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To further understand the reasoning behind Joy’s act of pushing Sadness away, Sigmund Freud’s psychological theories suggest that this is merely an episode of Riley’s unconscious attempt to repress the unpleasant emotion of sadness.
Sigmund Freud, 1921. Photo by: Mary Evans Picture Library/SIGMUND FREUD
Sigmund Freud's Iceberg Theory. Photo by: Hannah Santos
Freud proposed that the mind is divided into three fundamental components: the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious mind.
The unconscious mind contains hidden information beyond our awareness, yet remains a significant influence on our behavior (Cherry The structure and levels of the mind according to freud).
In Riley’s case, despite her forced demeanor of acceptance and happiness, her family’s relocation has inflicted significant mental distress upon her.
sadness.mp4Source: "Inside Out Official US - Sadness Best Moments [Full HD]" Youtube video by Codonmi ailaitai
This internal conflict can be seen manifesting in Riley’s psyche with Sadness instinctively touching joyful memories and turning them into sad recollections.
Unknowingly to Riley, her unconscious negative thoughts on moving can be interpreted as attempting to seep into her conscious mind. Freud proposed that these thoughts, although hidden in the unconscious mind, still exist and may resurface in many forms (Repression).
Joy being Joy, she strives to maintain Riley’s facade and keep her happy. In doing so, she essentially represses Sadness, blocking Riley from recognizing and truly experiencing her emotions brought upon by the relocation. In Freudian terms, this dynamic of repression can be explained by Riley’s unconscious psyche preventing unwanted thoughts or impulses from surfacing into conscious awareness–a defense mechanism to cope with psychological distress (Cherry What Is Repression?).
Throughout her life, Riley’s emotional spectrum has always been rather simplistic, appearing mostly happy and goofy. Consequently, she feels reluctant to maintain this facade, especially given the expectations set by her parents regarding the family’s relocation to San Francisco.
However, prohibiting oneself from expressing their true emotions does more harm than good and ultimately increases distress (Villines Repressed emotions: Symptoms, causes, and release).
It is a ticking time bomb–waiting to explode when hiding such emotions becomes too much to bear.
As depicted in the film, Riley reaches her breaking point and secretly runs away from her family, becoming entirely numb to her emotions.
Source: "Inside out - anger breaks Riley" Youtube video by Zora Hika
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