The concept of the collective unconscious was introduced by which psychologist?

• A. Jung
• B. Freud
• C. Adler
• D. Erikson

Answer: (A)

The concept being tested describes a layer of the psyche that is shared by all humans and inherited from our ancestral experiences, containing universal patterns or archetypes that surface in dreams, myths, and art across cultures. This idea was introduced by Carl Jung, who founded analytical psychology and argued that these archetypes—such as the Self, the Shadow, and the Anima/Animus—persist beyond individual life events and help explain cross-cultural similarities in symbols and stories. This contrasts with Freud’s view of the unconscious as primarily a repository of personal, repressed memories and desires. Adler focused on individual striving and social interest, while Erikson emphasized psychosocial development across the lifespan. So, the psychologist who introduced the collective unconscious is Carl Jung.