Automatic and controlled processes: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Categories of cognitive processing}}

{{technical|date=April 2013}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}

'''Automatic and Controlled Processes (ACP)''' are the two categories of cognitive processes, that together are thought to account for all such processes. The amounts of “processing power”, attention, and effort a process requires is the primary factor used to determine whether it’s a controlled or an automatic process.<ref name="Schmidt">Schmidt,R.A., Lee, T.D 2011. Motor Control and Learning: A Behavioural Emphasis.</ref>

'''Automatic and controlled processes''' ('''ACP''') are the two categories of cognitive processing. All cognitive processes fall into one or both of those two categories. The amounts of "processing power", [[attention]], and effort a process requires is the primary factor used to determine whether it's a controlled or an automatic process. An automatic process is capable of occurring without the need for attention, and the awareness of the initiation or operation of the process, and without drawing upon general processing resources or interfering with other concurrent thought processes.<ref name="Bargh">{{cite book|last=Bargh|first=John|title=Unintended Thought|year=1989|publisher=Guilford Publications|author2=James S. Uleman}}</ref> Put simply, an automatic process is unintentional, involuntary, effortless (not consumptive of limited processing capacity), and occurring outside awareness. Controlled processes are defined as a process that is under the flexible, intentional control of the individual, that the individual is consciously aware of, and that are effortful and constrained by the amount of attentional resources available at the moment.<ref name=Bargh />

==Characteristics==

A controlled process often requires most of a person’s attention; therefore, it generally cannot be conducted simultaneously with other controlled processes without task-switching or impaired performance. In other words, when active attention is required for some performance, the cognitive process directing that performance is said to be “controlled". Controlled processing is said to be tightly capacity limited, meaning that performance under controlled processing has severe limitations on its speed and the ability to multi-task. These limitations are balanced by the benefits of being able to easily design, alter, and perform procedures in novel situations. This is especially helpful when scenarios, due to their complexity or not having been encountered, require performance for which automatic reactions have not been developed. One example of a controlled process is driving. A vehicle operator is required to focus attention on the controls of the vehicle and its surroundings, and an additional task (such as talking on a cell phone) would reduce the amount of cognitive resources available for focusing on the primary task.

===Automatic Processingprocesses===

An automatic process occurs without explicit direction, and it can take place in parallel with other actions without impairment. Automatic processes require near zero attention for the task at hand and in many instances are executed in response to a specific stimulus. These processes, often learned sequences of events held in long-term memory, are triggered by specific phenomena. When these phenomena are encountered, the learned procedure is carried out with little conscious effort by the actor (the organism or entity performing the procedure), often not demanding attention from the actor or stressing the capacity limitations mentioned in controlled processes. Examples of automatic processes are recognizing the faces of other people and recognizing spoken words, since both take place without explicitly deciding to do so, both take place while many other processes are occurring, and in fact neither can easily be inhibited.<ref name="Schmidt"/> The table below lists the major differences between controlled and automatic processes.

When examining the label "automatic" in social psychology, we find that some processes are intended, and others require recent conscious and intentional processing of related information. Automatic processes are more complicated than people may think.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Fridland|first=Ellen|date=November 2017|title=Automatically minded|journal=Synthese|language=en|volume=194|issue=11|pages=4337–4363|doi=10.1007/s11229-014-0617-9|s2cid=43228633|issn=0039-7857}}</ref> Some examples of automatic processes include motor skills, implicit biases, procedural tasks, and priming.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Trumpp|first1=Natalie M.|last2=Traub|first2=Felix|last3=Kiefer|first3=Markus|date=2013-05-31|editor-last=Chao|editor-first=Linda|title=Masked Priming of Conceptual Features Reveals Differential Brain Activation during Unconscious Access to Conceptual Action and Sound Information|journal=PLOS ONE|language=en|volume=8|issue=5|pages=e65910|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0065910|issn=1932-6203|pmc=3669239|pmid=23741518|doi-access=free}}</ref>  The tasks that are listed can be done without the need for conscious attention.

That being said automatic effects fall into three classes: Those that occur prior to conscious awareness (preconscious); those that require some form of conscious processing but that produce an unintended outcome (postconscious); and those that require a specific type of intentional, goal directed processing (goal-dependent).

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! Controlled Processing!! Automatic Processing

|-

| Slow Response || Fast Response

|-

| Attention Demanding || Not Attention Demanding

|-

| Serial in Nature || Parallel in Nature

|-

| Easily Disrupted || Often Unavoidable

|}

Preconscious automaticity requires only the triggering [[proximal]] stimulus event, and occur prior to or in the absence of any conscious awareness of that event.<ref name=Bargh /> Because they occur without our conscious awareness they are unnoticeable, uncontrollable, and nearly effortless.

