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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automatic and controlled processes | 2/2 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_and_controlled_processes | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T15:12:21.150741+00:00 | kb-cron |
=== Controlled processes === One definition of a controlled process is an intentionally-initiated sequence of cognitive activities. In other words, when attention is required for a task, we are consciously aware and in control. Controlled processes require us to think about situations, evaluate and make decisions. An example would be reading this article. We are required to read and understand the concepts of these processes and it takes effort to think conceptually. Controlled processes are thought to be slower, since by definition they require effortful control; therefore, they generally cannot be conducted simultaneously with other controlled processes without task-switching or impaired performance. So the drawback of controlled processes is that humans are thought to have a limited capacity for overtly controlling behavior. Being tightly capacity-limited, controlled processing imposes considerable limitations on speed and the ability to have divided attention. Divided attention is the ability to switch between tasks. Some tasks are easier to perform with other tasks like talking and driving. Holding a conversation, however, becomes more difficult when traffic increases because of the need to focus more on driving than on talking. Forster and Lavie found that the ability to focus on a task is influenced by processing capacity and perceptual load. Processing capacity is the amount of incoming information a person can process or handle at one time. Perceptual load is how difficult the task is. A low load task is when one can think less about the task they are involved in. A high load task is when one needs to devote all their focus to the task. If they become distracted then they won't be able to accomplish the task. In a study, participants were randomly assigned into two conditions, one requiring one task (small cognitive load) and one requiring two tasks (heavy cognitive load). In the one-task condition, participants were told that they would hear an anti- or pro-abortion speech and would have to diagnose the speaker's attitude toward abortion. The two-task condition had the same first assignment, but they were required to switch spots with the speaker and take their place after that. Even after being specifically told that they would be given further instructions at the next step, their cognitive load was affected in this study. Participants in the two-task condition performed more poorly than the one-task condition simply because they had the next task on their mind (they had extra cognitive load). Basically, the more tasks someone tries to manage at the same time, the more their performance will suffer.
=== Processes with ambiguous categorization === Some actions utilize a combination of automatic and controlled processes. One example is brushing your teeth. At any point, you could think about each tooth as you individually scrub them, but for the most part, the action is automatic. Another example is playing a musical instrument. After learning where your fingers should be placed and how to play certain notes you no longer have to think about what your fingers are doing. Your controlled process are then engaged in thinking about dynamics and intonation. Some processes can even start as controlled and become more automatic. Some cognitive processes are difficult to categorize as distinctly automatic or controlled, either because they contain components of both types of process or because the phenomena are difficult to define or observe. An example of the former is driving a car. An example of the latter is flow. Process of breathing, automatic and controlled, easily observed.
=== Flow ===
Flow has been described as involving highly focused attention on the task at hand, loss of self-consciousness, and distorted time perception, among other cognitive characteristics. Some people report that during flow states they are less aware of autonomic responses such as hunger, fatigue, and discomfort. Some researchers hypothesize that because of this, some challenging tasks can counterintuitively require less effort to perform. Flow has been difficult to study, however, because it is difficult to produce in a controlled laboratory setting. Most experiments have relied heavily on correlating the presence of flow with various attributes of the task and the subjects' reported experiences. Of those correlations, subjects experiencing flow generally report that they perceive a good match between the task requirements and their skills (e.g. a professional basketball player in a professional basketball game.) Task structure and the clarity of the goal of the task are also thought to be related to when flow occurs. All of these aspects of flow imply that there must be an opportunity to suppress other controlled processes, as well as inhibit certain types of automatic processes. A study involving video game performance showed that flow in participants (determined based on a self-report survey of flow characteristics) strongly correlated with performance in the game. A related study attempted to inhibit and induce flow by biasing the moods of participants. The experimenters found that flow could be inhibited by a negative mood, but could not be induced by a positive mood. "A person does not need to be told to pay attention to a stimulus that captures attention quickly and effortlessly." In many cases, explicitly directing one's own or another's attention is necessary due to the presence of another stimulus that more easily captures attention. In the case of flow, however, an action that would normally grab one's attention is ignored, and many automatic processes are either suppressed (such as stimulus-driven attention changes) or ignored (such as discomfort.) On the other hand, situations in which autonomy is encroached upon (for example, if the individual must always control his/her actions to abide by rules imposed by the task) are thought to inhibit flow. This implies that another requirement of flow is to be free from constraints that force controlled processes to be used. Additionally, several areas of research indicate that during a state of flow an otherwise-controlled process becomes automatic allowing it to behave dominant over all other automatic processes.
=== Dual Process Theories ===
Dual process theories are a class of theories that are used to explain many cognitive processes, including judgement and decision-making. Dual process theories assume that humans possess two types of cognitive processing that map onto automatic and controlled processing: Type 1 and Type 2 (Also known as System 1 and System 2, respectively). Type 1 relies automatic processing, does not require working memory, and is typically the faster of the two processing types. Type 2 relies on controlled processing, requiring controlled attention and working memory. The automatic/controlled distinction between Type 1 and Type 2 is only one of many common distinctions. Some others include: unconscious/conscious, associative/rule-based, and intuitive/deliberate. Besides the automatic/controlled distinction, criticism exists for common distinctions between Type 1 and Type 2 processes, arising from inconsistent findings or disagreements among researchers. For instance, the unconscious/conscious is commonly criticized for its lack of conceptual clarity, making it vague and an unreliable identifier of Type 1 and Type 2 processing.
== See also == Conscious mind Dual process theory Modularity of mind
== References ==
=== Further reading === Kahneman, Daniel (2013) [2011]. Thinking, Fast and Slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-53355-7.