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A Case for Thinking Without Consciousness.

Ap Dijksterhuis1, Madelijn Strick2

  • 1Department of Social Psychology, Radboud University Nijmegen a.dijksterhuis@psych.ru.nl.

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|January 29, 2016
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Unconscious thought (UT) aids complex decision-making and scientific discovery. This research reviews evidence supporting UT, suggesting it complements conscious thinking for prolonged cognitive tasks.

Keywords:
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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Decision Science

Background:

  • Prolonged thought processes, crucial for decisions and discoveries, can span months or years.
  • Cognitive progress occurs not only during conscious deliberation but also during periods of distraction or rest.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review existing literature on unconscious thought (UT) processes.
  • To explore the role and characteristics of UT in complex cognitive tasks.
  • To propose a new framework for understanding prolonged thought processes.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of unconscious thought (UT) research.
  • Conceptual analysis of UT as unconscious goal pursuit.
  • Discussion of UT characteristics and its relation to conscious thought.

Main Results:

  • Substantial evidence supports the existence and efficacy of unconscious thought (UT).
  • UT is particularly effective for complex, important, or interesting cognitive challenges.
  • UT functions as a form of unconscious goal pursuit.

Conclusions:

  • Unconscious thought (UT) processes significantly contribute to problem-solving and discovery.
  • The study proposes "Type 3" cognitive processes to model prolonged thinking, alongside existing Type 1 and Type 2 systems.
  • Integrating UT into cognitive models enhances our understanding of complex, long-term thinking.