{"id":122,"date":"2015-11-06T23:10:49","date_gmt":"2015-11-06T23:10:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/cognitiveneuroh\/?p=122"},"modified":"2015-11-06T23:10:49","modified_gmt":"2015-11-06T23:10:49","slug":"what-the-duck-is-wrong-with-your-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/cognitiveneuroh\/2015\/11\/06\/what-the-duck-is-wrong-with-your-speech\/","title":{"rendered":"What the duck is wrong with your speech?"},"content":{"rendered":"

What makes your brain let out\u00a0words you never wanted to say?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"george-bush\"<\/a>

They misunderestimated me. – George W. Bush<\/p><\/div>\n

Freud’s Theory On The Unconscious Mind<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sigmund Freud, the controversial Austrian psychologist credited as the father of psychoanalysis, attributed verbal gaffes to underlying subconscious motives. \u00a0Freud founded the theory that conflict between the conscious perception of reality and the motives\u00a0of the\u00a0unconscious mind causes unintended revelations of repressed\u00a0material. \u00a0These miscues, or parapraxes, \u00a0are referred to as Freudian slips and they have haunted public speeches, celebrity interviews, and everyday conversations alike.<\/p>\n

The Science Behind The Slips<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"freud\"<\/p>\n

Researchers have\u00a0debunked the majority of Freudian theories but the cognitive causes of linguistic slips remains. \u00a0Cognitive scientist Gary Dell uses the interactions between three linguistic networks (lexical, phonological, and semantic) to explain his viewpoint. \u00a0Dell believes the three networks do not always sync correctly during “spreading activation”,\u00a0which\u00a0can impede their functionality. \u00a0When the networks get in each others way, linguistic slips result. \u00a0Dell maintains that slips of the tongue are proof of dexterity of the human mind.<\/p>\n

A second perspective focused on the unconscious mind comes from Daniel Wegner. \u00a0He believes that the more you attempt to suppress a thought into your unconscious mind, the more your conscious mind has to regulate it. \u00a0Consequentially, by trying so hard to not say something, you end up letting it loose. \u00a0Wegner and his contemporary, Michael Motley, hypothesize that the harder you try to suppress a thought, the more vulnerable you are to saying it. \u00a0Also, slips are exponentially more likely when you are in a distracting environment.<\/p>\n

Freudian Ships Are Everywhere<\/strong><\/p>\n

No one is immune to parapraxis. \u00a0Videos and transcripts have caught prominent politicians making embarrassing slips of the tongue.<\/p>\n