Automaticity
Information processing that occurs without conscious control.
Mental processes fall on a continuum from more automatic to more controllable. At the most automatic end is preconscious automaticity, followed by post-conscious automaticity and goal-directed automaticity. Next are spontaneous processes, which are activated without consciousness but processed only with effort. Ruminative processes are slightly more controlled, they are conscious but not deliberately directed by goals. At the most controlled end, intentional thoughts are characterized by people having choices, especially if they make the hard (more effortful) choice, and paying attention to that choice to enact it.
Automatic processing can develop in response to stimuli and environments that people habitually encounter, as a way to save cognitive effort. Automatic responses, especially preconscious automaticity, can be defined with several criteria (Bargh, 1984). First, automatic processes are unintentional; they do not require a goal to be activated. Second, they are involuntary, always occuring in the presence of the relevant cue. Third, they are effortless, using no cognitive capacity. Fourth, they are autonomous, running to completion without any conscious monitoring. Finally, they are outside awareness, meaning they are activated and operated without consciousness.
See also:
habit
Literature:
Manstead & Hewstone (1995), p. 78,
Bargh (1984)
