Sigmund Freud is one of the most recognized figures in the world of psychology, a pioneer in the theories of psychoanalysis and one of the first people to use the psychotherapeutic method to treat mental illnesses. Despite raising some controversy by relating all ideas to trauma and sexual repression, Freud’s personality theories continue to be studied and analyzed in the community of psychologists.
One of the metaphors that Freud made to explain his theory of the unconscious and how our mind works is Freud’s iceberg metaphor. In it, the famous psychoanalyst states that the mind or “psyche” is structured in four parts and only one of them is completely visible, like an iceberg. If you want to know more about this theory, we recommend you continue reading this Psychology-Online article.
What is Freud’s iceberg metaphor?
We always tend to consider only a part of who we are, as well as what surrounds us. Does only what we see really exist? Throughout history, psychology has tried to refute this idea, considered simplistic and incomplete.
The Austrian doctor, called , tried to do this through the famous metaphor of the iceberg, an elaborate theory about the functioning of the mind or “psyche” that is difficult to summarize. Next, I explain the main pillars that make it up:
1. Stages of psychosexual development
One of Freud’s most controversial theories is characterized by talking about sexuality in the most infantile stages of the human being. According to this model, individuals go through a series of stages related to the exploration of different erogenous zones of the body during childhood.
- Stage oral (0-1 years).
- Stage anal (1-4 years).
- Stage phallic (4-7 years).
- Stage of latency (7 years to adolescence).
- Stage genital (late adolescence to old age).
2. The unconscious mind
Although the concept of the unconscious was not invented by Sigmund Freud (great scholars such as Charcot or Bernheim already talked about the unconscious in their theories). The Austrian psychoanalyst developed a model to understand the human mind in which he gave a lot of weight to the unconscious processes of the “psyche.”
For Freud, it is a vast undiscovered terrain where all our traumas, thoughts and repressed impulses reside. Apart from the unconscious, two more structures are also defined: the conscious mind and the preconscious. This theory is closely linked to Freud’s iceberg metaphor.
3. The “I”, the “SuperEgo” and the “It”
This is defined as the structural model of the mind. The model states that we have three mental structures that pursue different interests and often conflict. Meanwhile he “It“represents our impulses and desires, the”I“These are our values for the world and the world.”SuperMe“is the moral orientation of our psyche, the social interpretation of good and evil.
4. Interpretation of dreams
Finally, a fundamental pillar in Freud’s theory is the importance that he himself gives to dreams. According to your theory of psychoanalysisIf we correctly interpret the meaning of dreams, we will be able to understand certain unconscious elements that are represented in the dream world.
For example, according to his point of view, we have repressed sexual impulses since snakes have a phallic shape (similar to a male genital).
Levels of consciousness according to Freud: the iceberg metaphor
The iceberg metaphor It has a message that goes beyond structuring levels of thought. It also wants to convey the message that, on many occasions, the problem lies in an inconspicuous part of reality. As happens with icebergs. According to this theory, the conscious part of the human being is equivalent to the tip of the iceberg: a small fragment that we often tend to interpret as the entirety of our thinking or “psyche.” However, beneath this thought lie other, less visible levels.
According to Freud, the mind is structured on three main levels:
1. The conscious mind
Consciousness is made up of all those thoughts and sensations that are processed through the senses and emotions. It’s related to reality and everything what we can conceive directly, as an elaborate thought or a premeditated decision. According to Freud’s iceberg metaphor, this is the tip of the iceberg of our psyche.
2. The preconscious mind
This level is defined as the passage from the conscious mind to the unconscious. It is made up of thoughts, feelings or sensations that are not consciously processed but, nevertheless, can come to the surface without much problem.
3. The unconscious mind
The deepest part of Freud’s iceberg is the famous unconscious, it contains all the content repressed by the conscious mind, impulses, forgotten conflicts…According to Sigmund Freud’s theory of personality, most of our mind It is influenced by the unconscious, in a few words: we are not conscious owners of our actions. The unconscious mind is practically inaccessible and can only be inferred through psychoanalysis.
To support this phenomenon, Freud describes the concept of failed act. This phenomenon is described as an act that we do without thinking and whose consequences reflect part of our unconscious, for example:
- Start a relationship and call your partner by your ex’s name
According to Freud, this is a clear example of a “failed act” in which the unconscious arises through acts not consciously planned.
How to apply the iceberg theory in psychology
It is important to note that Sigmund Freud was not the only one to adopt the iceberg structure in order to develop his theory. This model is very useful to explain theories related to the hidden layers of personality and emotions.
As we have seen, Freud postulates his iceberg theory of the functioning of the human psyche based on the concept of balance between psychic energies. According to this principle, the rational instances of the conscious I are contrasted with the apparently unfounded ones of the unconscious psychic structure (l’Es), as well as the numerous rules of social coexistence that each individual is forced to accept when living in society (the Super-Ego).
From this perspective, people’s behaviors are determined by the inner conflict between conscious and unconscious, which is perpetuated incessantly in the psyche of each individual. Each choice is a fight between life and death instinct, between libido (eros) and destruction (thanatos).
If we take the iceberg theory to excess, according to , each action of the individual finds a basis of unconscious motivation, to the point that the metaphor of the human mind as an iceberg soon becomes popular. We explain it below:
The behavior of individuals would be the tip of the iceberg, which during navigation appears in all its greatness and majesty. But if we could observe what happens in the depths of the sea, we would discover that the emerging part represents only a tenth of the entire ice structure.
In the same way, human behavior is the result apparently rational source of enormous submerged psychic energies, which cannot be found except indirectly, through of particular expressions of the unconscious as in dreams, in lapses, in substitutions or in forgetfulness.
In human resourcesFor example, the metaphor of the iceberg is used to affirm that a person will develop one potential or another depending on the position and responsibilities that he or she performs in his or her job. The iceberg model in human resources places skills and knowledge in the visible part and character and in the most hidden area of the model.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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References
- Freud, S. (2004). Introductory lectures on psychoanalysis: 3 lecture: failed acts (continued). Complete works, 15.
Bibliography
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- De Beni, M., Bommassar, R., Grossele, L. (1999). Psychology and sociology. Introductory course. Rome: Città Nuova Editrice.
- Testa, E. (2019). Freud, the iceberg and the prima topica: quanto sono belli e montruosi gli abissi! Retrieved from: https://il-cosmo.com/2019/12/05/freud-liceberg-e-la-prima-topica-quanto-sono-belli-e-mostruosi-gli-abissi/