Date of Award

4-8-2010

Document Type

Thesis

First Advisor

Kevin Moore psychology - Advisor

Second Advisor

Doug Harms computer science - Convener

Third Advisor

Jim Benedix biology - Reader

Abstract

One way in which humans are set apart from other animals is by our impressive intellectual capacities. Humans are commonly considered to be true masters of rational, conscious control over our actions. However, that feeling of control may be mostly illusory. Accumulating evidence suggests that unconscious cognitive processes can account for much of human behavior. Homeostasis is a clear example of the evolutionary benefit of automation, allowing valuable energy and limited attention to be diverted elsewhere. I instead want to focus on the automaticity of more complicated behaviors, ones that are typically thought to require a large amount of cognitive energy: executing complex movements, making sense of incoming stimuli, and making intellectually demanding decisions about trust, attitudes, and future plans. This thesis will show that even such complex behaviors are heavily influenced by automatic, unconscious processing.

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