The Iceberg Theory In Psychology: What It Is And How It Describes The Mind
The iceberg theory was proposed by Sigmund Freud, father of psychoanalysis, in it he presents the simile between the structure of the iceberg and the elements of his first topic.
And what is the first topic? It is one of the most recognized models in the psychoanalytic current; It describes the structures of the mind according to Freud: the unconscious, the preconscious and the conscious. The iceberg theory will say that the visible part (above the waterline) of the ice structure represents the conscious part of the individual’s psyche, the one that is known and accessible, and that the submerged part of the iceberg is equivalent to the unconscious, associated with the illogical part and linked to drives.
In this article we will see what the iceberg theory in Psychology consists of the two principles that act as its foundations, and what has been their role in the History of Psychology.
The iceberg theory in the field of Psychology was proposed by the well-known neurologist Sigmund Freud, who is the father of psychoanalysis. Despite the criticism that his theory has received due to lack of scientific evidence, his ideas continue to be taught and studied in the Psychology degree as part of its History. Regarding the theory that concerns us, the author uses the structure of an iceberg to represent your first topic, also known as a topographic model
In this first topic he talks to us about the conscious, which refers to the relationship that exists between the outside world and the mnesic system (memory), the preconscious, which contains information that does not reach consciousness, but which is easy to access, and the unconscious, which refers to the most illogical part linked to drives, which are the forces that would move the individual towards a goal.
In order for people to better understand each term that makes up the topographic model, in the field of psychoanalysis the figure of the iceberg began to be used as visual support. If we think about how we find these structures in the sea, it is characteristic that from the outside we only see a small piece of the actual size of these figures. The expression “it is only the tip of the iceberg” is well known, which implies that a phenomenon is only the part that we know of a much more complex reality: There really is a lot more information that we are not yet aware of
Well, Freud would propose that the visible part of the iceberg, the tip, refers to conscious knowledge, and the hidden part, the one that we do not see and is covered by water, is the unconscious. For its part, the preconscious would be the middle ground, the part of the iceberg structure closest to the surface, which is easier to end up coming out of the water, but which we still cannot easily see. In this way, Freud would tell us that it is necessary to know the three psychic structures and that, therefore, it is essential to try to reach the unconscious.
Principles governing the iceberg theory
The iceberg theory and the different structures already proposed depend on two principles: psychic determinism and the Freudian unconscious.
psychic determinism
One of the principles that governs Freud’s iceberg theory is psychic determinism. The author states that nothing that happens is arbitrary, every action and behavior has a force or cause behind it that explains its appearance We will always find an antecedent that acts as a driver of behavior. Thus, it will be necessary to know what the cause or reason for certain events is, since in this way we will be able to treat the different problems or alterations that arise.
This relationship between cause and effect, according to Freud, we would see in all actions, such as: playing sports because you like it, drinking water because you are thirsty or going to bed because you are tired and want to sleep. We see how most of the time we are aware of the cause behind the behavior, even though we perform it automatically.
The Freudian unconscious
The Freudian unconscious is linked to the illogical, timeless part, close to the drives , being the structure that receives the most importance and most studies in the psychoanalysis proposed by Freud. Despite being related to knowledge that we are not aware of, it is what explains a large part of our behaviors, especially those related to alterations.
The unconscious is governed by primary processes linked to the pleasure principle , where energy circulates freely and tends to be satisfied without obstacles. Now, with the purpose of controlling the unconscious, there are censorships, which have the function of controlling the free circulation of energy.
In this way, Freud will propose different modes of intervention in therapy and different techniques aimed at knowing the information of the unconscious, which, as we see in the representation of the iceberg, refers to the part of the largest structure, the submerged part. By achieving knowledge of the unconscious, the subject could know the reason for his behavior and treat the possible effects or alterations that are hidden in it.
in the unconscious thoughts, sensations, emotions, or experiences that cause us problems or affect us are stored if they occur in the conscious. That is, we keep them out of consciousness in order to function better in our daily lives. Thus we can react to different events and situations in a way that we do not understand, since it is determined and caused by the unconscious.
A characteristic example of the information contained in the unconscious is that referred to dreams Freud affirms that desires are unleashed in dreams and it is the best way to know our unconscious. Such is the importance that he placed on it that he published a book titled “The Interpretation of Dreams.” Other examples of the manifestation of the unconscious are failed acts related to forgetfulness that occurs in our daily lives, such as someone’s name or neurotic symptoms that in this case were linked to pathology.
The application of the Iceberg Theory in therapy
As we already know, the iceberg metaphor represents the first topic of the models proposed by Freud, but at the same time we can also link it with the second topic or structural model This second topic proposes the division of the subject into the “it” (refers to the unconscious and is linked to sexual and aggressive impulses), the “super-ego” (refers to the moral and ethical part of the subject, it tells us what what is right and we should do, the ideal self), and the “I” (refers to the interaction between impulses and expectations, that is, between the “id” and the “super-ego”).
For Freud, the correct functioning of the human mind depends on the balance that exists between the different psychic structures. When the “I” is not able to control and balance the differences between what is desired and what is correct, between the pleasure principle, linked to the free circulation of energy, and the more rational and logical principle of need, problems appear. . That is, this imbalance would be the cause of the development of psychopathology.
So that, The conflict arises as the contrast between conscious and unconscious , such as the need to reduce the tension generated by basic instinctive impulses. In this way, the symptoms that appear are due to a formation of compromise between the drives, already mentioned, and the defenses, which the “I” generates to achieve balance between the different structures.
This formation of commitment refers to the attempts of the unconscious to ensure that the repressed contents transfer to the conscious, thus increasing the sanction generated by the superego and with it the increase in the feeling of discomfort and suffering.
Likewise, what this iceberg theory presents to us is the continuous influence of the unconscious exerted on the behavior carried out by the subject The psychic determinism that hides the influence of the unconscious and that explains a large part of our behaviors. What Freud wanted to express with this representation that can be illustrated with an iceberg is that we cannot remain only with what we know about our behavior, since that represents a small percentage, a small portion, of what is really part of each subject.
As we already said, we cannot directly access the unconscious, it is expressed in different ways such as: through dreams, forgetfulness or omissions, among others. Despite the difficulty of access, there would be some techniques that psychoanalysis applies to reach the unconscious and knowing and treating the cause of the pathology, these are governed by 5 basic rules.
The rules of psychoanalysis are: the basic rule that proposes that we should not carry out any type of censorship, nor criticize anything that comes to mind; the rule of free association, referring to relating different contents as they arise in our minds; the rule of floating attention to be able to reach the unconscious (we must remain attentive to everything without focusing on anything); the rule of neutrality of the analyst (the psychologist cannot judge anything the patient says); and the rule of abstinence (desires cannot be allowed to act either on the part of the patient or on the part of the therapist).
