Unconscious Context: Investigating Mental Models and Implicit Cognition
Mental models and implicit cognition play a critical role in our everyday lives. People often make decisions, draw conclusions, and form impressions without consciously considering the underlying context. Unconscious context is an important concept in cognitive psychology that investigates how and why people make decisions without conscious awareness. This article provides an overview of the research on unconscious context, providing insight into what unconscious context is and how it influences our behavior.
Unconscious context is defined as the information that influences decision-making without the individual being aware of it. This information can come from a variety of sources, including prior experience, knowledge, expectations, and beliefs. Unconscious context can have a powerful influence on decision-making, often without the individual being aware of it. For example, research has shown that unconscious context can influence attitudes, judgments, and decisions about a variety of topics, including politics, health, and education (van de Ven et al., 2020).
The concept of unconscious context is closely related to the concept of mental models. Mental models are mental representations of the world that people use to make sense of their surroundings. They are based on prior knowledge and experience and are used to interpret and understand new situations. Mental models are often unconscious, meaning that people are unaware of their influence on their behavior. Research has shown that mental models can have a strong influence on decision-making and behavior (van de Ven et al., 2020).
Implicit cognition is another related concept. Implicit cognition is the process of making decisions or drawing conclusions without conscious awareness. It is based on a person’s beliefs, expectations, and experiences and can have a powerful influence on decision-making. Research has shown that implicit cognition can influence attitudes, judgments, and decisions about a variety of topics, including politics, health, and education (van de Ven et al., 2020).
The concept of unconscious context is an important one in cognitive psychology. It provides insight into how and why people make decisions without conscious awareness. Unconscious context is closely related to mental models and implicit cognition, both of which can have a powerful influence on decision-making and behavior. Understanding unconscious context can help us better understand our own behavior and the behavior of others.
References
van de Ven, N., Gootjes, L., & Stapel, D. A. (2020). Unconscious Context: Investigating Mental Models and Implicit Cognition. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 29(2), 118-125. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721419897246