The Functions of Unconscious and Conscious States of Mind - Essay Example

Perception: Does the location of spatial attention affect the performance of rapid, goal-directed movements The paper relates the functionsof an unconscious and conscious states of mind against perception. For this purpose, a literature review has been elaborated over and some experimental observations of young kids/adults have also been reflected upon. Perception: Does the location of spatial attention affect the performance of rapid, goal-directed movements Perception and the conscious-unconscious nature of mind are directly related to each other. Perception is driven by the unconscious and conscious observance. For decades, all human processes were thought to be of conscious nature; only recently have scientists begun to understand the unconscious mind. Over the decades, the term "unconscious" has been defined as unintentional thoughts/actions. The things we do consciously are influenced by the unconscious mind - our actions are the effects of stimuli which we are unaware of. There have been various interpretations in this regard. According to cognitive psychology, unconscious information processing likened to subliminal message processing (idea opposed by authors because they thought the definition was unnatural and restrictive). (09No) In Evolution: evolutionary changes occurred as a result of unconscious processes - there was no conscious thought that went into evolution and adaptation; For example, things like culture and early learning - we don't think about our culture - we are surrounded by it from an early age and information gets stored in our unconscious mind without our being aware of it - it is inherent. Same with Early Learning - we learn lots of things at a very young age, which are inherent traits of human kind, which we again, don't consciously think about (for instance, kids, especially infants, learn behavior by "passive imitation" of parents or friends; as infants we unconsciously learn by experience - as we grow up, those learned behaviors/actions/values stay with us, and are stored in the unconscious mind - later in life, we don't consciously think about these things - we just know them to be true) All these characteristics have been oft associated with conscious goal pursuits for quite some time. There is a distinct line between conscious and unconscious goal pursuit. Keeping in perspective the recent evolutionary arrival of modes of though and behavior, it is probably that the conscious goal is directly or indirectly related to unconscious motivational structures. We are predisposed, conditioned (genetically predisposed - this is an effect of evolution) as a human race to prefer certain "aspects of our environment over others" -these are perhaps linked to the behaviors we learn as infants. For instance in various Muslim families, it has been inculcated in the minds of their females that physical intimacy with men is a no and nor are revealing clothes allowed. They are asked to adapt and mould themselves in this peculiar lifestyle where they shun themselves from the society in general and set their goal in such a way where nurturing their kids and serving their husbands in future becomes central to their survival. This is result of environmental and social pressure most of which becomes innate in the female inhabitant in such families. (Iceberg Metaphor and Unconscious Mind) Another theory suggests that impulse to act upon a stimuli is an unconscious behavior - the impulse is produced unconsciously, and then the conscious mind takes over; plethora of impulses that are driven by behavioral and cultural norms and or our values/traditions. Some people react at the sight of lizards or their mention without even without seeing the poor animal. This is because a certain kind of unconscious fear exists in the back of their mind about it. Their reaction for the same is involuntary. It rests at the back of their mind subconsciously which tends to act as prime motivator for the same. We are unconsciously inclined towards certain things over others (certain behaviors) even if those behaviors are not consciously carried out. The unconscious can guide future outcomes; example from the text: if a ruler doesn't know what the outcome of war is supposed to be, then there would be no reason for him to go and wage waronly when you know what the outcome is supposed to be can you consciously work toward that outcome. The unconscious mind encompasses everything that we are not currently aware of - ideas, skills, knowledge that we are not presently using. The conscious mind is continuously supported by the information stored in the unconscious mind. The conscious mind derives considerable help from the unconscious mind to follow its pursuit. Most of the information is stored in the back of our mind which hits the conscious mind at various points as and when it deems it fit. The unconscious mind is the master of all. It embodies what we don't know and seeks to overpower the conscious mind in a way in its own right. Example: we use a plethora of skills when driving without even realizing it - this information is known as learned resources. The information is derived from the unconscious mind which stores it and directs it to the conscious mind as we tend to drive. Another example in this regard is keyboard typing which today for many has come to a point where they type without even looking at the keyboard. Where, what and how the keys are positioned and how should the fingers be directed are a result of some major information processing of the unconscious mind to the conscious mind. The unconscious mind is said to control the autonomic nervous system - things like Heart Rate, Breathing, etc. things we do without being consciously aware of it. We exercise no control on our heart beat, and heart rate. It is an involuntary exercise within the body yet we know it is there. We have no hold over it. It is the unconscious mind that takes charge of it and makes it felt. The way cardiac muscles flex and act while we are in motion without us having to do anything about it. Imagination is the two-way street between consciousness and unconsciousness - it allows the two to communicate."