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The automated will: Nonconscious activation and pursuit of behavioral goals (2001)
| Venue: | Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |
| Citations: | 308 - 20 self |
BibTeX
@ARTICLE{Bargh01theautomated,
author = {John A. Bargh and Annette Lee-chai and Kimberly Barndollar and Peter M. Gollwitzer and Roman Trotschel},
title = {The automated will: Nonconscious activation and pursuit of behavioral goals},
journal = {Journal of Personality and Social Psychology},
year = {2001},
pages = {1014--1027}
}
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Abstract
It is proposed that goals can be activated outside of awareness and then operate nonconsciously to guide self-regulation effectively (J. A. Bargh, 1990). Five experiments are reported in which the goal either to perform well or to cooperate was activated, without the awareness of participants, through a priming manipulation. In Experiment 1 priming of the goal to perform well caused participants to perform comparatively better on an intellectual task. In Experiment 2 priming of the goal to cooperate caused participants to replenish a commonly held resource more readily. Experiment 3 used a dissociation paradigm to rule out perceptual-construal alternative explanations. Experiments 4 and 5 demonstrated that action guided by nonconsciously activated goals manifests two classic content-free features of the pursuit of consciously held goals. Nonconsciously activated goals effectively guide action, enabling adaptation to ongoing situational demands. We must give up the insane illusion that a conscious self, however virtuous and however intelligent, can do its work singlehanded and without assistance. —Aldous Huxley, The Education of an Amphibian Today, most theories of goal pursuit emphasize conscious choice and guidance of behavior on a moment-to-moment basis
Keyphrases
nonconscious activation behavioral goal caused participant perceptual-construal alternative explanation intellectual task amphibian today situational demand priming manipulation goal pursuit moment-to-moment basis conscious choice classic content-free feature goal manifest activated goal conscious self insane illusion guide action dissociation paradigm aldous huxley
