Engram (Dianetics)

This article is about the concept of the engram in Dianetics and Scientology. For other uses, see Engram (disambiguation).
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An engram, as used in Dianetics and Scientology, is a detailed mental image or memory of a traumatic event from the past that occurred when an individual was partially or fully unconscious. It is considered to be pseudoscientific[1][2] and is different from the meaning of "engram" in cognitive psychology.[3] According to Dianetics and Scientology, from conception onwards, whenever something painful happens while the "analytic mind" is unconscious, engrams are supposedly being recorded and stored in an area of the mind Scientology calls the "reactive mind".[4][5]

  1. ^ Roeckelein, J.E. (2006). Elsevier's dictionary of psychological theories (1st ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier. p. 493. ISBN 9780080460642. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  2. ^ Shiraev, Eric (2014). A History of Psychology: A Global Perspective. SAGE Publications. p. 14. ISBN 9781483323954. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  3. ^ Cordón, Luis A. (2005). Popular psychology : an encyclopedia. Wesport (Conn.): Greenwood. p. 61. ISBN 9780313324574. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Jacobsen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "The Official Scientology and Dianetics Glossary". Church of Scientology International. Archived from the original on April 28, 2009. Retrieved July 23, 2016. a mental image picture which is a recording of an experience containing pain, unconsciousness and a real or fancied threat to survival. It is a recording in the reactive mind of something which actually happened to an individual in the past and which contained pain and unconsciousness...These engrams are a complete recording, down to the last accurate detail, of every perception present in a moment of partial or full unconsciousness.