Unconscious motivation
Unconscious motivation is a short film from 1949 released on 16mm. It is held by at least two archives, including IUL Moving Image Archive and Prelinger Archives.
Explains how unconscious motives influence everyday actions. Shows psychological techniques for detecting repressed ideas and illustrates the benefits to mental health of their discovery and release.
| Unconscious motivation | |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Association Films, Inc |
Production companies | Association Films, Inc |
| Distributed by | Association Films, Inc |
Release date | 1949 |
Running time | 0:39:22 |
| Language | English |
More Details
- Summary
- While Don and Claire are in a hypnotic state, the hypnotist suggests that they are the subjects of a neurosis at an unconscious level. After re-awakening, Don and Claire feel inner tension, worry, and guilt. These feelings are analyzed through a questioning process;interpretation of symbolic dreams;and responses to the Rorschach inkblot, thermatic apperception, and word-association tests. With the understanding they gain from these tests, Don and Claire feel free of the guilt and anxiety they have had.
- Physical Format
- 1 Film (0:39:22)
- 16mm
- IUL Genres
- Educational
- Medical
- IUL Subject
- Counseling, Methodology
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
- Motivation (Psychology).
- Full Original Title
- Unconscious motivation
- internal id
- 71107
Shot List
1950s psychology experiment where young man and woman in their mid-twenties early thirties are hypnotized. Hypnotist narrates film from within space of film but always unseen, outside of frame. Great variety of facial expressions on both young man and woman: happy, sad, nervous, anxious, confused, uncomfortable, pensive. Expressive body language, gesticulations. Countless terrific sound-bites.
17:01:46:01 Young man in twenties or early thirties in v-neck sweater and woman of same age (couple ?); woman has hand on chin, both sit at table opposite Hypnotist. Great facial expressions on couple: confusion, discomfort, awkward laughter. Great sound-bites. �Don, do you know what the prearranged signal is?� Shaking head �I don�t know what you�re talking about� �Claire, do you know what the signal is?� With skepticism �Signal for what?� �Well a few moments ago you were hypnotized and told that shortly after awakening you would be given a signal which would put you back to sleep again. Now do you remember�You are awake aren�t you?� The woman replies �Yes�� and man finishing her sentence �I think so.�
17:02:43:03 Young man and woman seated at table, audio track �Watch this,� cut to CU tiny wind-up toy monkey with comb and mirror twirling tail while dancing on table beside open book.
17:02:47:03 Man and woman shaking head �no� giggling and laughing uncomfortably.
17:02:50:25 CU hand shutting open book on table beside wind-up toy monkey. MS man and woman confused then slowly falling asleep in their chairs.
17:03:57:23 Man and woman asleep at table. Audio: �Don are you fast asleep?� Don Mutters in semi-sleep state, �Yes.�
17:05:44:00 VS man and woman asleep in chairs seated at table slowly waking up as the hypnotist counts to five. Hypnotist says: �Now I shall awaken you. One, Two , Three, you are beginning to awaken more and more, four, and five. You are wide awake. Hello. How long have you been asleep?� Great shots of man and woman looking anxious, bothered, nervous, confused, pensive, fidgety, tense. Man biting nails and rubbing his hands together.
17:07:46:21 Distraught woman sitting beside anxious man says: �I just don�t feel good, I just, I don�t, I feel like I should be doing something, or, or I�ve done something, or what have you, what ever it was, it was wrong, or is wrong, or will be wrong, and I don�t know what to do about it.�
17:08:46:00 Voice of out of frame Hypnotist �Do you feel like there is some inner tension?� Man and woman leaning on table. Woman responds �Yes.� Man �Definitely with me.� Both look concerned, confused, unsettled. Hypnotist �But you don�t know what�s causing it?� Both man and woman shake heads �No.�
17:09:00:29 Hypnotist out of frame �Well lets see what this causes you to do.� Taps on table several times.
17:12:17:00 Man speaking to disconcerted woman �Because it seemed silly. It just didn�t seem right for anyone to be trying to get away from something but stopping to pick up pebbles along the way.�
17:12:56:10 Hypnotist out of frame �Do you feel like you are trapped?� Woman answers �Well yes, in a way, in that I couldn�t get off the�the round disk.� Hypnotist �You just feel like you are going around and around and around.�
17:14:58:27 MS man beside woman opens book. CU first page in book Rorschach inkblot.
17:16:22:16 VS man and woman looking at inkblot. CU inkblot. MS man and woman. Woman describes the inkblot �But they�re crying. They�re crying so much. They are sad and they�re worried. They are crying because they�ve done something bad.�
17:16:58:23 MS man looking at inkblot in book says �Well now, to me, these two little black blots sort of look like the pebbles that I was picking up in my dream. And I would grab them in a hurry and stick them in my pocket, I was so afraid someone was going to see me picking up pebbles and laugh at me. Because be just don�t go around picking up pebbles. And they were just common pebbles too.�
177:17:50:27 Man and woman looking at Rorschach inkblot. Woman distressed and confused. Woman �That�s like a�skull or something.� Man �That�s strange you look at the outside of the blot, and I looked at the inside.� Woman �The inside doesn�t mean anything to me except that it�s read and has two eyes that shine, like um�like some sort of fish, deep down. But these two eyes shine on the fish�These are two death masks.�
17:20:07:26 CU photograph printed in book of two men on opposite end of a table, one standing one sitting.
17:23:29:08 Hypnotist calls out words and woman and man respond to with one word answers. Hypnotist �Window� Man �Open� Hypnotist �Grass� Woman �Park� Hypnotist �Candy� Man �Stick� Hypnotist �Money� Woman �Shiny� Hypnotist �Desk� Man �School� Hypnotist �Mother� Woman �Kind� Hypnotist �Steal� Man �Money� Hypnotist �Paper� Woman �Blow� Hypnotist �School� Man �House� Hypnotist �Park� Woman giggling �I can�t think of a word� Word associations continue on�
17:36:29:34 Man says �I was sorry that I had done it, but at the time that I, that I did, I felt compelled to do it. But I knew it was wrong, and that�s it, I know it is, that�s it right there, sure. Don�t you feel that it is? Well sure it is. That�s it.
17:39:32:00 Hypnotist out of frame speaking to man and woman looking relieved �And you feel now that all the tension is gone.� Man �I feel just like I always did!� Hypnotist �Yes. And you feel that the conflict is resolved?� Man �Definitely.� Hypnotist �And that you are normal individuals?� Man and Woman �Yes� laughing with relief. Hypnotist in mysterious, strange, creepy intonation �Alright;� quick fade out.