In Dr. Freud's own words, "a suppression of a previous intention to say something is the indispensable condition for the occurrence of slips of the tongue" ( ). He would argue that slips of the tongue were never accidents, that they always revealed some underlying unconscious or repressed need or impulse. For instance, Freud once set up the scenario of a professor of anatomy who was lecturing on the female genitalia and was heard to declare "In the case of the female genitals, in spite of many temptations (Versuchungen)--- I beg your pardon, experiments (Versuche)" ( ). Freud's theory suggests that this professor's slip of the tongue arouse because of some suppressed impulse or intention on the part of the professor. In Freud's mind, this verbal slip co

Furthermore, Freud and his psychoanalysts would assert that this suppression of intent or impulse, which they made the cornerstone of all slips of the tongue, could operate at three different levels. On one level the suppression could be conscious and deliberate, on another the suppression can be identified afterward by the person who made the slip but was not intended beforehand, and at the deepest level the person absolutely denies the suppression. For Freudians, it really doesn't matter what level the person who has made a slip of the tongue is operating at. For them "in all cases the slip is the result of the conflict between two forces--- the underlying, unacceptable need and the tendency to keep it hidden" ( ). Therefore if there was no other evidence or authority on the subject, it might seem that all slips of the tongue were Freudian, that they all happened due to some suppressed impulse or intention. However there is much evidence to rival Freud's theory; while some slips may be Freudian, this is certainly not always the case.

Furthermore, contemporary cognitive psychology disputes the psychoanalytical idea that all slips of the tongue are Freudian by exploring the idea of the Need System and the Intention System. Precisely with regard to slips of the tongue, the Need System is able to function independently of the Intention System through the Word Store. This means that.........(a person may say something solely based on a need with or without having an intent???)...... For example, a person expect

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Approximate Word count = 1029
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)