What's Really Happening When You Have a Freudian Slip

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Table of Contents

History

Types

Causes

Examples

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The Preconscious, Conscious, and Unconscious Minds

History of the Freudian Slip

Freudian slips are named after their creator, famed psychoanalystSigmund Freud. In his 1901 book, “The Psychopathology of Everyday Life,” Freud described a variety of different types and examples of Freudian slips, writing that speech blunders are the result of a “disturbing influence of something outside of the intended speech” like anunconsciousthought, belief, or wish.

He also addressed the problem of forgetting names, saying that it may sometimes be related to repression. In Freud’s view, unacceptable thoughts or beliefs are withheld fromconsciousawareness, and these slips help reveal what is hidden in the unconscious.

The Original Freudian Slip

Freud based his idea on his work with a young man who misquoted a Latin phrase from “The Aeneid.” The young man had dropped one of the Latin words when he repeated it, and Freud believed that dropping the word offered a revealing look into his unconscious mind.

Throughpsychoanalysis, Freud determined that the word reminded the young man of blood, which he believed was linked to a pregnancy scare the man had experienced with his girlfriend. Freud suggested that the man had blocked out the word because it reminded him of this negative experience.

Types of Freudian Slips

Some theorists have also suggested that there are different types of Freudian slips.

Avoidance Coping and Why It Creates Additional Stress

Causes of a Freudian Slip

We don’t know exactly why Freudian slips happen and, since they require an impromptu mistake on the part of the speaker, they are difficult to test. However, there are a few possible explanations for why they happen and what they really mean.

Thought Suppression

Some research does support Freud’s theory that unconscious or even suppressed thoughts can increase the likelihood of verbal slips.

For example, one 1979 study found that people who thought they might receive an electric shock were more likely to make shock-related verbal mistakes. Those who were near an attractive female experimenter were also more likely to mistake nonsense phrases for words related to beautiful women.

In a famous 1987 experiment, participants who had been asked specifically not to think about a white bear tended to think of the animal quite frequently—an average of once per minute.Based on these findings, psychologist Daniel Wegner developed what he referred to as a “theory of ironic process” to explain why suppressing certain thoughts can be so difficult.

While certain parts of the brain suppress the hidden thoughts, another part of our mind occasionally “checks in” to make sure that we are still not thinking about it—ironically bringing the very thoughts we are trying to keep hidden to the forefront of our minds.

In many cases, the harder we try not to think of something, the more frequently it springs to mind—and the more likely we are to express it verbally. This paradox ofthought suppressioncan be particularly disruptive for people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Language Processing

Verbal mistakes may also be related to the way our brains process language. We silently edit our words before we speak, monitoring ourselves for mistakes or inappropriate language. This process happens constantly; Freudian slips may be moments where the process failed and a mistake slipped out before the brain was able to catch it.

People make around one to two errors for every 1,000 words they say. This amounts to somewhere between seven and 22 verbal slip-ups during the average day, depending on how much a person talks.While Freud imparted a great deal of hidden meaning in these errors, verbal mistakes may simply be an inevitable part of life.

Other ExplanationsIn other cases, these misstatements might simply be verbal mistakes. They might also stem from the power of suggestion, distraction, orsleep deprivation.

Other Explanations

In other cases, these misstatements might simply be verbal mistakes. They might also stem from the power of suggestion, distraction, orsleep deprivation.

Examples of a Freudian Slip

Today, we often use the term Freudian slip in a humorous way when a person makes a mistake in speech (especially one with sexual undertones). You’ve probably heard plenty of amusing slips of the tongue in your own life. Think about the time your biology teacher accidentally uttered “orgasm” instead of “organism,” or the time you accidentally told someone “Sad to meet you!” instead of “Glad to meet you!”

