Automaticity
Overview & Description:
Automaticity refers to the ability to do things without occupying the mind with the low-level details required. It’s a result of learning, repetition, and practice.
Key Points:
- Cognitive Processing: Certain tasks start as being controlled and demand a lot of attention, but with repetition, they become automatic.
- Examples: Reading, driving, typing, and even some social behaviors can become automatic with practice.
- Dual Process Theories: Many psychological theories, like the theory of reasoned action, incorporate the idea of both automatic and controlled processes.
Implications:
- Skill Acquisition: Understanding automaticity can help in the fields of education and skill training.
- Habit Formation and Change: Knowledge of how behaviors become automatic can aid in forming new habits or changing old ones.
References:
- Bargh, J. A. (1992). The ecology of automaticity: Toward establishing the conditions needed to produce automatic processing effects. American Journal of Psychology, 181-199.
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