mechanism.

Therefore, it could be said that the subconscious, according to the theories of classical psychology that referred to this term, would be a bridge between the conscious and the unconscious, so that with the effort we could access the memories that are stored in the subconscious, while those found in the unconscious would be more inaccessible.

3. The functionality of each

A fourth of the difference between the unconscious and the subconscious that we are going to mention is its functionality. The subconscious would be that part of the most emotional mind; In other words, it would be the one that allows people to feel, connect with another person, being a part that relies more on experience and memories.

Instead, the unconscious would be the most primitive part of the human mind, so that it is guided by the natural evolution of the human species, so it is responsible for the most primitive functions such as instincts.

 

Thank You