1-
Bir bardağı doldururken taşmaması için yavaşça dikkatle
dökeriz suyu sürahiden. Amacımız akan
suyun miktarını kontrol etmek bardak dolunca durmaktır(controlled process).
2-
Küçük bir bardaktaki suyu daha büyüğüne dökerken
taşmayacağını bildiğimiz için suyu hemen boşaltırız. Suyun ilk anda doğruca bardağın içine
gitmesini hedefler daha sonra suyu kendiliğinden akacak şekilde
bocalarız(automatic process).
Günlük yaşantımızda yaptığımız işlerin ve davranışların
bir kısmı yönetsel kontrollü süreçler(executive controlled process) diğer kısmı
ise kendiliğinden süreçler(automatic process)’den oluşur[1].
Bilincin bir çok boyutu vardır[2,3]
. Bunlar dünya farkındalığı, kişinin
davranışları ve zihinsel durumu(irade) üzerinde kontrol yeteneğine ilişkin
duygular, ve benlik duygusunun devamlılığıdır.
Yönetsel
kontrollü yaptığımız işler bilincimiz dahilinde gerçekleşir.
Biz
farkında olmadan bir çok işler zihnimizde bilincimiz dışında, ‘bilinçsizce’
gerçekleşir(unconscious[4]). Bunların büyük bir kısmı biz başka şeylerin
farkında iken onlarla aynı zamanda ama onlardan bağımsız gerçekleşir (parallel
processing). Zihnimizde kendiliğinden
gerçekleşen bu işlemler bizim onları algılayıp farkında olabileceğimiz bir
bilinç seviyesinin altında gerçekleşir.
Bu işlemlerin bazıları görmeğe ya da hareket etmeğe ilişkin çok
ayrıntılı duyarlıkta mikro işlemlerdir.
Farkında olmadan yaptığımız şeyleri etkileyen bazı düşünceler ise bilinç altımıza işleyen makro
etkiler olabilir(subconscious) [5,6].
Kendiliğinden
süreçler farkında olmadan seçilirler. Bu
süreçler çabasız, hızlı, göreceli hatasızdırlar, ve performansı düşürmeden
başka süreçlerle aynı zamanda yapılabilirler.
Kendiliğinden süreçler bir kez başlatıldıktan sonra, değiştirilmeleri
güçtür. Aynı zamanda, kendiliğinden
süreçler tanımlanabilen uzun dönemli bellekte değişiklikler oluşturmazlar. Sonuç olarak, kişi işten eve arabasını ‘otomabil-pilotta’
sürüp, geri dönüp baktığında yolda ne olduğu ile ilgili hiç bir şey
hatırlamayabilir[7].
Karşıt
olarak, kontrollü süreçler farkında olarak seçilim içerirler. Bunlar bilinçli süreçlerdir, ama aynı zamanda
yorucu, randımansız ve yavaştırlar, çok sayıda kontrollü süreci aynı anda
çalıştırmak zordur. Kontrollü
süreçlerbaşlatılabilir, durdurulabilir, veya isteğe göre değiştirilebilir,
ve uzun dönem bellekte öğrenme yolu ile
bilinçli değişiklikler üretebilir.
Tekrar ve çalışma ile bazı kontrollü süreçler kendiliğinden hale
gelebilir. Kapasite olarak sınırlı
olsalar da bu sınırlama bu süreçlerin kurulması, değiştirilmesi, ve kendiliğinden
süreçlerin hiç bir zaman öğrenemeyeceği yeni durumlara uygulanmasında
kolaylıktan kaynaklanan avantajları bu sınırlamaları dengeler[8,9,10].
Bunlara ek olarak Baars[11], bilincin kendi içinde tutarlı olduğunu ve bu
özelliğin bilinçsiz süreçler tarafından paylaşılmayan bir özellik
olduğunu belirtir. Bilincin bir başka
özelliği iki bilinçli tecrübeyi ilişkilendirebilme yeteneğidir. Bunun en iyi örneği klasik
koşullandırmadır. Bu ilişkilendirme tecrübeler
bilinçsiz ise gerçekleşmez.
