The New York Times has a fascinating article about the latest research that helps us understand the unconscious brain. The most fascinating aspect of the story is how unconsciousness influences our actions and decisions in the most subliminal way:
The study participants, college students, had no idea that their social instincts were being deliberately manipulated. On the way to the laboratory, they had bumped into a laboratory assistant, who was holding textbooks, a clipboard, papers and a cup of hot or iced coffee — and asked for a hand with the cup.
That was all it took: The students who held a cup of iced coffee rated a hypothetical person they later read about as being much colder, less social and more selfish than did their fellow students, who had momentarily held a cup of hot java.
Great article. The only criticism we have is that the author uses terms “subconscious” and “unconscious” interchangeably. Unfortunately, for the psych purists, it is not the same thing, as this article in Wikipedia can testify to.
LINK: Who’s Minding the Mind?