AUTOMATIC vs. CONTROLLED PROCESSING

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AUTOMATIC vs. CONTROLLED PROCESSING

• 9/17/2007

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Context

• Idea of automatic processing is old and new
• Freuds notion of the unconscious
• Researchers like John Bargh returned to the idea
  of unconscious processing
• Background processing that eases the burden for
  conscious processing

Its just a cigar, I swear!
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Distinguishing Automatic from Controlled Processes

• Conditions for automaticity
• Lack of awareness
• Conversely, if we are aware of processing, it is
  controlled
• Efficiency
• Lack of conscious intent
• Lack of control

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Lack of Awareness

• Bargh, Chen, Burrows (1996)
• Scrambled sentence task
• Form four word sentences out of five words
  provided
• Ex he it hides finds instantly
• 3 conditions neutral, rude, or politeness prime
• Rude they her bother usually
• Polite they her respect usually
• Go tell experimenter when finished

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Bargh, Chen Burrows 1996

• Results?
• Supraliminal

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Bargh, Chen, Burrows (1996, study 2)

• Participants completed scrambled sentence task
• Neutral version
• Elderly version (old, bingo, wrinkle, retired)
• Told that experiment was completed
• How long to walk 9.75 m to elevator (exit)?

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Bargh, Chen, Burrows (1996)

• Results?

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Lack of awareness

• Subliminal Priming
• Logic if participants cant detect stimulus,
  they cant possibly be aware of the influence of
  the stimulus on their behavior!
• RATS demo
• http//openyoureyes.web1000.com/index.php?p1_6

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Kunst-Wilson Zajonc (1980)

• Participants subliminally exposed to geometric
  figures

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Kunst-Wilson Zajonc (1980)

• 2 questions
• Which shape have you seen before?

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Kunst-Wilson Zajonc (1980)

• Results?
• Participants couldnt identify previously seen
  shape (48 chance)
• However, participants did show a preference for
  previously seen shape! (60 choice)
• Dubbed mere exposure effect

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Subliminal Demo

• E-prime demo

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Efficiency

• By definition, controlled processes use
  attentional resources, whereas automatic
  processes do not
• Therefore, if we introduce a cognitive load,
  controlled processes should be affected, whereas
  automatic processes are unaffected
• Cognitive load examples
• Remember this 8-digit number
• Count backwards from 100 by 3

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Gilbert, Pelham, Krull (1988)

• Automatic and controlled processing in
  attribution
• Internal attribution conclude that the reason
  for persons behavior is dispositional
• He pushed me because he is aggressive
• External attribution conclude that the reason
  for a persons behavior is due to situation
• He pushed me because he tripped into me

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Gilbert, Pelham, Krull (1988)

• Participants listen to proabortion or
  antiabortion speech
• Speaker was assigned to take one side of issue
• Cog. Load manipulation
• half of participants thought that they too would
  give a speech (load)
• Other half did not need to rehearse speech (no
  load)
• Automatic effect make internal attributions
  based on speech
• Controlled effect correct for situation (i.e.,
  person was assigned to position, may not be true
  position)

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Gilbert, Pelham, Krull (1988)

• Results?

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Lack of Conscious Intent

• Automatic processes result from environmental
  stimuli, not conscious intentions to process
  information
• Thus, a good way to show that a process is
  unintended is to set up a situation where the
  stimulus suggests one mode of processing
  (automatic), but where we intend to use another
  mode (controlled)
• Stroop task

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The Stroop Effect
Please name the colors
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The Stroop Effect
Please name the colors
RED
RED
BLUE
YELLOW
GREEN
YELLOW
RED
BLUE
BLUE
GREEN
RED
RED
BLUE
YELLOW
GREEN
GREEN
YELLOW
BLUE
YELLOW
GREEN
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Variations of the Stroop task

• Emotional Stroop task (e.g., Gotlib McCann,
  1984)
• Depressed vs. Non-depressed participants
• Asked to say color of presented word
• Some of the words were related to depression
• Ex low, sad, miserable
• Results non-depressed participants were
  unaffected depressed participants were
  significantly slower when responding to
  depression-related words

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Lack of Control

• If a process occurs, even when we are trying to
  avoid the process from occurring (exercising
  control), then the process must be automatic
• Ironic processing (Wegner, 1994)
• Dont think about White Bears

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Believing the Unbelievable

• Spinoza and the acceptance/rejection of
  information
• Acceptance is automatic
• Rejection is controlled
• Gilbert, Krull, and Malone (1990)
• Participants exposed to true and false statements
• Ex Armadillos deplore raisin cookies
• Some trials included a distraction (pressing a
  button when tone sounded)
• Predictions When we have the resources, we will
  be able to distinguish true and false statements
  equally well however when we are distracted, the
  automatic process will be unaffected (acceptance
  of information), while control processes are

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Gilbert, Krull, Malone (1990)

• Results?