Executive Control Without Conscious Awareness: The Cold Control Theory Of Hypnosis

Abstract

Abstract Control and awareness seem intimately related (e.g. Norman and Shallice 1986; Jacoby 1991). Of course, some forms of control occur quite unconsciously (plausibly, for example, the detailed configuring of motor movements; Milner and Goodale 1995). However, there are some forms of control, such as planning or overcoming strong response tendencies (the ‘executive tasks ‘ of Norman and Shallice) that are so commonly associated with conscious awareness that it would seem bizarre if they occurred without it. In fact, unconscious executive control is not possible in the theories of Norman and Shallice and Jacoby. In this chapter, we argue for the theoretical possibility of unconscious executive control, based on the higher order thought (HOT) theory of Rosenthal (1986, 2002, 2005), and then argue that hypnosis provides an example of executive control without conscious awareness (cf. Hilgard 1977; Spanos 1986; Oakley 1999).

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