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Mind
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=== Conscious and unconscious === {{main|Consciousness|Unconscious mind}} An influential distinction is between conscious and unconscious mental processes. Consciousness is the awareness of external and internal circumstances. It encompasses a wide variety of states, such as perception, thinking, [[Fantasy (psychology)|fantasizing]], dreaming, and [[altered states of consciousness]].<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Bernstein|Nash|2006|pp=137β138}} | {{harvnb|Davies|2001|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=-wt1aZrGXLYC&pg=PA190 190β192]}} | {{harvnb|Gennaro|loc=Lead Section, Β§ 1. Terminological Matters: Various Concepts of Consciousness}} }}</ref> In the case of phenomenal consciousness, the awareness involves a direct and qualitative experience of mental phenomena, like the auditory experience of attending a concert. Access consciousness, by contrast, refers to an awareness of information that is accessible to other mental processes but not necessarily part of current experience. For example, the information stored in a memory may be accessible when drawing conclusions or guiding actions even when the person is not explicitly thinking about it.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Davies|2001|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=-wt1aZrGXLYC&pg=PA191 191β192]}} | {{harvnb|Smithies|2019|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=s7emDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA83 83β84]}} | {{harvnb|Gennaro|loc=Β§ 1. Terminological Matters: Various Concepts of Consciousness}} }}</ref> Unconscious or nonconscious mental processes operate without the individual's awareness but can still influence mental phenomena on the level of thought, feeling, and action. Some theorists distinguish between [[preconscious]], [[subconscious]], and unconscious states depending on their accessibility to conscious awareness.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Bernstein|Nash|2006|pp=137β138}} | {{harvnb|Kihlstrom|Tobias|1991|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=GwxnDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA212 212]}} | {{harvnb|American Psychological Association|2018|loc=[https://dictionary.apa.org/unconscious Β§ Unconscious]}} }}</ref>{{efn|The precise differences between these concepts are disputed. In Freud's psychoanalysis, the preconscious mind lies outside current awareness but can easily be accessed, whereas the unconscious mind is further removed from deliberate access. The word ''subconscious'' is sometimes used as a synonym of ''preconscious''.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Birch|Malim|2017|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=dzRIEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA205 204β205]}} | {{harvnb|Sayers|2020|p=100}} }}</ref>}} When applied to the overall state of a person rather than specific processes, the term ''[[Unconsciousness|unconscious]]'' implies that the person lacks any awareness of their environment and themselves, like during a [[coma]].<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Gennaro|loc=Lead Section, Β§ 1. Terminological Matters: Various Concepts of Consciousness}} | {{harvnb|Kind|2023|loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=_VC_EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT25 Β§ 2.1 Phenomenal Consciousness]}} }}</ref> The unconscious mind plays a central role in [[psychoanalysis]] as the part of the mind that contains thoughts, memories, and desires not accessible to conscious introspection. According to [[Sigmund Freud]], the [[psychological mechanism]] of [[Repression (psychoanalysis)|repression]] keeps disturbing phenomena, like unacceptable sexual and aggressive impulses, from entering consciousness to protect the individual. Psychoanalytic theory studies symptoms caused by this process and therapeutic methods to avoid them by making the repressed thoughts accessible to conscious awareness.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Mijoia|2005|pp=1818β1819}} | {{harvnb|Bernstein|Nash|2006|pp=137β138}} | {{harvnb|Steinberg Gould|2020|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=yAT1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA151 151]}} | {{harvnb|American Psychological Association|2018|loc=[https://dictionary.apa.org/unconscious Β§ Unconscious]}} | {{harvnb|Carel|2006|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3iUMevXETJ8C&pg=PA176 176]}} }}</ref>
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