Narrator: Listen to part of a psychology lecture. The professor is discussing psychoanalysis.
Professor: Now, many people consider Sigmund Freud to be the creator of psychoanalysis. And, just like psychoanalysts today, he believed that the solution to mental anguish lies in the subconscious mind. Many of the terms that are commonly used in psychology today—ego, libido, repression, catharsis, and neurosis—we can attribute to Freud. He ushered these and other major, commonly used terms into the field of psychology. The basic idea is that… Freud believed that while many human beings are clearly adept at lying to other human beings, the people we’re really good at lying to? Yep—ourselves.
Freud believed that we rationalize why we do things, but that doesn’t mean we’re right about our motivations. We come up with reasons for what we do, but often, those aren’t the real reasons for why we behave the way we behave. He believed that we do this because our true motivations can be difficult to face.
A metaphor that Freud used to describe the human mind was an iceberg. On the surface of the iceberg is consciousness. These are the thoughts that we are aware of. Ever heard the phrase “tip of the iceberg?” That’s what our conscious thoughts are—only the tip. The second level, below the surface, are thoughts that we can pull from memory, but that we may have to work to remember. Sometimes, it takes effort. The third, and deepest, level is the unconscious mind, and this is where he believed our true motivations are stored. According to Freud, it’s where our behavior originates, and where our most “primitive” desires live. He claims that, sometimes, these desires are so frightening or painful that our minds refuse to let them rise out of this bottom layer. That’s why we aren’t even aware of them! This phenomenon he called “repression.”
Female Student: Professor Frank, um, did Freud consider how dreams factor in? Because we don’t control our dreams. And when you’re asleep, you’re unconscious.
Professor: Um, he did, actually, and um… to skip a bit ahead, Freud believed that dreams are the key—the doorway—to understanding the unconscious mind. The reason for this is precisely what you seem to be suggesting… when we are asleep, our conscious mind is not repressing our unconscious mind. So it’s easier for our unconscious thoughts to make their way into awareness… he called dreams “the royal road” to the unconscious.
A related theory about dreaming was developed by Carl Jung. Other than Freud, no one has had a bigger impact on dream studies than Carl Jung, who was also a psychoanalyst. Jung himself was a friend of Freud’s. Their theories about dreaming overlap in important ways. They both believe that dreams can reveal much about what goes on in the unconscious mind… but unlike Freud, Jung did not believe that dreams necessarily bring up things that we are trying to repress. For Jung, the way that dreams are useful isn’t that they should be interpreted to discover true motivations… but that the point of them is to integrate the conscious and unconscious minds. They are the brain’s attempt to feel “whole,” in other words.
Another major difference between Jung and Freud is that Jung didn’t just believe that individuals have an unconscious. He also believed in something he called the “collective unconscious.” It’s the collection of all human experiences and knowledge, like a sort of, ah, atmosphere, in which people exist… the collective unconscious is why we feel connected to each other, according to Jung. For him, things like art, and religion, and even myths and stories… these are all a part of this collective unconscious.
There’s more that Jung is known for—ever hear of the terms introvert and extrovert? These days, the terms are used to describe personality types. Introverts are said to draw energy from the internal world, within themselves, and extroverts do so more from the outside world. It’s become a popular distinction in recent years. There are personality tests that will tell you whether you are an introvert or an extrovert… well, Jung created the ideas of extroversion and introversion. That was him.
But back to dreaming. To recap, Freud believed that dreams are about unearthing repressed ideas. And Jung believed that dreams are the way that our minds create a sense of wholeness. Is one right and one wrong? I think the answer is that we don’t know. It’s probably impossible to definitively understand the nature of dreaming.
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What does the professor mainly discuss? |
Gist-content. The lecture is about two different psychoanalysts and how their theories compare, particularly with respect to dreaming. |
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| ✗ | A The evolution of dreaming in human beings |
The professor does not discuss the evolution of dreaming. |
| ✗ | B How dreaming occurs in the brain |
The professor does not discuss the mechanisms of dreaming in the brain. |
| ✓ | C Theories from two psychoanalysts about dreaming |
Correct. The professor describes Freud’s theory of dreaming, then follows it with a description of Jung’s theory. |
| ✗ | D One scientist’s research into how people dream |
The lecture is about two psychoanalysts—Freud and Jung. |
Narrator: Listen again to part of the lecture. Then answer the question.