[Imagination] functions as the membrane through which material and processes happening in the unconscious mind come into conscious awareness." Unconscious mind converses with the conscious much more than the conscious converses with the unconscious; New ideas, intuitions, daydreams are all materialized in consciousness via imagination from all the information stored in the unconscious mind. Dreams are another example of unconscious communicating with consciousness. Many times, our dreams, if and when remembered, give us ideas and insight into real-world, conscious events/experiences. When things we do or say sound good/right but feel wrong, this feeling of wrong-doing comes from the unconscious mind . A whole lot of this has to do for instance with our behavior and interpersonal communication associated with them. Interpersonal communication is governed by four basic principles. First, this form of communication is inescapable. It is impossible not to communicate. Even the attempt to not communicate is indicative of communication itself. But this type of communication takes form of gesture, postures, facial expressions etc. one can constantly receive information from others .Even when one sleeps, one communicates. Ergo, it goes that the world does not comprise of mind readers and humans are mostly judged by the way they behave. Second, interpersonal communication cannot be reversible. What has been said cannot be taken back. The effect will never cease to exist. Third interpersonal communication is a complex form of communication. It is not simple and owing to the number of variables involved, even the simplest of requests tend to appear as extremely complex. According to various theorists, whenever one communicates, the minimum number of people involved in the process is 6. These include what one thinks who one is, what one thinks who the other person, who the other person thinks she is, who the other person thinks of one and who the other person thinks one thinks. All this begins resting in the back of our mind at a point and becomes embedded in its subconscious state. These are modes which become more or less relatable to our mind and hence it inevitably begins reacting in a particular way in different situations. Four, interpersonal communication is extremely contextual. It cannot occur in isolated locales. There are innumerable contexts in which interpersonal communication take place. These include the psychological context, the relational context, the situational context, the environmental context and the cultural context. Psychological context stems from what one is, and what brings one to the point of interaction. Their needs, desires, ethics, characteristics and conjure up to form the psychological context. And this holds true for both the sender and the receiver involved in the interaction. Relational context is all about the kind of relationship the sender and the receiver have with each other. In other words "the mix". Psycho-social aspects of communication are referred to as the situational context. It is all about "where" one is communicating. It's obvious that a communication that takes place in a bar will be very different from what takes place in a class. Environmental context is all about the surroundings in which one is communicating. Furniture, location, noise level, temperature, season, time of day etc are all instances of environmental context. Cultural context involves all forms of behavior which directly affect interaction. For instance if one belongs to a culture foreign or domestic, where long, direct eye contacts is considered rude, one will out of sheer politeness avoid eye contacts. Thus, this is the direct result of sub conscious behavior when one automatically begins avoiding eye contacts in such areas. During the course of history the concepts of thought and intentional behavior have held sway over most other concepts. It was only after the 1800s that different developments started taking place. Two important discoveries in this regard the hypnotism and the evolutionary theory are quiet commendable. They both pointed to the concept of unconscious, unintended clauses of human behavior and attitude. Almost two centuries later, contemporary psychological science remains glued to a conscious central model of the higher mental processes. Psychologists have found it difficult to accept that the unconscious mind may have powers of its own and most of the theories are a result of research into subliminal information processing. (Beargh) What I propose is a different perspective which states that most unconscious processes are characterized by their unintentional nature. The lack of awareness is primarily due the impact of triggering stimuli and not of the triggered stimuli. Through this original and ancient definition of the unconscious, contemporary social cognition research on priming and automaticity effects shows that substantiate the presence of adaptive conscious behavior guidance systems. The unconscious can guide future outcomes; example from the text: if a ruler doesn't know what the outcome of war is supposed to be, then there would be no reason for him to go and wage waronly when you know what the outcome is supposed to be can you consciously work toward that outcome. As elaborated earlier on evolutionary changes occurred as a result of unconscious processes - there was no conscious thought that went into evolution and adaptation; For example, things like culture and early learning - we don't think about our culture - we are surrounded by it from an early age and information gets stored in our unconscious mind without our being aware of it - it is inherent. Same with Early Learning - we learn lots of things at a very young age, which are inherent traits of human kind, which we again, don't consciously think about (for instance, kids, especially infants, learn behavior by "passive imitation" of parents or friends; as infants we unconsciously learn by experience - as we grow up, those learned behaviors/actions/values stay with us, and are stored in the unconscious mind - later in life, we don't consciously think about these things - we just know them to be true) Works Cited (n.d.). Retrieved November 05, 2009, from http://www.skepdic.com/unconscious.html Beargh. (n.d.). The Unconscious Mind. Retrieved Nov 05, 2009, from http://www.yale.edu/acmelab/articles/Bargh_Morsella_Unconscious_Mind.pdf Iceberg Metaphor and Unconscious Mind. (n.d.). Retrieved November 05, 2009, from http://processcoaching.com/unconscious.html Read More