Baars uyarıcı işaretin
alışkanlık noktasına kadar tekrarlandığı durumda(uyarıcının bilinçli tecrübe
niteliğini kaybettiği zaman) Pavlov ilişkilendirmesinin oluşmadığını örnek
gösterir. (Razran, 1961). Bir başka tezat
ise bilinçli tecrübelerin “bağlam-duyarlısı(context-sensitive)” olduğu
bilinçsizce işlenenlerin ise olmadığıdır.
Baars “bağlam-duyarlılığını” “bilinçli olayların bilinçsiz etkenler
tarafından şekillendiriliş şekli” olarak tanımlar.
İradi ve kendiliğinden süreçlerin özel bir hali iradi
dikkat ve kendiliğinden dikkatlerdir. Merdivenlerde
eğer bastığımız her basamağa dikkat etmezsek ve kendimizi bırakırsak
kendiliğinden hızla ve hatasız kolaylıkla ineriz. Bu kendiliğinden süreci kendi irademizle(içsel-tetikli-endogenous)
tetikleyebildiğimiz gibi, acele etme durumunda kendiliğinden de tetiklenebilir(dışsal-tetikli-exogenous-reflexive).
İçsel-tetikli kontrol kişinin kendi iradesi ile
dikkatini yönlendirişidir[8,9]. Dışsal tetikli
kontrol harici bir nesne veya olay, örneğin uçup geçen bir arının dikkatimizi
okuduğumuz kitaptan uzaklaştırması gibi dikkatimizi irademiz dışında dağıtır.
Dikkat edilmesi gereken önemli bir nokta, kendiliğinden
süreçlerin(automatic process) ve kontrollü süreçlerin(controlled process) her
ikisinde de tetikleme, gerçekleşme aşamalarının ayrı ayrı değerlendirilmesi
gerektiğidir. Bir kendiliğinden süreç,
örneğin hokkabazın topları çevirmesi, bilinçli olarak başlatılabilir fakat
sürecin kendisi otomatik olabilir.
Giderek hızlanan ve karmaşıklaşan durumlarda ilgili otomatik ve güvenlik
prosedürlerinin devreye kendiliğinden girmesini ancak bu şekilde
açıklayabiliriz. Olay – kaza gerçekleştikten
sonra ilgililerin hiç bir şey hatırlamaması olaya ilişkin kişisel hafızaların
kendiliğinden süreçler tarafından güncellenmemesinden kaynaklanabilir.
Bazı kendiliğinden süreçler bitmeden başka bir süreç
tetiklenebilir. Bazı kendiliğinden süreçler
kesintiye uğramayabilir. Burada ilgili
sürecin süresi ve önemi rol oynar. Bir
kendiliğinden süreç kontrollü bir süreç tarafından başlatılabilir ya da
otomatik olarak tetiklenebilir.
Taşıt yönetiminde yapılan hataların büyük bir kısmı
yapılan seçim kararlarındadır. Kendiliğinden
ve kontrollü süreçleri iç ve dış tetikli seçim ile birleştirerek, dikkat ve
taşıt sürümü ile ilgili performans için dört tür çıkarmak mümkündür[9].
1-
Kendiliğinden-dışsel-tetikli(Automatic-exogenous) dış
uyarı tarafından tetiklenen bütün refleksler.
2-
Kendiliğinden-içsel tetikli (automatic-endogenous)
alışkanlık (habitual)’la yapılan işler.
3-
Kontrollü-dışsal-tetikli(controlled-exogenous) kişinin
tek amacı arama-araştırma olduğu çalışma türü.
4-
Kontrollü-içsel-tetikli(controlled-endogenous) kasıtlı(goaldriven)
bilerek ve isteyerek davranış.
