Opportunistic Planning and Freudian Slips

Abstract

Freud’s study of the psychology of errors (see, e. g., Freud, 1935), including notably slips of the tongue, led him to the conclusion that many such errors are not merely the result of random malfunctions in mental processing, but rather are meaningful psychological acts. That is, they are intentional actions in every sense of the word, reflecting and indeed carrying out the goals, whether conscious or not, of the person who commits them. In particular, Freud argued, such errors stem from attempts to carry out suppressed intentions, intentions that have been formed but then in some sense withdrawn because they conflict with other, more powerful intentions.