Psychology is an amazing field of research that is growing all the time. Having only really taken off in the past century, psychology, like any other science, builds off of previous research in its exploration of humanity. As a result, if you want to be hip to the most recent scientific findings, then you have to at least have a passing familiarity with the basics.
More often then not, a question that comes up in psychology is the subconscious verses the unconscious. What do these two terms mean? More importantly, how are these two terms different? Lets take a moment to quickly define both.
The Subconscious
First, lets take a look at the subconscious. As the name would imply, the subconscious is below the conscious. Think of an iceberg. An iceberg is significantly bigger below water then above water. In this example, you consciousness is what you are aware of, representing the iceberg visible over the water. The subconscious on the other hand is what you are not aware of.
The Unconscious
The unconscious is a term coined by Freud when talking about the part of the mind that we do not directly have access to. For Freud, the unconscious mind includes ideas that are not socially acceptable, wishes and desires we may have, painful emotions that we may have repressed, and traumatic memories.
So, How Are They Different?
Though the subconscious mind may be hidden from our awareness, we still have access to it. This means that every part of our subconscious could be accessed by us given enough time and attention. Freud’s unconscious is different, because according to Freud, there are parts of the unconscious that we as people cannot access without outside help. In addition, Freud labels what is going on with the unconscious, while the subconscious can have a much wider array of psychological phenomena occuring within it.
What Term Is Used Today?
Freud is critical to understanding how Psychology has evolved as a field of study over the last century. That being said, many of his ideas have either been refined or replaced in Psychology. The unconscious is a good example of this trend. While the idea that there are things we do not have access to in our own minds has been kept, the idea that we have no awareness without outside help has been tossed. This new definition fits into the idea of the subconscious now, being a general realm below our own awareness where thoughts exist.