Süreçlerin etkileşiminin önemi yabancı dilin
anlaşılmasında görülür. Eğer yalnızca
sıkı bir kontrolle önünüzdeki kişinin her kelimesini takip ederek anlamağa
çalırsanız hem onun konuşmasından koparsınız hem de anlayamazsınız. Ama kontrolün içinde zaman zaman dikkatinizi
gevşeterek kendiliğinden süreçlerinize şans tanırsanız bir süre sonra anlamın
kendiliğinden bilinç seviyenizin üstüne çıktığını hissedersiniz.
Süreçlerin birbirlerini etkilemesi yalnızca birinin
diğerinden önce gelip tetiklenmesi açısından değil,
art arda gelen süreçler durumunda sonra gelen sürecin
içeriğinin öncekinin içeriği tarafından etkilenmesi(priming) açısından da
değerlendirilmesi gerekir. Kendiliğinden
ve kontrollü süreçler arasında priming ilişkisini inceleyen bazı yeni makaleler
de vardır[13,14]. Bunlara önümüzdeki
yazılarımda değineceğim.
Toparlarsak kısaca[10], kendiliğinden ve kontrollü
süreçlerin karşılaştırılması, seri – paralel işleme, çaba seviyesi, stres yapan
etkenlere karşı duyarsızlık, kontrol derecesi, uzun-dönemli bellek üzerindeki
etkiler, ve öncelik kodlaması konularını içerir.
Kendiliğinden
ve kontrollü süreçler ile ilgili bilimsel makalelerin değerli katkılarından
öte, pratik iş hayatında ölümcül önem taşıyabilen sonuçları da olabilir. Örneğin: insanın sürekli kontrollü süreçler
kullanması mümkün değildir ve bu istenen bir durum değildir. Kişinin konsantrasyonu gün
içinde doğal olarak kendiliğinden süreçler ile bölünecektir. Bu yalnızca kişinin çevresinde ne olduğunu
bilmesi açısından bir gereklilik değil aynı zamanda “beynine bir dinlenme
imkanı sağlamak içindir[12]”.
Kendiliğinden süreçler doğası gereği çabasız,
hızlı, göreceli hatasızdırlar, ve performansı düşürmeden başka süreçlerle aynı
zamanda yapılabilirler. Kendiliğinden
süreçler kişinin zihinsel olarak dinlenmesini sağlar.
Büyük sistem çalışanları açısından, inanıyorum ki bu
yazının en önemli noktası: Örneğin hava
trafik kontrolörleri, ya da uzun süre yüksek konsantrasyon ile çalışan hava
trafik kontrolü vb mühendisler dikkate alındığında: Bu kişiler işleri sırasında yüksek derecede
dikkat toplamak yeteneklerini azami ölçüde geliştiriyorlar. Bu durum onların kendiliğinden süreçler ile
kontrollü süreçlerinin sağlıklı etkileşimine yansıyabilir.
Bazı örnekler:
1-
Bir reklam panosunda gördüğünüz kısaltmaları o sırada
uğraştığınız iş konusundaki kısaltmaymış gibi hemen o an açmak, bir süreç
tetikleme hatası, kendiliğinden süreçleriniz çok çabuk devreye giriyor.
2-
Kontrol odasından (ameliyathane vb) çıktıktan sonra
merdivenlerden zor iniyorsunuz. Otomatik
süreç tetiklenmiyor.
3-
Trafikte giderken gördüğünüz her plakayı okuyorsunuz
(isteğiniz dışında).
Son söz: Müstakbel
gelinin görücüye çıkabilmek için kahveyi dökmeden taşıması gerekir.
Ali R+
SARAL
KAYNAKLAR:
[1] Schneider, W, Shiffrin, RM, ‘Controlled and automatic human information
processing: I. Detection, search, and attention’, 1977, Journal Psychological Review ,
Vol.84, p. 1-66, ISSN 0033295.
