Evidence is mounting that we are not as in control of our judgments and behavior as we think we are. Unconscious or 'automatic' forms of psychological and behavioral processes are those of which we tend to be unaware, that occur without our intention or consent, yet influence us on a daily basis in profound ways. