Question:

Repressed information can be brought into the conscious mind by all of the following except?

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Repressed memory sits in the unconscious; which option only reaches preconscious material?
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
  • Dream
  • Focused attention
  • Hypnosis
  • Somatic stimulation
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The Correct Option is B

Solution and Explanation

Step 1: In Freud's topographic theory of mind there are three regions: the unconscious, the preconscious and the conscious. Repressed memories lie in the unconscious, where traumatic material is forced down and held out of awareness.

Step 2: Focused attention can retrieve only preconscious thoughts, which sit between the unconscious and conscious and are readily accessible. It cannot directly reach repressed unconscious material, so focused attention is the exception.

Step 3: The methods that can actually recover repressed unconscious memories include hypnosis, dream interpretation, automatic writing, somatic stimulation and EMDR (eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing).

Step 4: Since dream, hypnosis and somatic stimulation all access repressed material while focused attention does not, the answer is focused attention.
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