Unconscious goal activation and the hijacking of the executive function
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6207580 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Hans Marien (0000-0001-6035-0908, Utrecht University), Ruud Custers (0000-0002-4431-738X, University College London), Ran R Hassin (0000-0002-5064-3720, Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Henk Aarts (0000-0001-8676-1692, Utrecht University) |
| Year | 2012 |
| Volume | 103 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 399-415 |
| Publication date | 2012-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-3514 • E-ISSN: 1939-1315 |
| Publisher | American Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1037/a0028955 |
| PMID | 22686538 |
| OpenAlex | W2116168703 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 19 |
| References cited | 46 |
Building on research on unconscious human goal pursuit and the dynamic nature of our mental and physical world, this study examined the idea that an unconsciously activated goal hijacks executive control for its own attainment. This "hijacking" of the executive function by an unconscious goal should be evidenced by impaired performance on an unrelated task relying on executive control. The results of 6 experiments show that subliminal activation of a socializing goal, or an idiosyncratic personal goal, or an academic goal, harmed participants' performance on an executive function task, such as inhibition of prepotent responses and detection of text errors during reading. These effects were unique to executive control, were similar when the goal was activated consciously, and were independent of task motivation and perceived inter-goal relatedness between the primed goal and task goal. Furthermore, an unconscious goal occupied executive control to advance itself more strongly when the goal had personal value. Implications for theory and research on unconscious goal pursuit and the executive function are discussed
Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Control (management) · Executive functions · Function (biology) · Goal Orientation · Goal pursuit · Psychoanalysis · Reading (process) · Subliminal stimuli · Task (project management) · Unconscious mind · Behavioral Health and Interventions · Computer Science · Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies · Neuroscience · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology
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Priming against your will
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Non-conscious goal conflicts
Being flexible or rigid in goal-directed behavior
Unfulfilled goals interfere with tasks that require executive functions
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Priming and authorship ascription
What have we been priming all these years? On the development, mechanisms, and ecology of nonconscious social behavior
Automaticity
| Unique citing works | 19 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,36 |
| Citation span | 2012 - 2026 (15) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 19 |