Marketing in the Republic (part 4)

In The Ego and the Id (1923) Freud made the distinction between the 'preconscious', ideas which an individual can bring to consciousness almost at will and 'unconscious' thought which because of its disturbing nature is not easily made conscious although it still may indirectly influence behavior. Freud posited that people may consciously censor and repress, display or project such threatening ideas. As an instance of 'repression' Freud offers the case history of  'Anna O'. Despite the summer heat, Anna refused to drink water. She often raised the glass to her lips only to repel it with an air of disgust. No one, including Anna herself, knew the source of this sudden malady. It was only several days later when under hypnosis that Anna revealed that she had gone into someone else's room and had seen a dog drinking out of a glass. She had felt revulsion and disgust at the sight. Once she had described this situation Anna felt better and was able to drink. Freud's explanation of Anna's predicament was that this image had so revolted Anna's sensibilities that she had unconsciously repressed all knowledge of the scene and had converted this repressed disgust into a phobia concerning drinking.