A
2-process theory of human information processing is proposed and applied to
detection, search, and attention phenomena. Automatic processing is activation
of a learned sequence of elements in long-term memory that is initiated by
appropriate inputs and then proceeds automatically-without S control, without
stressing the capacity limitations of the system, and without necessarily
demanding attention. Controlled processing is a temporary activation of a
sequence of elements that can be set up quickly and easily but requires
attention, is capacity-limited (usually serial in nature), and is controlled by the S.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2] Michael
I. Posner* and Mary K. Rothbart, ‘Attention, self-regulation and consciousness’, (Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene,
OR, USA and Sackler Institute for Human Brain Development,Cornell Medical College, NewYork, NY 10021, USA)
Consciousness has many aspects. These include awareness
of the world, feelings of control over one's behaviour and mental state (volition), and the notion
of a continuing self. Focal (executive) attention is used to control details of our awareness and is thus
closely related to volition. Experiments suggest an integrated network of neural areas involved in
executive attention. This network is associated with our voluntary ability to select among competing items, to
correct error and to regulate our emotions
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3] Definition of Consciousness
– Merriam – Webster
1a: the quality or state of being aware especially of something within
oneself
b: the
state or fact of being conscious of an external
object, state, or fact
c: awareness; especially: concern
for some social or political cause
2: the state of being characterized by sensation, emotion, volition,
and thought : mind
3: the totality of conscious states of an individual
4: the normal state of conscious life consciousness>
5: the upper level of mental life of which the person is aware as
contrasted with unconscious processes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[4] Unconscious mind - From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In psychoanalytic
theory, the unconscious refers to that part of mental
functioning of which subjects make
themselves unaware. The psychoanalytic unconscious is similar to but not
precisely the same as the popular notion of the subconscious. For psychoanalysis, the unconscious does not
include all of what is simply not conscious - it does not include e.g. motor
skills - but rather, only what is actively repressed from
conscious thought. … In the psychoanalytic view, the unconscious is a force
that can only be recognized by its effects - it expresses itself in the
symptom.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[5] Definition of Unconscious - Answers.com
1. Lacking awareness and the
capacity for sensory perception; not conscious.
2. Temporarily lacking
consciousness.
3. Occurring in the absence of
conscious awareness or thought: unconscious resentment; unconscious fears.
4. Without conscious control;
involuntary or unintended: an unconscious mannerism.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[6] Staffan
Sohlberg, The Philosophy Of Freedom - A. Unconscious Functioning,
http://www.philosophyoffreedom.com/node/693
Concepts
of the unconscious
We cannot be conscious of
everything we do and how we do it. For example, tying our shoelaces, walking,
speaking, and driving are all guided to a large degree by unconscious
processing, which broad domain is also denoted by terms such as automaticity or
implicit memory. The reason we have extensive unconscious capabilities
has to do with efficiency. The very complex informational environments that the
brain is required to handle are beyond the capacity of consciousness, which can
contain only one or a few things at a time
Definitions
of unconsciousness
unconscious means contents or
processes that we cannot report being aware of, with automatic referring to
processes and subliminal to external stimuli. Included here are contents and
processes we cannot in principle become aware of (often termed nonconsciuos),
such as how the visual system builds perceptions, as well as those we can
become aware of, such as a stressful situation we have momentarily forgotten.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[7] Implicit Memory - Wikipedia
Implicit memory is a type of memory in which previous experiences aid
in the performance of a task without conscious awareness of these previous
experiences.[1] Evidence for implicit memory
arises in priming, a process whereby subjects are
measured by how they have improved their performance on tasks for which they
have been subconsciously prepared.[2][3] Implicit memory also leads to the
illusion-of-truth effect, which suggests that subjects are more likely to rate