Professor: He believed that we do this because our true motivations can be difficult to face.
A metaphor that Freud used to describe the human mind was an iceberg. On the surface of the iceberg is consciousness. These are the thoughts that we are aware of. Ever heard the phrase “tip of the iceberg?” That’s what our conscious thoughts are—only the tip. The second level, below the surface, are thoughts that we can pull from memory, but that we may have to work to remember. Sometimes, it takes effort. The third, and deepest, level is the unconscious mind, and this is where he believed our true motivations are stored. According to Freud, it’s where our behavior originates, and where our most “primitive” desires live.
Narrator: Why does the professor say this:
Professor: A metaphor that Freud used to describe the human mind was an iceberg.
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Why does the professor say this? |
Function of What Is Said. The professor mentions the iceberg as a metaphor that Freud used to describe his theory of consciousness. |
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| ✗ | A To describe how the human brain is physically organized |
The professor is not arguing that the human brain is physically organized like an iceberg. |
| ✓ | B To illustrate Freud’s distinct categories of consciousness |
Correct. The iceberg metaphor is used to illustrate levels of consciousness, according to Freud. |
| ✗ | C To explain why Freud became a psychoanalyst |
The professor never discussed why Freud became a psychoanalyst. |
| ✗ | D To remind students of a previous point |
The discussion of the iceberg is meant to illustrate a new idea, not a previous point. |
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What does the professor say about art and religion? |
Detail. The professor states that Jung viewed art and religion as part of a “collective unconscious.” |
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| ✗ | A That it is not possible to understand why they exist, according to Freud |
The professor does not discuss art or religion in relation to Freud. |
| ✗ | B That they are the opposite of dreaming, according to Jung |
The professor does not state that Jung believed this. |
| ✗ | C That Freud studied them to better understand dreams |
The professor does not discuss art or religion in relation to Freud. |
| ✓ | D That they are part of the collective unconscious, according to Jung |
Correct. This is the context in which art and religion are mentioned by the professor. |
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What point does the professor make when he refers to introverts and extroverts? |
Organization. The professor states that Jung created these categories. |
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| ✓ | A Jung was the one who created these terms. |
Correct. The point the professor is making is that Jung created these categories. |
| ✗ | B Students should become aware of which category they fall in. |
The professor does not mention this idea in the lecture. |
| ✗ | C All people are chiefly one or the other, but not both. |
The professor does not state this in the lecture. |
| ✗ | D The concepts of introversion and extroversion introduced him to Jung. |
The professor does not state this in the lecture. |
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The professor describes the collective unconscious to the class. What is this description about? |
Detail. The professor describes the collective unconscious as a cultural “atmosphere,” which includes art and religion as institutions that connect people to one another. |
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| ✗ | A How Freud invented psychoanalysis |
The professor does not discuss the collective unconscious in relation to Freud. |
| ✗ | B How the collective unconscious is the tip of the iceberg for human thinking |
The professor does not discuss the collective unconscious in relation to the iceberg metaphor. |
| ✗ | C Why Freud did not believe in a collective unconscious |
The professor does not discuss the collective unconscious in relation to Freud. |
| ✓ | D Jung’s belief that this is how humans feel connected to one another |
Correct. The professor describes Jung’s view of the collective unconscious as institutions that connect people. |
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What is the professor’s opinion of dream interpretation? |
Speaker’s Attitude. The professor believes that while Jung and Freud held different views of dreaming, whether one is more correct than the other is unknown and perhaps cannot be known. He expresses this view at the end of the lecture. |
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| ✗ | A Jung is more in line with scientific perspectives than Freud is. |
The professor does not state or imply this. |
| ✓ | B Developing a perfect understanding of the nature of dreaming may not be possible. |
Correct. This is the view expressed by the professor at the conclusion of the lecture. |
| ✗ | C Freud’s work is more applicable to modern dreaming than Jung’s work is. |
The professor does not state or imply this. There was also no discussion of “modern dreaming” as distinct from other kinds of dreaming. |
| ✗ | D It is more valid to believe in a collective unconscious than to not believe in one. |
The professor does not state or imply this. |