A simple experiment reveals just how much of mental life happens automatically.
Many thoughts enter our minds without our conscious awareness or control.”
Although we can decide to think about certain things, there are other mental processes that get started automatically.
For example, we count things automatically, without willing it.
The conclusion comes from a study in which people were given a task involving an array of objects.
They were specifically told not to count the objects.
Despite this, 90 percent of the time people unconsciously counted them.
Dr Ezequiel Morsella, who led the study, said:
“The data support the view that, when one is performing a desired action, conscious thoughts about alternative plans still occupy the mind, often insuppressibly.”
Our minds are not as insulated from the outside world as we like to think, said Dr Morsella:
“Our conscious mind is the totality of our experience, a kind of ‘prime real estate’ in the cognitive apparatus, influencing both decision-making and action.”
Our inability to avoid counting, along with other unconscious habits, highlights how strongly our thoughts can be shaped by the environment.
Dr Morsella said:
“The research shows that stimuli in the environment are very important in determining what we end up thinking about and that once an action plan is strongly activated its many effects can be difficult to override.”
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The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology (Bhangal et al., 2018).
