Social Cognition Vol 16 No 41998 pp 400417AUTOMATIC ACTION AND - PDF document

Social Cognition, Vol. 16, No. 4,1998, pp. 400-417AUTOMATIC ACTION AND INACTIONHELP, I NEED SOMEBODY:C. NEIL MACRAEUniversity of BristolLUCY JOHNSTONUniversity of CanterburyThe goal of behavioral control is of central importance in everyday life. When theproduction of an unwanted action can have deleterious consequences for perceiv-1996), in the present research we investigated the extent to which the automaticin mind (i.e., Experiment 2), automatic behavioral priming effects were eliminated.for recent treatments of behavioralexternal influences change, organisms alter their actions toPausing to observe an undergraduate shuffle slowly from the laboratory,one may reasonably speculate on the reason for herlocomotive lassitude.This research was supported by a University of Canterbury Research Grant #2202086 toLucy Johnston and a Visiting Erskine Fellowship to Neil Macrae. The authors thank SerenaBS8 ITN, UKany one of these factors could potentially account for her rather "pedes-sound, this is precisely the effect that Bargh et al. (1996) demonstratedpropensities, such as walking speed in the elderly, verbosity in politi-(Bargh, 1990, 1997; Dijksterhuis &1989, 1990, 1994, 1997). As Bargh argues, "muchACTION INITIATIONAs it tu

rns out, effects of the sort reported by Bargh et al. (1996) are notas remarkable as they may at first appear; instead, automatic behavioralIndeed, were action to unfold in any other way, life as we know it wouldbe fraught with peril (Bargh, 1997; Norman Sr Shallice, 1986). For exam-(e.g., driving, dating, dancing), action initiation needs to be decoupledcan be triggered implicitly has been acknowledged for many years1990; Schank Sr Abelson, 1977). The noteworthy contribution of recent& Chambers, 402namely that complex actions (and for that matter decision processes) areis not necessarily so.is the assumption that action tendencies are repre-sentation is activated, accessible behavioral information may guideone's actions in a particular direction (e.g., one will reach for fudgeas easily havetask. In a further demonstration of behavioralare off and nobody's home."is because theirwalking speed, it did not encourage them "to go buy condos in Flor-lable (Bargh, 1997). In the research reported herein that endorses thisACTION INHIBITIONFcr an activated behavioral propensity to influence the elicitation ofis to be enacted (i.e., constructif the secretary is absent. Similarly, the activated propensitythecurrent task environment,

otherwise inaction will prevail.In complex social settings, correspon- 404rent goal states also shape one's behavioral outputs. Imagine, forsecretary are present. In such a setting, it is inconceivable that onethe primed propensity to kiss one's colleague. Similarly, even in thecompeting for the control of one's behavior. These forces, moreover,will frequently have quite antagonistic behavioral implications, someoperating. Behavior is typically regulated by the automatic activation ofness (Baars, 1997; Norman & Shallice, 1986). However, when perceiversplace, the inflexible products of implicit action schemas are no longeris actively inhibited by abehavioral control is termed contention scheduling; conflict is resolvedAUTOMATIC ACTION AND INACTIONGiven this analysis of mental functioning, it is interesting to note thatinwhich external or internal obstructions to action are present. Followingrole in the regulation of action, essentially because they have the powerUnder these circumstances, a schematic battle for the control of one'sand inaction will simultaneously compete for the control of one's& Shallice, 1986; Powers, 1973). If indeed thethe present research, acknowledging this possi-bility, we investigated the inhibitor

