Cognitive Science and the Unconscious

Can a worthwhile exchange be set up between the seemingly opposing viewpoints of psychoanalytic therapy and cognitive science? Stein and the other contributing authors of Cognitive Science and the Unconscious say yes. In fact, it is their contention that such an interchange of theory and method holds the promise of enriching both disciplines. Can a worthwhile exchange be set up between the seemingly opposing viewpoints of psychoanalytic therapy and cognitive science? Stein and the other contributing authors of Cognitive Science and the Unconscious say yes. In fact, it is their contention that such an interchange of theory and method—combining the theoretical clarity and empirical rigor of cognitive science with the richness and complexity of clinical work—holds the promise of enriching both disciplines. The concept of unconsciousness, as variously conceived by psychoanalysis ("The Unconscious") and cognitive science ("unconscious processing"), is the reference point of this dialogue. Written by a distinguished group of researchers and clinicians, this volume examines those aspects of the unconscious mind most relevant to the psychiatric practitioner, including unconscious processing of affective and traumatic experience, unconscious mechanisms in dissociative states and disorders, and cognitive approaches to dreaming and repression. Although cognitive psychology forms the backbone of the book, many of the chapters illuminate relevant work from the fields of artificial intelligence, linguistics, and biology. Although current cognitive-behavioural therapies and psychopharmacological treatments have the remarkable ability to resolve and manage many psychiatric problems, these methods are not universally successful. Unconscious patterns and conflicts seem to be at the root of many patients' difficulties and warrant psychodynamic approaches. Unfortunately, the fact that the unconscious and the structure of the unconscious mind are impervious to laboratory analysis and scientific proof makes psychoanalysis a dubious, unreliable treatment option in some professional circles. The burgeoning, interdisciplinary field of cognitive science, however, offers new ways to approach the unconscious and the potential for the empirical testing of psychodynamic theories and methods. Written by a group of researchers and clinicians, this text surveys a major strand in the fresh research to identify the essential characteristics and effects of the unconscious: the formulation and testing of psychodynamic claims using the approaches of contemporary science. It examines those aspects of the unconscious mind most relevant to the psychiatric practitioner, including unconscious processing of affective and traumatic experience, unconscious processes in dissociative states and disorders, and cognitive approaches to dreaming and repression. While the backbone of the book is cognitive psychology, many of the contributions illuminate relevant work from the fields of artificial intelligence, linguistics and biology.