Iceberg Theory

Freud’s iceberg theory metaphorically represents the mind’s three levels:

● the conscious (visible tip of the iceberg)

● the preconscious (just below the surface), and
● the unconscious (vast submerged portion)

Conscious mind
● Freud (1915) described the conscious mind, which consists of all the mental processes of
which we are aware, our present perceptions,memories, thoughts and fantasies which is
seen as the tip of the iceberg.
● The conscious mind with the ego at its helm is the visible tip of the iceberg. Beneath the
surface, the larger unconscious realm houses the primal instincts of the id and the moral
compass of the superego, steering our actions and reactions in subtle and complex ways.

Preconscious mind

● The preconscious or available memory is like a mental waiting room, in which thoughts
remain until they “succeed in attracting the eye of the conscious”.
● The preconscious consists of all which can be retrieved from memory or made conscious
like the memories which we are not at the moment thinking about but can be brought
readily to our mind.

Unconscious Mind

● The third and most significant region is the unconscious. Here lie the processes that are
the real cause of most behavior. Like an iceberg, the most important part of the mind is
the part we cannot see.
● In psychoanalysis, the unconscious mind refers to that part of the psyche that contains
repressed ideas and images, as well as primitive desires and impulses that have never
been allowed to enter the conscious mind.
● Freud viewed the unconscious mind as a vital part of the individual. It is irrational,
emotional, and has no concept of reality, so its attempts to leak out must be inhibited.
● The unconscious mind comprises mental processes inaccessible to consciousness but that
influence judgments, feelings, or behavior.
● The unconscious contains all sorts of significant and disturbing material which we need
to keep out of awareness because they are too threatening to acknowledge fully.
● Much of our behavior, according to Freud, is a product of factors outside our conscious
awareness. People use a range of defense mechanisms (such as repression or denial) to
avoid knowing their unconscious motives and feelings.
● The unconscious mind acts as a repository, a ‘cauldron’ of primitive wishes and impulses
kept at bay and mediated by the preconscious area.
● The unconscious is seen as a vital part of the individual; it is irrational, emotional, and
has no concept of reality, so its attempts to leak out must be inhibited.
● The unconscious mind contains our biologically based instincts for the primitive urges for
sex and aggression (Freud, 1915). Freud argued that our primitive urges often do not
reach consciousness because they are unacceptable to our rational, conscious selves.
● Freud believed that the influences of the unconscious reveal themselves in various ways,
including dreams, and slips of the tongue, now popularly known as Freudian slips.