Here are just a few examples of famous Freudian slips:

An Overview of Sigmund Freud’s Theories

9 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Freud S.The psychopathology of everyday life.Berg H de.Freud’s Theory and Its Use in Literary and Cultural Studies: An Introduction(NED-New edition). Boydell & Brewer. 2003. doi:10.7722/j.ctt17t74hpMotley MT, Baars BJ.Effects of cognitive set upon laboratory induced verbal (Freudian) slips.J Speech Lang Hear Res. 1979;22(3):421-432. doi:10.1044/jshr.2203.421Wegner DM, Schneider DJ, Carter SR, White TL.Paradoxical effects of thought suppression.J Pers Soc Psychol. 1987;53(1):5-13. doi:10.1037//0022-3514.53.1.5Psychology Today.Slips of the tongue.Holding BC, Sundelin T, Lekander M, Axelsson J.Sleep deprivation and its effects on communication during individual and collaborative tasks.Sci Rep. 2019;9(1):3131. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-39271-6NPR.Pope Francis lets a vulgarity slip during Vatican address.Kipnis L.Condi’s inner life. Slate.HInes R.Amanda Seyfried tells on ‘Ted 2’ co-star Mark Wahlberg: ‘He stole my dog!‘Today.

9 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Freud S.The psychopathology of everyday life.Berg H de.Freud’s Theory and Its Use in Literary and Cultural Studies: An Introduction(NED-New edition). Boydell & Brewer. 2003. doi:10.7722/j.ctt17t74hpMotley MT, Baars BJ.Effects of cognitive set upon laboratory induced verbal (Freudian) slips.J Speech Lang Hear Res. 1979;22(3):421-432. doi:10.1044/jshr.2203.421Wegner DM, Schneider DJ, Carter SR, White TL.Paradoxical effects of thought suppression.J Pers Soc Psychol. 1987;53(1):5-13. doi:10.1037//0022-3514.53.1.5Psychology Today.Slips of the tongue.Holding BC, Sundelin T, Lekander M, Axelsson J.Sleep deprivation and its effects on communication during individual and collaborative tasks.Sci Rep. 2019;9(1):3131. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-39271-6NPR.Pope Francis lets a vulgarity slip during Vatican address.Kipnis L.Condi’s inner life. Slate.HInes R.Amanda Seyfried tells on ‘Ted 2’ co-star Mark Wahlberg: ‘He stole my dog!‘Today.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Freud S.The psychopathology of everyday life.Berg H de.Freud’s Theory and Its Use in Literary and Cultural Studies: An Introduction(NED-New edition). Boydell & Brewer. 2003. doi:10.7722/j.ctt17t74hpMotley MT, Baars BJ.Effects of cognitive set upon laboratory induced verbal (Freudian) slips.J Speech Lang Hear Res. 1979;22(3):421-432. doi:10.1044/jshr.2203.421Wegner DM, Schneider DJ, Carter SR, White TL.Paradoxical effects of thought suppression.J Pers Soc Psychol. 1987;53(1):5-13. doi:10.1037//0022-3514.53.1.5Psychology Today.Slips of the tongue.Holding BC, Sundelin T, Lekander M, Axelsson J.Sleep deprivation and its effects on communication during individual and collaborative tasks.Sci Rep. 2019;9(1):3131. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-39271-6NPR.Pope Francis lets a vulgarity slip during Vatican address.Kipnis L.Condi’s inner life. Slate.HInes R.Amanda Seyfried tells on ‘Ted 2’ co-star Mark Wahlberg: ‘He stole my dog!‘Today.

Freud S.The psychopathology of everyday life.

Berg H de.Freud’s Theory and Its Use in Literary and Cultural Studies: An Introduction(NED-New edition). Boydell & Brewer. 2003. doi:10.7722/j.ctt17t74hp

Motley MT, Baars BJ.Effects of cognitive set upon laboratory induced verbal (Freudian) slips.J Speech Lang Hear Res. 1979;22(3):421-432. doi:10.1044/jshr.2203.421

Wegner DM, Schneider DJ, Carter SR, White TL.Paradoxical effects of thought suppression.J Pers Soc Psychol. 1987;53(1):5-13. doi:10.1037//0022-3514.53.1.5

Psychology Today.Slips of the tongue.

Holding BC, Sundelin T, Lekander M, Axelsson J.Sleep deprivation and its effects on communication during individual and collaborative tasks.Sci Rep. 2019;9(1):3131. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-39271-6

NPR.Pope Francis lets a vulgarity slip during Vatican address.

Kipnis L.Condi’s inner life. Slate.

HInes R.Amanda Seyfried tells on ‘Ted 2’ co-star Mark Wahlberg: ‘He stole my dog!‘Today.

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