Automatic and controlled processing is a two part theory of human information processing. 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”, automatic processing is activation of a learned sequence of elements in long-term memory that is initiated by the appropriate inputs and then proceeds automatically, often not stressing the capacity limitations of the system, and without necessarily demanding attention. The second aspect of this theory, controlled processing, is defined as a temporary sequence of nodes activated under control of, and through attention by, the subject. This aspect of information processing is “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.”

Postconscious automaticity depends on recent conscious experience for its occurrence.<ref name=Bargh /> This postconscious influence on processing can be defined as the non-conscious consequences of conscious thought.<ref name=Bargh /> The conscious experience may be intentional, or it may be unintentional, what is important is that the material be in awareness.<ref name=Bargh /> Most things we are aware of are driven by the environment, and one does not intend or control the flood of these [[perceptual]] experiences, yet they still result in postconscious effects. In other words, we need to consciously engage in something and depending on the experience we will unconsciously think, and or behave a certain way. In the classic [[Bobo doll experiment]] a child watches a video of an adult acting aggressive towards a Bobo doll. Later when the child is put in the room with that same doll, the child was more likely to also engage in that act, versus children who didn't watch the video. In a study participants were [[priming (psychology)|primed]] with the stereotype of professors by being told to imagine a typical professor for 5&nbsp;min and to list (a conscious act) the behaviors, lifestyle, and appearance attributes of this typical professor.<ref name=DJJ>{{cite journal|last=Dijksterhuis|first=AP|author2=Ad van Knippenberg|title=The Relation Between Perception and Behavior, or How to Win a Game of Trivial Pursuit|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|year=1998|doi=10.1037/0022-3514.74.4.865|volume=74|issue=4|pages=865–877|pmid=9569649}}</ref> After they were primed they had to perform a general knowledge task. The results were that the participants in the professor condition outperformed those in the control conditions (those not primed at all).<ref name=DJJ />

==Controlled Processing==

Goal-dependent automaticity concerns skill and thought processes that require a goal to engage in them. This process is much similar to postconscious in that it requires conscious awareness to be initiated, but after that it can be guided outside of awareness by the [[unconscious mind]]. A good example would be driving a car: in order to drive a car, one needs to consciously have a goal to drive somewhere. When engaged in driving (only with enough practice) one can operate the car almost entirely without conscious awareness.<ref name=Yale>{{cite journal|last=Bargh|first=John|author2=Kay L. Schwader |author3=Sarah E. Hailey |author4=Rebecca L. Dyer |author5=Erica J. Boothby |title=Automaticity in social-cognitive processes|journal=Trends in Cognitive Sciences|year=2012|volume=16|issue=12|pages=593–605|___location=Yale University, Department of Psychology|doi=10.1016/j.tics.2012.10.002|pmid=23127330|s2cid=1240978}}</ref> However, more attentional control and decision making are needed when introduced to novel (reference) situations like driving through an unfamiliar town. The process needs to be learned enough that it can be automatic, requiring little conscious thought as to how to do it.

One definition of a controlled process is “a temporary sequence of nodes activated under control of, and through attention by, the subject.” <ref name="Schneider">Schneider, Shiffrin 1977. Controlled Automatic Human Information Processing: I. Detection, Search, and Attention.</ref> Controlled processes are thought to be slower, since by definition they require effortful focus. 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.” <ref name="Schneider"/> In essence, humans are thought to have a limited capacity for overtly controlling behavior, but they must use such control when dealing with novel situations for which they haven’t learned an automatic process. Due to the overt attention demanded, this type of process can often be interrupted to perform other tasks, however.<ref name="Schneider"/>

===Controlled Processingprocesses===

=== Attention Control ===

One definition of a controlled process is an intentionally-initiated sequence of cognitive activities.<ref name=Scneider>{{cite journal|last=Schneider|first=Shiffrin|title=Controlled Automatic Human Information Processing|year=1977|issue=I. Detection, Search, and Attention}}</ref> 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 [[Cognitive load|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.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Schneider|first1=Walter|last2=Chein|first2=Jason M.|date=May 2003|title=Controlled & automatic processing: behavior, theory, and biological mechanisms|journal=Cognitive Science|volume=27|issue=3|pages=525–559|doi=10.1207/s15516709cog2703_8|issn=0364-0213|doi-access=free}}</ref> Holding a conversation, however, becomes more difficult when traffic increases because of the need to focus more on driving than on talking.

{{main|Attentional Control}}

Attention control is a major example of controlled processing. Attention control can be seen as a type of self-control, which can refer to any instance in which a subdominant response is substituted with a dominant one. There are three types of attention control:<ref name="Schmeichel">Schmeichel, B. J., & Baumeister, R. F. 2010. Effortful attention control. In B. Bruya (Ed.), Effortless attention: A new perspective in the cognitive science of attention and action (pp. 29-49). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.</ref>

* Selective Attention: Focusing attention on one aspect of the environment, while avoiding attention to other stimuli, to include those that are "attention-grabbing".

