The social unconscious and the collective unconscious: the Jungian perspective

In this chapter, the author illustrates several key concepts in analytical psychology, the branch of psychoanalysis developed by Carl Gustav Jung. According to Carl Gustav Jung, the ego is influenced by both external environmental stimuli, as experienced in a particular family and culture, and internal psychic stimuli, including those energies that originate from the archetypal realm of the collective unconscious. As a Jungian analyst who applies the theory of analytical psychology to individuals and a variety of social systems, including groups, the author offers a selection of concepts in analytical psychology that may expand the purview of the study of the social unconscious. The layer of the unconscious that contains repressed, infantile, personal experience is the level Jung explored during the word association test. The author also illustrates the relevance of analytical psychology concerning collective issues such as race, gender, and politics by drawing on current political and societal issues.