scholarly journals A Fresh Look at the Unconscious Thought Effect: Using Mind-Wandering Measures to Investigate Thought Processes in Decision Problems With High Information Load

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena Steindorf ◽  
Jan Rummel ◽  
C. Dennis Boywitt
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Sampling Methods ◽  
Complex Problem ◽  
Decision Problems ◽  
Thought Processes ◽  
Unconscious Thought ◽  
The Unconscious ◽  
Evaluation Task ◽  
Experience Sampling Methods ◽  
High Information

Unconscious Thought Theory (Dijksterhuis, 2004) states that thinking about a complex problem unconsciously can result in better solutions than conscious deliberation. We take a fresh look at the cognitive processes underlying “unconscious” thought by analyzing data of 822 participants who worked on a complex apartment-evaluation task in three experiments. This task’s information-presentation and evaluation parts were separated by different kinds of filler-interval activities, which corresponded to standard conscious-thought and unconscious-thought manipulations. Employing experience-sampling methods, we obtained thought reports during and after filler-interval engagement. Evidence concerning the existence of the Unconscious Thought Effect was mixed, with such an effect being present in the first two experiments only. In these experiments, we further found less problem deliberation to be associated with better performance on the apartment task. Interestingly, this benefit disappeared when we probed participants’ thoughts during the filler interval. We suggested that explicit thought awareness diminishes the Unconscious Thought Effect.

Applying Evidence in Practice

2014 ◽  
pp. 65-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Dore
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
Thought Processes ◽  
Unconscious Thought ◽  
Analytical Reasoning ◽  
The Way

Judgement and decision-making lie at the heart of practice and are feats that practitioners perform under conditions that are complex and uncertain, the attainment of positive outcomes for service users dependent upon the aptitude of those charged with the task and the scaffolding provided by their employing organisations. Faced with such a challenge, social workers somehow avoid paralysis and take action to support and protect those with whom they work, drawing on experience, skill, information, and intervention evidence. The way they negotiate, orientate, interpret, and apply this knowledge is often through unconscious thought processes that require illumination and balance. This chapter considers how practitioners make sense of the situations that they come into contact with and discusses the intuitive-analytical reasoning continuum integral to this. Attention is given to the role of value as an influence upon perception and subsequent interpretation, together with the role played by cognitive processes.

The effect of the cognitive demands of the distraction task on unconscious thought

2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Waroquier ◽  
Marlène Abadie ◽  
Olivier Klein ◽  
Axel Cleeremans
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Unconscious Thought ◽  
Cognitive Demands ◽  
The Unconscious ◽  
Unconscious Processes ◽  
Distraction Task ◽  
Complex Decision Making ◽  
Complex Decision

AbstractThe unconscious-thought effect occurs when distraction improves complex decision making. Recent studies suggest that this effect is more likely to occur with low- than high-demanding distraction tasks. We discuss implications of these findings for Newell & Shanks' (N&S's) claim that evidence is lacking for the intervention of unconscious processes in complex decision making.

Algebra Word Problem Solutions: Thought Processes Underlying a Common Misconception

1982 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Clement
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Word Problem ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Word Problems ◽  
Protocol Analysis ◽  
Correct Solution ◽  
Thought Processes ◽  
Effective Strategies ◽  
Wrong Side ◽  
Common Misconception

A large number of college students exhibit a common misconception while solving certain algebra word problems. The error appears in writing equations where a multiplying factor is placed on the wrong side of the equation: writing 6S=P instead of S=6P, for example. Protocol analysis can allow us to investigate the cognitive processes producing the error as well as those leading to the correct solution. The findings have also led us to view the nature of the processes underlying the correct use of algebraic symbolization in a new way. The description of these basic processes should make it easier to design more effective strategies for teaching algebraic symbolization skills.

Understanding Offender Decision Making Using Surveys, Interviews, and Life Event Calendars

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronet Bachman ◽  
Ray Paternoster
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Survey Research ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Adolescent And Young Adult ◽  
Thought Processes ◽  
Life Event ◽  
Inductive Research ◽  
Correctional Settings ◽  
Pathways To Desistance

Research has increasingly utilized surveys and intensive interviews to investigate the cognitive processes inherent in offenders’ decision making. Moreover, these methods have often been included in mixed-methods approaches that include life events calendars to enhance recall of past events and thought processes, or they have been included as part of experimental designs to elucidate causal mechanisms. This chapter provides a review of research that investigates offender decision making using samples from the general population of adolescents or young adults as well as samples of adolescents at a higher risk of offending. Survey research utilizing samples of adolescent and young adult offenders, called the Pathways to Desistance study, is also reviewed, along with survey research of adult offenders in specific correctional settings. Finally, recent inductive research that relies on intensive interviews is reviewed.

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