* Divided Attention: Attending and responding to multiple streams of information simultaneously.

* Sustained Attention: Focusing attention over a long period of time.

Forster and Lavie found that the ability to focus on a task is influenced by processing capacity and perceptual load.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Forster|first1=Sophie|last2=Lavie|first2=Nilli|date=March 2008|title=Failures to ignore entirely irrelevant distractors: The role of load.|journal=Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied|volume=14|issue=1|pages=73–83|doi=10.1037/1076-898x.14.1.73|pmid=18377168|pmc=2672049|issn=1939-2192}}</ref> 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.

Attention control is thought to come at a cost of a temporary reduction of capacity for self-control. This is based on a theory that the mind has a self-control "capacity" that can depleted.<ref name="Schmeichel"/> There are several sources of evidence to support this theory.

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.

A standard task that demonstrates the additional effort required to overtly control one's own attention has subjects watch a video of an interview. The video of the interview has extraneous text displayed. In one condition subjects aren't given instructions regarding attention. In the other condition subjects are instructed to avoid attending to the words. The usual finding is that subjects in the latter condition find the task to be more difficult. These effects are also demonstrated in the Stroop task, in which subjects must name the color of a presented word, where the presented word is itself the name of a color.<ref name="Schmeichel"/>

===Processes with ambiguous categorization===

There is evidence that effortful attention control has effects that last beyond the task requiring attention. In one study, participants performed an attention-control task and subsequently completed portions of the GRE. Those participants who were required to explicitly exert attention control performed more poorly; however, control of attention didn't seem to affect their performance in short-term memory tasks. This is hypothesized to be because the GRE requires self-control of cognitive processes, whereas short-term memory tasks do not. Effortful attention control has also been tied to an increased inability to inhibit thoughts of death, racially-biased thoughts, and emotional responses.<ref name="Schmeichel"/>

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.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Jansma|first1=Johan Martijn|last2=Ramsey|first2=Nick F.|last3=Slagter|first3=Heleen A.|last4=Kahn|first4=Rene S.|date=August 2001|title=Functional Anatomical Correlates of Controlled and Automatic Processing|journal=Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience|language=en|volume=13|issue=6|pages=730–743|doi=10.1162/08989290152541403|pmid=11564318|s2cid=23641981|issn=0898-929X}}</ref> 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 (psychology)|flow]].

Process of breathing, automatic and controlled, easily observed.

===Flow===

One experiment sought to differentiate between the effects of general effort and effort directed toward attention. The experiment demonstrated that emotional inhibition was reduced for subjects who were required to control their attention, whereas subjects who performed a difficult task that didn't involve attention control did not have reduced inhibition.<ref name="Schmeichel"/> Other experiments found that effortful attention control resulted in lower blood glucose levels, but that restoration of the glucose level mitigated the costs associated with such attention control.

{{main|Flow_Flow (psychology)}}

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 nervous system|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.<ref name="Moller"/>

Flow involves highly-focused attention on the task at hand, loss of self-consciousness, and distorted time perception, among other cognitive characteristics. Some also report that during flow states they are less aware of autonomic responses such as hunger, fatigue, and discomfort. Some researchers hypothesize that more challenging tasks can paradoxically require less effort to perform.<ref name="Moller"/> Flow has been notoriously difficult to study, however, because it's is difficult to produce in a controlled laboratory setting. It therefore largely remains a phenomenon that's observed indirectly via self-report. 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 itself, and the clarity of the goal of the task are also thought to be related to when flow occurs.<ref name="Moller"/> All of these aspects of flow imply that there must be an opportunity to suspendsuppress other controlled processingprocesses, as well as inhibit certain types of automatic processingprocesses.

==Automatic Processing==

An automatic process is defined as the activation of a sequence of nodes that “nearly always become active in response to a particular input configuration,” and “is activated automatically without the necessity for active control or attention by the subject.”<ref name="Schneider"/> In general, automatic processes “operate through a relatively permanent set of associative connections . . . and require an appreciable amount of consistent training to develop fully.”<ref name="Schneider"/> An automatic attention response is a special type of automatic process that directs attention automatically to a target stimulus.

