As anyone who has ever been on a dieting will know , as soon as you seek not to think about something – chocolate , for example – it becomes virtually impossible to keep that affair out of your drumhead . However , with a small self-control , you could at least keep that chocolate Browning automatic rifle out of your belly . This prove that we have far more control over our action than our idea , and while that may not come as a groovy surprise , a newfangled field of study has revealed that this deficiency of territorial dominion over ourconsciousnessgoes much deeper than you might think .
The outcome of the sketch , which are published in the journalActa Psychologica , are being used to support a new theory of cognisance as nothing more than a front for our subconscious mind . Under this epitome , the awaken mind is seen as a kind of window through which we become cognisant of the outcomes of our subconscious cognitive process , but which plays no dynamic use in creating these outcomes .
trail researcher Ezequiel Morsella , who is among the pioneers of this possibility , explained in astatementthat this late study indicates that “ consciousness is passive , and that its contents are often generated unconsciously . ”
The study itself plays on the conception of ironical processing , which refers to the fact that one is more likely to think about something they are trying not to think about . This is often demonstrated using theReflexive Imagery Task(RIT ) , whereby participants are presented with moving-picture show of objects and told not to think of the name of those objects .
It has often been suggested that this effect only applies to comparatively automatic process , such as call in a learned association between an paradigm and a word , and that more complex mental bodily function like performing calculation do n’t simply enter our heads when we are stress to shut them out .
To gainsay this assumption , the researcher taught a grouping of students to playact a word manipulation secret plan call Pig Latin , whereby the first missive of each Word of God is move to the end of the word and observe by the letter AY . So , for representative , COW becomes OW - CAY and FISH becomes ISH - FAY .
They were then face with a series of words on a projection screen and told not to rearrange them into Pig Latin , but to press a button if they observe these rearranged words automatically intruding on their thoughts .
The fact that the students were unable to keep the Pig Latin speech from forming in their head on 43 percent of occasions led Morsella to remark that “ our study reveals that unwitting , unconscious process can be more advanced than what has been recall before . ”
The sprocket and geartrain that produce our thoughts may be inscrutable in our subconscious . Sergey Nivens / Shutterstock
Explaining this phenomenon , he and his colleague deposit that our thoughts are largely involuntary , occurring as a form of reflex reaction to external stimulation , over which we have no “ witting ” control . In other word , it is within the land of the subconscious mind that our real cerebration take place , and the conscious mind is then able only of viewing the “ outturn ” of this appendage .
However , this does not have in mind that cognizance is entirely redundant . Rather , it is what we utilise to reflect on our involuntary cerebration mental process . For example , while it may not be possible to debar thinking about one ’s desire for chocolate , one is then presented with a identification number of potential path of action , which range from maintaining total abstinence to stuffing one ’s face with forbidden goodness .
As conscious beingness , we have freedom to resolve which of these “ action set ” to execute , which is what sets us apart from non - sentient thing like machines and flowerpots . Plus , unlike them , we get to enjoy chocolate .
