emotional unconscious
that aspect of the nonconscious mind that consists of unreportable emotional or motivational states. It is suggested that such states may influence thought and action without the individual becoming consciously aware of them. The emotional unconscious is comparable to, but distinct from, the cognitive unconscious, which consists of implicit percepts, memories, and thoughts. The extent to which an individual can be said to have emotions without being conscious of them, however, is controversial. [proposed by U.S. cognitive psychologist John F. Kihlstrom (1948– )]