as true those statements that they have already heard, regardless of their
veracity.[4] In daily life, people rely on
implicit memory every day in the form of procedural memory, the type of memory that allows
people to remember how to tie their shoes or ride a bicycle without consciously
thinking about these activities.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[8] Attention - New World
Encyclopedia
Understanding Attention
Attention is the
selection of some incoming information for further processing. … Attention may
be differentiated according to its status as "overt" versus
"covert." Overt attention is the act of directing sense organs
towards a stimulus source. Covert attention is the act of mentally focusing on
one of several possible sensory stimuli. Covert attention is thought to be a
neural process that enhances the signal from a particular part of the sensory
panorama. …
Voluntary
vs. Automatic Attention
Attention
can be directed either voluntarily, also referred to as endogenous control, or
automatically, which is also called exogenous or reflexive attention. While
endogenous control involves one choosing of their own volition to direct their
attention, exogenous control occurs when an external object or event, for
example, a bee flying by, grabs attention away from the book one is reading,
and attracts it involuntarily.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[9] LANA M. TRICKy*, JAMES T. ENNSz,
JESSICA MILLSz and JOHN VAVRIKx, ‘Paying attention behind the wheel: a framework for
studying the roleof attention in driving’,Theor. Issues in Ergon. Sci. September–October 2004, vol. 5, no. 5, 385–424, (yDepartment
of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, zUniversity of British Columbia, Vancouver, British
Columbia, Canada,xInsurance Corporation of British Columbia, Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada)
2.3.1. Automatic
vs. controlled processes. Automatic
processes involve selection without awareness. These processes are effortless,
fast, and can be carried out concurrently with other processes without
compromising performance. Once automatic processes are initiated, they are
difficult to modify. Also, automatic processes typically do not produce changes in declarative
long-term memory. Consequently, a person may drive home from work on
‘auto-pilot’ and have no conscious memory of the trip.
In contrast, controlled processes involve selection
with awareness. These are conscious processes, but they are also laborious and
slow, and it is difficult to carry out several controlled processes at once.
Controlled processes can be started, stopped,
or modified at will, and can produce conscious changes in long term memory through learning. With practice, some controlled
processes may even become automatic.
...
2.3.2. Exogenous
vs. endogenous processes. Exogenous
selection occurs as a result of the way humans are built and it is initiated by
the presence of specific stimulus configurations. In this case, external
stimuli seem to trigger selection (it is exogenous), but the reason these
stimuli produce this effect is because of the way the nervous system is built. Specifically, the nervous
system is structured to respond to certain stimuli preferentially, so that
there is a continuum of stimulus salience, with some types of stimuli more
likely to receive exogenous selection than others. In general, when a person is in an unfamiliar
environment, and thus has no specific expectations, exogenous processing is
dominant. Similarly, if a person has no specific goals in a familiar environment, exogenous processing
dominates. Exogenous processing is
easily confused with bottom-up or stimulus-driven processing, but it is not the
same thing. When we refer to exogenous selection we mean something that is
‘hard wired’. In contrast, bottom-up or stimulus-driven processing may also
occur as a result of extended practice or learning, which are the result of
internal (or endogenous) factors. For example, when a person repeatedly carries
out a deliberate intention, after a while the response becomes so over-learned that it occurs automatically, and it
may seem that the stimulus alone is ‘driving’ the behavior. Selection has been
triggered by the stimulus (bottom-up) independent of any intentional goals
(top-down). Nonetheless, this would not constitute exogenous selection in our
sense because selection was not ‘hard wired’; the association resulted from
repeated conscious intentions to carry out a goal (Theeuwes 1991). Some
processes are bottom-up but not exogenous.
Endogenous selection results from what people know about an environment
and what they want to achieve. People actively search the environment for
information relevant to specific goals or intentions; they perform these tasks
in ways that are consistent with expectations and previous learning.
