Automatic and Flexible: The Case of Nonconscious Goal Pursuit

2009/02/01 by Ran R. Hassin, John A. Bargh, Shira Cohen‐Zimerman · 2 citations
Psychology · #Behavioral Health and Interventions #Motivation and Self-Concept in Sports #Personality Traits and Psychology

paper · doi:10.1521/soco.2009.27.1.20

openalex publication_date 2009/02/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22

Abstract

Arguing from the nature of goal pursuit and from the economy of mental resources this paper suggests that automatic goal pursuit, much like its controlled counterpart, may be flexible. Two studies that employ goal priming procedures examine this hypothesis using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (Study 1) and a variation of the Iowa Gambling Task (Study 2). Implications of the results for our understanding of the dichotomy between automatic and controlled processes in general, and for our conception of automatic goal pursuit in particular, are discussed.

Citations

• The general causality orientations scale: Self-determination in personality
• Toward an instance theory of automatization.
• A Simple Objective Technique for Measuring Flexibility in Thinking
• The Unity and Diversity of Executive Functions and Their Contributions to Complex “Frontal Lobe” Tasks: A Latent Variable Analysis

Cited by

• Contemplative Practices and Mental Training: Prospects for American Education
• John Bargh [wikipedia]