Control: conscious and otherwise.

Full Abstract

Social psychologists have shown human decisions to be sensitive to numerous ordinary, possibly nonconscious, situational contingencies, motivating the view that control is largely illusory, and that our choices are largely governed by such external contingencies. Against this view is evidence that self-control and goal-maintenance are regularly displayed by humans and other animals, and evidence concerning neurobiological processes that support such control. Evolutionarily speaking, animals with a robust capacity to exercise control - both conscious and nonconscious - probably enjoyed a selective advantage. Counterbalancing data thus point to an account of control that sees an important role for nonconscious control in action and goal maintenance. We propose a conceptual model of control that encompasses such nonconscious control and links in-control behavior to neurobiological parameters.

Author information

Author/s: Suhler, Christopher L (CL); Churchland, Patricia S (PS);

Affiliation: Department of Philosophy, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA. csuhler(-atsign-)ucsd.edu <csuhler(-atsign-)ucsd.edu>

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Trends in cognitive sciences (Trends Cogn Sci), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Aug; vol 13 (issue 8) : pp 341-7

Dates: Created 2009/08/14; Completed 2009/10/06;

PMID: 19646918, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 10/6/2009, IMS Date: )

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