Expectancies may act as a form of ‘perceptual set’ causing people to look for
specific objects at certain locations. A
perceptual set can be advantageous because it directs viewers to the
goal-relevant information in a scene, and thus facilitates
accomplishment of goals. An example would be looking for the exit ramp sign on
a familiar freeway. Endogenous selection helps drivers react more rapidly, as
occurs when they anticipate the need to brake (Johansson and Rumar 1971, Van
der Hulst et al. 1999). While
endogenous selection can facilitate performance, it can also produce errors when
drivers miss pertinent information because it is unexpected or does not pertain
to current goals (Hills 1980, Rumar 1990).
...
2.4. Four
modes of attentional performance
By combining automatic and controlled processing with
exogenous and endogenous selection, it is possible to derive four modes of
performance relevant to the study of attention and driving. The first,
automatic-exogenous, can be thought of as the collection of all reflexes that
are initiated by stimuli. The second, automatic-endogenous, corresponds to
processing that is habitual. The third, controlled-exogenous,corresponds to a mode of performance that occurs when a
person’s only goal is exploration. The fourth, controlled-endogenous,
corresponds to deliberate goaldriven behavior.
...
These two types of process are reflexive
(automatic-exogenous) and habitual (automaticendogenous). There are a number of important differences between reflex
and habit. First, though both are triggered by particular stimuli, these triggers are
established in different ways. Reflexes are innately ‘hard wired’ into the
system, whereas habits are automatic because a particular goal or intention has
been repeatedly carried out. As a result, reflexes are common to all whereas
habits are idiosyncratic, based on a given individual’s specific learning
experiences. Second, reflexes emerge on a developmental timetable and are
stable once acquired, whereas habits can be formed at any time, and can also be
replaced or fade at any time due to lack of practice or new learning.
...
Some processes are more automatic than others in the
sense that they are initiated more quickly, require less effort, are more
likely to be evoked unintentionally in a given situation, and are thus more
difficult to bring under deliberate control. In such a continuum, reflexes
retain their position near the extreme end on the automaticity continuum,
whereas habits change their level of automaticity based on the frequency with
which they are practiced ...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[10] Walter Schneider∗, Jason M. Chein,‘Controlled & automatic
processing: behavior, theory, and biological mechanisms’, Cognitive Science 27
(2003) 525–559 (Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, 3939 O’Hara
St., Pittsburgh, PA 15221, USA)
Abstract: This paper
provides an overview of developments in a dual processing theory of automatic
and controlled processing that began with the empirical and theoretical work
described by Schneider and Shiffrin (1977) and Shiffrin and Schneider (1977)
over a quarter century ago. A review of relevant empirical findings suggests
that there is a set of core behavioral phenomena reflecting differences between
controlled and automatic processing that must be addressed by a successful
theory. These phenomena relate to: consistency in training, serial versus
parallel processing, level of effort, robustness to stressors, degree of
control, effects on long-term memory, and priority encoding.
2. Definition
of automatic and controlled processing
The basic nature of automatic and controlled processing
was laid out in our earlier papers. In Schneider and Shiffrin (1977), an automatic process was defined as the
activation of a sequence of nodes that “nearly always becomes active in
response to a particular input configuration,” and that “is activated
automatically without the necessity for active control or attention by the subject”
(p. 2).
...
In general, automatic
processes “operate through a relatively permanent set of associative
connections . . . and require an
appreciable amount of consistent training to develop fully”
(Schneider&Shiffrin, 1977, p. 2). An automatic attention response is a special
type of automatic process that directs attention automatically to a target
stimulus (Schneider & Shiffrin, 1977).
...
In contrast to automatic processes, Schneider and
Shiffrin (1977, pp. 2–3) defined a controlled process as “a temporary
sequence of nodes activated under control of, and through attention by, the
subject.” Furthermore, controlled processes are “tightly capacity limited, but
the costs of this capacity limitation are balanced by the benefits deriving
from the ease with which such processes may be set up, altered, and applied in
novel situations for which automatic sequences have never been learned.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[11] Josh McDermott, ‘Workspace
Theory: Consciousness Explained?’ - The
Harvard Brain Harvard university undergraduate Journal of Neuroscience.
