According to Freud, there are three systems within our unconscious mind that are constantly at play:
1. Id
2. Ego
3. Superego

Three Systems within the Unconscious Mind

A manager at a tech company, who publicly prides himself on fostering a collaborative and supportive team environment, consistently finds reasons to reject project ideas from his most talented and innovative subordinate. The manager consciously believes his critiques are valid and aimed at improving the projects. However, he experiences inexplicable anxiety before meetings with this specific employee and often has dreams about being overshadowed in his own career. Based on the psychoanalytic perspective, explain the potential underlying process that could account for the discrepancy between the manager's stated beliefs and his actions.

Analyzing Unconscious Motivations

As per Freud, the unconscious mind includes feelings and urges, which people are not aware of. Additionally, urges and desires that are not acceptable by society are typically stored in the unconscious mind (i.e., repression). 

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* The Unconscious Mind
* Early Childhood Experiences

Focuses of Psychoanalytic Theory

Sigmund Freud postulated that every individual has two levels of consciousness:
1. Conscious
2. Unconscious 

Levels of Consciousness

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

OpenStax Psychology (2nd ed.) Textbook

Freud, along with many psychologists and therapists, believed that an individual's early childhood experience has an impact on such a person's life.

Psychoanalytic Theory and Early Childhood Experience

Unconscious Mind

In Freudian theory, the unconscious mind consists of mental activity that individuals are unaware of and cannot normally access. It serves as a repository for unacceptable urges, feelings, and desires, which are kept hidden from conscious awareness through a process called repression. Freud believed these hidden elements significantly influence conscious behavior.

Unconscious Mind (Freudian Theory)

Read the following scenario. Based on the primary areas of focus within the psychoanalytic perspective, analyze the most likely explanation for the individual's behavior.

Psychoanalytic Interpretation of Behavior

Freud asserts that our "conscious" mind refers to any mental activities (e.g., feelings, thoughts, memories) individuals can get to and retrieve at any given time. 

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