y effect of environmental features 406MACRAE AND JOHNSTONEXPERIMENT 1Participants and Design. Sixty-four female undergraduates participatedProcedure and Stimulus Materials. Participants arrived at the laboratorytically related to helping. The 10 critical priming stimuli were as follows:(see Bargh et al., 1996).After giving their consent to participate in the experiment, participantsthe desk (a large pile of books,papers, and a small bag) and moved toward the laboratory door. As sheAUTOMATIC ACTION AND INACTIONapproached the door, however, she accidentally dropped some itemswould be helpful to pick up both regular pens and leaking pens thatthat is, getting covered in ink. Thus, in a helping situation we expected1. It is possible that self-directed attention could influence the efficacy of behavioral20 participants were requested to complete a pronoun-idenfication task (Davis & Brock,floor. Participants were given a Dutch story in which 20 alleged pronouns were underlinedns. 408TABLE 1. Participants' Helping Rates as a Function of Priming Condition and Pen Typewas undertaken on the data (for ANOVA on binary data, see Kirk,p p .00011 and control [F(1,60) = 24.79, p previous research of this kind and reflects the automatic el

icitation ofEXPERIMENT 2Our first experiment confirmed that features of the task environment canmoderate the automatic elicitation of action. Although participants wereby providing additional activation or inhibition of schemas competingbut one is 5 minutes late for an important appointment (Dailey & Batson,Participants and Design. Sixty-four female undergraduates participatedin this experiment. The experiment had a 2 (Prime: help or control) x 2Procedure and Stimulus Materials. Participants arrived at the laboratoryratory and walk to the foyer of the Psychology Department, where thenext experimenter would be waiting. As she furnished this instruction,messages. For half of the participants, the experimenter announced that .410TABLE 2. Panicipante Helping Rate as a Function of Prime and Experimental StatusPrimeHelp (%)Experimental Status100.0Running late12.5leave. As she opened the door, however, the experimenter accidentallyschedule. Thedependent measure was therefore whether participants helped the ex-p 0001. As expected, a significant prime x experimental status interactionin both the prime [F(1,60) = 86.53, p help the experimenter than theircondition (i.e., no prime), those primed to be helpful were indeed moreblatant

priming manipulation attenuated the magnitude of the associ-GENERAL DISCUSSIONTHE GOAL OF CONTROLmenter with unusual rapidity, emit hostile expressions when asked torepeat a laborious task, dawdle away from the laboratory, articulate a(see Bargh et al., 1996; Dijksterhuis & van Knippen-Macrae et al., 1998). These effects are theoretically notewor-a pizza—tasksControl (%)75.0 AUTOMATIC ACTION AND INACTIONif its workings, the mind can respond flexibly and adaptively to the& Bargh, 1996; Macrae,they can also propel people to engage in decidedly antisocial acts, evenan untenableit is probable that most control processes are cognitively impenetrable,operating in the silent world of the unconscious mind. As Baars (1988,fact is, of course,speech, we do notON RESISTING ASSISTING: DOING THE RIGHT THINGIn the present article, we speculated that the elicitation of automaticcues (and their associated behavioral tendencies) and processing goalsassistance in picking them up (see also Bargh et al., 1996). Quite differ-thereby demonstrating that the automatic elicitation of action can be& Shallice, 1986).In this framework, it is easy to see how activated schemas need not 414AUTOMATIC ACTION AND INACTIONsee to that. In such a situation, t

endencies toward inaction may deriveschemas, with environmental cues and internal psychological statesCONCLUSIONSBehavioral control is of central importance in social interaction. Whenan errant response can land one in unseemly trouble, there is consider-value in the possession of a mental system that constantly modifies,is a precursor of control, then surely lack of aware-cajoled, and guided (i.e., promoted or inhibited) to meet the demandsif control processes relied entirely upon theREFERENCESBaars, B. J. (1988). A cognitive theory of consciousness. New York: Cambridge UniversityIn the theater of consciousness. New York: Oxford University Press.Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.in socialUnintended thought(pp. 3-51). New York: Guilford.Handbook of motivation and cognition (Vol. 2,Handbook of(2nd Ed., Vol. 1: Basic Processes, pp. 1-40). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Advances in(Vol. 10, pp. 1-61). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Journal of Personality and Social230-244.Berkowitz, L. (1984). Some effects of thoughts on anti- and prosocial influences of mediaPsychological Bulletin, 95,410-427.Journal ofPersonality and Social Psychology, 7,202-207.Advances in social cognition (Vol. 11, pp. 1-52). Mahwah, NJ:Journal of

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