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. In another video-game based study, subjects in an experimental condition that increased or decreased in difficulty to match the subject's skill showed a higher level of flow and had higher performance than other groups in the experiment (for one of the other groups the game was consistently too easy and for the last it was consistently too difficult.) However, there is also some evidence that flow can be achieved when the demands of the task exceed the skill of the individual if the extrinsic utility of the task itself is high (in contrast to video games.)<ref name="Moller"/>

The study of automatic processing (and how it is developed) can help in understanding control in skilled behavior. With extensive practice, the cognitive processes required when performing a skilled action might become faster and more efficient. Such gains in proficiency will reduce the “processing power” required by the task, allowing the performer to concentrate on other aspects of the situation (e.g. navigation while skiing), process information faster, or perform additional tasks in parallel.<ref name="Schneider"/>

Implicit in the the idea of automaticity is that if a process is truly automatic, any other simultaneous task should in theory be possible without interfering with that process. Automatic processing can interfere with other processes, however, possibly delaying a proper response when attention is drawn to the wrong place (i.e. distraction), resulting in a movement that is inappropriate for the situation (e.g. responding to an opponent's "fake" in tennis).<ref name="Schneider"/>

===Flow===

{{main|Flow_(psychology)}}

"A person does not need to be told to pay attention to a stimulus that captures attention quickly and effortlessly."<ref name="Schmeichel"/> 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, exogenous attractors of attention are ignored, and many automatic processes are either suspended (e.g. stimulus-driven attention changes) or ignored (e.g. discomfort.) On the other hand, situations in which autonomy is encroached upon (i.e. the individual must always control his/her actions to abide by rules imposed by the task) are thought to inhibit flow.<ref name="Moller">Moller, A. C., Meier, B. P., & Wall, R. D. 2010. Developing an experimental induction of flow: Effortless action in the lab. In B. Bruya (Ed.), Effortless attention: A new perspective in the cognitive science of attention and action (pp. 191-204). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.</ref> This implies that another requirement of flow is to be able to suspend some aspects of controlled processing. Additionally, several areas of research indicate that during a state of flow an otherwise-controlled process becomes automatic and becomes dominant over all other automatic processes.

"A person does not need to be told to pay attention to a stimulus that captures attention quickly and effortlessly."<ref name=Scneider /> 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.)

Flow involves highly-focused attention on the task at hand, loss of self-consciousness, and distorted time perception, among other cognitive characteristics. Some also report that during flow states they are less aware of autonomic responses such as hunger, fatigue, and discomfort. Some researchers hypothesize that more challenging tasks can paradoxically require less effort to perform.<ref name="Moller"/> Flow has been notoriously difficult to study, however, because it's difficult to produce in a controlled laboratory setting. It therefore largely remains a phenomenon that's observed indirectly via self-report. 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 itself, and the clarity of the goal of the task are also thought to be related to when flow occurs.<ref name="Moller"/> All of these aspects of flow imply that there must be an opportunity to suspend controlled processing, as well as inhibit certain types of automatic processing.

"A person does not need to be told to pay attention to a stimulus that captures attention quickly and effortlessly."<ref name="Schmeichel"/> 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, exogenous attractors of attention are ignored, and many automatic processes are either suspended (e.g. stimulus-driven attention changes) or ignored (e.g. discomfort.) On the other hand, situations in which autonomy is encroached upon (i.e.for example, if the individual must always control his/her actions to abide by rules imposed by the task) are thought to inhibit flow.<ref name="Moller">Moller, A. C., Meier, B. P., & Wall, R. D. 2010. Developing an experimental induction of flow: Effortless action in the lab. In B. Bruya (Ed.), Effortless attention: A new perspective in the cognitive science of attention and action (pp. 191-204191–204). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.</ref> This implies that another requirement of flow is to be ablefree tofrom suspendconstraints somethat aspects offorce controlled processingprocesses to be used. Additionally, several areas of research indicate that during a state of flow an otherwise-controlled process becomes automatic andallowing becomesit to behave dominant over all other 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. In another video-game based study, subjects in an experimental condition that increased or decreased in difficulty to match the subject's skill showed a higher level of flow and had higher performance than other groups in the experiment (for one of the other groups the game was consistently too easy and for the last it was consistently too difficult.) However, there is also some evidence that flow can be achieved when the demands of the task exceed the skill of the individual if the extrinsic utility of the task itself is high (in contrast to video games.)<ref name="Moller"/>

==See also==

* [[Conscious mind]]

[[Cognitive Science]] <br />

* [[Dual process theory]]

[[Psychology]] <br />

* [[Modularity of mind]]

[[Attention]]

==References==

{{reflist}}

===Further reading===

* {{cite book|last=Kahneman|first=Daniel|author-link=Daniel Kahneman|year=2013|orig-year=2011|title=Thinking, Fast and Slow|title-link=Thinking, Fast and Slow|place=New York|publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|isbn=978-0374533557}}

{{Evolutionary psychology}}

[[Category:Cognitive psychology]]

[[Category:Cognitive science]]

[[Category:Psychology]]