Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Freudian Psychology01:26

Freudian Psychology

2.6K
Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist born in 1856, significantly influenced psychology through his exploration of the unconscious mind. His interest in patients suffering from hysteria and neurosis — conditions without apparent physical causes — led him to theorize the existence of an unconscious mind, a repository for feelings and urges beyond our awareness. Freud's innovative approach included techniques such as dream analysis, free association, and attention to slips of the...
2.6K
Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory01:29

Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory

2.5K
Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory revolutionized psychology by introducing the idea that unconscious forces significantly shape human behavior. According to Freud, every psychological event is driven by deep-seated internal forces, often formed during early childhood. His theory, built on the premises of psychic determinism, symbolic meaning, and unconscious motivation, offers a unique perspective on the complexities of human behavior.
Freud's concept of psychic determinism asserts...
2.5K
Psychodynamic Perspectives on Personality01:27

Psychodynamic Perspectives on Personality

2.2K
The psychodynamic perspective in psychology asserts that most personality functions operate unconsciously, outside of awareness. This means that the motives and emotions driving behavior often remain hidden, automatically buried in the unconscious mind as a defense mechanism to shield us from psychological distress. According to this theory, the unconscious mind contains thoughts, memories, and emotions that are too disturbing to face directly.
Psychodynamic theorists argue that unconscious...
2.2K
Dreaming01:30

Dreaming

674
Sigmund Freud revolutionized our understanding of dreams by proposing that they are a window into the unconscious mind. According to Freud, dreams are not mere stories our minds create while we sleep but are profoundly meaningful narratives about our hidden desires and fears. He introduced two key concepts: manifest content and latent content. The manifest content is the actual content and imagery of the dream — what we remember when we wake up. The latent content, however, represents the...
674
Jung's Analytical Theory01:23

Jung's Analytical Theory

1.4K
Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist and former follower of Freud, eventually broke away from Freud's ideas to create his framework, analytical psychology. This approach emphasizes achieving a balance between the conscious and unconscious aspects of the mind and reconciling various experiences within an individual's personality. Jung believed that this process, which typically unfolds in the latter part of life, involves an ongoing journey of recognizing and incorporating unconscious...
1.4K
Reason and Intuition01:37

Reason and Intuition

5.9K
The human brain processes information for decision-making using one of two routes: an intuitive system and a rational system (Epstein, 1994; popularized by Kahneman, 2011 as System 1 and System 2, respectively). The intuitive system is quick, impulsive, and operates with minimal effort, relying on emotions or habits to provide cues for what to do next, while the rational system is logical, analytical, deliberate, and methodical. Research in neuropsychology suggests that the...
5.9K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Is low cost really conducive to primary care utilisation: An empirical analysis of community health centers in China.

Health & social care in the community·2021
Same author

Waiting in intertemporal choice tasks affects discounting and subjective time perception.

Journal of experimental psychology. General·2020
Same author

How Much Sugar is in My Drink? The Power of Visual Cues.

Nutrients·2020
Same author

Unpacking decision difficulty: Testing action dynamics in Intertemporal, gamble, and consumer choices.

Acta psychologica·2018
Same author

Nutrient-specific system versus full fact panel: Testing the benefits of nutrient-specific front-of-package labels in a student sample.

Appetite·2018
Same author

Use of the familiarity difference cue in inferential judgments.

Memory & cognition·2017

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 3, 2026

The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients
05:48

The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients

Published on: June 12, 2020

5.4K

How necessary is the unconscious as a predictive, explanatory, or prescriptive construct?

Claudia González-Vallejo1, Thomas R Stewart2, G Daniel Lassiter1

  • 1Psychology Department, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701. gonzalez@ohio.edu danlassiter@mac.com jw225207@gmail.com http://www.ohioupsychology.com/

The Behavioral and Brain Sciences
|January 28, 2014
PubMed
Summary

This study reveals the conceptual flaws in unconscious thinking research. We demonstrate that unconscious thought theory (UTT) lacks empirical support and its claims are unfounded.

More Related Videos

Investigating the Neural Mechanisms of Aware and Unaware Fear Memory with fMRI
12:51

Investigating the Neural Mechanisms of Aware and Unaware Fear Memory with fMRI

Published on: October 6, 2011

12.4K
Perspectives on Neuroscience
26:41

Perspectives on Neuroscience

Published on: July 31, 2007

4.7K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 3, 2026

The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients
05:48

The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients

Published on: June 12, 2020

5.4K
Investigating the Neural Mechanisms of Aware and Unaware Fear Memory with fMRI
12:51

Investigating the Neural Mechanisms of Aware and Unaware Fear Memory with fMRI

Published on: October 6, 2011

12.4K
Perspectives on Neuroscience
26:41

Perspectives on Neuroscience

Published on: July 31, 2007

4.7K

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Epistemology

Background:

  • Unconscious thought theory (UTT) posits that complex decisions benefit from unconscious processing.
  • Research on self-insight aims to understand the accuracy and limitations of introspective judgments.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To critically evaluate the epistemological foundations of unconscious thinking in psychological research.
  • To analyze the framework used by Newell & Shanks (N&S) in relation to UTT and self-insight studies.
  • To challenge the validity and applicability of UTT.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis of UTT and self-insight research.
  • Examination of the lens model as applied to decision-making.
  • Critique of the assumptions linking judgment accuracy to unconscious processes.

Main Results:

  • Brunswikian psychology principles are not integral to UTT.
  • Self-insight research was not initially designed to investigate unconscious cognition.
  • Judgment accuracy does not inherently require unconscious thought.
  • The prescriptive claims of UTT are not supported by current evidence.

Conclusions:

  • The concept of unconscious thinking in research is epistemologically problematic.
  • UTT is conceptually flawed and its prescriptive claims are unfounded.
  • Alternative frameworks are needed to understand complex cognition and judgment accuracy.