Jinxu
21st-January-2009, 02:50 PM
Our first major line of research focuses on the role of unconscious and conscious processes in decision making and creativity. Starting point for this research was the observation that conscious deliberation is limited in many ways, and that there is the possibility that people can engage in what we call unconscious thought. The easiest way to explain what we mean by unconscious thought is to refer to Schopenhauer. In 1826, he said the following
“One might almost believe that half of our thinking takes place unconsciously…I have familiarized myself with the factual data of a theoretical and practical problem; I do not think about it again, yet often a few days later the answer to the problem will come into my mind entirely from its own accord; the operation which has produced it, however, remains as much a mystery to me as that of an adding-machine: what has occurred is, again, unconscious rumination.” - Arthur Schopenhauer
In the past few years, we have found evidence for the fact that people indeed think unconsciously, that unconscious thought leads to increased creativity, and that it improves decision-making. In fact, decisions after unconscious thought are sometimes (often, we believe) better than decisions after conscious thought.
Here are some selected studies that will clarify what is meant by conscious vs unconscious thinking:
The Merits of Unconscious Thought in Preference Detection and Decision Making
http://unconsciouslab.nl/publications/Dijksterhuis%20-%20The%20Merits%20of%20Unconscious%20Thought%20in% 20Preference%20Detection%20and%20Decision%20Making .pdf
The Deliberation Without Attention Effect
http://www.unconsciouslab.nl/publications/Dijksterhuis%20Bos%20Nordgren%20Van%20Baaren%20-%20The%20deliberation%20without%20attention%20effe ct.pdf
The Generative Power of Unconscious Thought
http://www.unconsciouslab.nl/publications/Dijksterhuis%20Meurs%20-%20The%20generative%20power%20of%20Unconscious%20T hought.pdf
Unconscious Tthought Can Increase Post-choice Satisfaction
http://www.unconsciouslab.nl/publications/Dijksterhuis%20Van%20Olden%20-%20Unconscious%20thought%20can%20increase%20post-choice%20satisfaction.pdf
On the Goal-dependency of Unconscious Thought
http://www.unconsciouslab.nl/publications/Bos%20Dijksterhuis%20Van%20Baaren%20-%20On%20the%20Goal-dependency%20of%20Unconscious%20Thought.pdf
Source: http://www.unconsciouslab.com/index.php?page=Home&subpage=Unconscious%20Thought
“One might almost believe that half of our thinking takes place unconsciously…I have familiarized myself with the factual data of a theoretical and practical problem; I do not think about it again, yet often a few days later the answer to the problem will come into my mind entirely from its own accord; the operation which has produced it, however, remains as much a mystery to me as that of an adding-machine: what has occurred is, again, unconscious rumination.” - Arthur Schopenhauer
In the past few years, we have found evidence for the fact that people indeed think unconsciously, that unconscious thought leads to increased creativity, and that it improves decision-making. In fact, decisions after unconscious thought are sometimes (often, we believe) better than decisions after conscious thought.
Here are some selected studies that will clarify what is meant by conscious vs unconscious thinking:
The Merits of Unconscious Thought in Preference Detection and Decision Making
http://unconsciouslab.nl/publications/Dijksterhuis%20-%20The%20Merits%20of%20Unconscious%20Thought%20in% 20Preference%20Detection%20and%20Decision%20Making .pdf
The Deliberation Without Attention Effect
http://www.unconsciouslab.nl/publications/Dijksterhuis%20Bos%20Nordgren%20Van%20Baaren%20-%20The%20deliberation%20without%20attention%20effe ct.pdf
The Generative Power of Unconscious Thought
http://www.unconsciouslab.nl/publications/Dijksterhuis%20Meurs%20-%20The%20generative%20power%20of%20Unconscious%20T hought.pdf
Unconscious Tthought Can Increase Post-choice Satisfaction
http://www.unconsciouslab.nl/publications/Dijksterhuis%20Van%20Olden%20-%20Unconscious%20thought%20can%20increase%20post-choice%20satisfaction.pdf
On the Goal-dependency of Unconscious Thought
http://www.unconsciouslab.nl/publications/Bos%20Dijksterhuis%20Van%20Baaren%20-%20On%20the%20Goal-dependency%20of%20Unconscious%20Thought.pdf
Source: http://www.unconsciouslab.com/index.php?page=Home&subpage=Unconscious%20Thought