Final answer:
Subception is a concept introduced by psychologist Carl Rogers that refers to the defensive mechanism our subconscious employs to protect us from potentially harmful or threatening information. This mechanism can cause threatening information to be distorted, justified, or completely blocked to preserve our psychological well-being.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to Carl Rogers, an influential psychologist, subception is a defensive mechanism that operates in a pre-awareness stage, that allows us to avoid becoming conscious of potentially threatening or harmful information. The purpose of subception, as per Rogers, is to shield the individual from psychological harm. Information that our subconscious deems as threatening is processed in such a way that we either get a general sense of unease, without being able to pinpoint the exact reason, or the information is distorted, justified, or blocked completely, thus preventing full awareness.
For example, suppose a person has had a seriously traumatic experience in their past. This person is likely to engage subception as a strategy to keep the details of that event out of their conscious thought, because it is perceived as being threatening to their mental or emotional well-being.
Learn more about Subception