Baars proposes that consciousness is
the result of a Global Workspace in the brain that distributes information to
the huge number of parallel unconscious processors that form the rest of the
brain
...
many unconscious processes underlie ordinary perception
and cognition. (By an unconscious process, I mean a process that takes place in
the brain of which we are unaware
...
Baars treats the brain as a large group of separable,
very specialized systems that are unconscious much of the time that they
operate. At least some of these processes can, one by one, become conscious,
and the successive outputs of these processes constitute conscious experience. Significant,
though, is the idea that only one process can be conscious at one instant of
time. In other words, consciousness is a serial phenomenon.
...
Baars' second claim about consciousness is that it has
internal consistency, a property not shared by the collection of unconscious
processes in the brain. Baars cites as an example of this property the
experience of viewing a Necker cube, an optical illusion which we can
consciously see in one of two different orientations. The two views of the cube
can "flip" back and forth, but we cannot entertain both of them
simultaneously
...
that a huge variety of things can be experienced
consciously, but that by definition, an unconscious specialized processor can
perform but a limited range of tasks
...
Another property of
consciousness is its ability to relate what seem to be any two conscious
experiences to each other. The best example of this is classical conditioning,
where virtually any conscious stimulus may serve as a signal for virtually any
other event. This relating cannot occur if the experiences are unconscious.
Baars cites a study showing that Pavlovian association cannot occur if the
signal stimulus has been repeated to the point of habituation (when the
stimulus ceases to be consciously experienced). (Razran, 1961)
...
A fifth contrast is that
conscious experiences are what Baars terms "context-sensitive," while
representations processed unconsciously are not. Context-sensitivity is defined
by Baars as "the way in which conscious events are shaped by unconscious
factors." (Baars, 1988, p 79) Our conscious experiences are constantly
affected by unconscious assumptions. Unconscious events are, in contrast, not
influenced by such contextual assumptions ...
Finally, there are the
contrasts of inefficient, error-prone conscious processes with efficient,
relatively error-free unconscious processes. These can be illustrated with any
task that a person learns. While unlearned, a task has to be performed consciously,
at which point it is done slowly and with frequent errors. Once learned , the
task is unconscious, and is performed with comparative speed and accuracy.
...
There is limited evidence that there is a delay
involved in some types of conscious events, and that much unconscious
preprocessing goes on prior to the conscious experience of something (Libet,
1978). Thus it is conceivable that error detection has nothing at all to do
with consciousness.
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[12] B. Miller, Edited By: Andrew Jones, wiseGEEK
Focal attention refers to a
type of attention in which the individual is deliberately, consciously focused
on a certain thing to the exclusion of surrounding images or noises. Automatic
attention occurs when an individual's attention is drawn by something; for
instance, a loud noise might cause someone to look up or lose focus, and is in
many cases a response that cannot be controlled. Focal attention is intense
deliberate concentration, and is a skill that can be practiced
...
It is not possible, or even
desirable, to remain in focal attention one hundred percent of the time. Many
activities, like driving a car, for example, require constantly shifting
attention for the sake of safety. An individual's concentration and focus will
naturally be interrupted by automatic attention throughout the day, not just
because it is necessary to notice what is happening in the surrounding
environment, but also to give the brain a rest.
[13] Kiefer, Markus; Front Hum Neurosci. 2012; 6: 61., “Executive
control over unconscious cognition: attentional sensitization of unconscious
information processing”, Published online 2012 March 23. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00061 PMCID:
PMC3311241
[14] Jennifer McBride1*, Frédéric Boy2, Masud Husain1 and
Petroc Sumner2, “ Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, “Automatic motor activation in the executive control of
action”
1 Institute of
Cognitive Neuroscience and Institute of Neurology, University College London,
London, UK 2 School
of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
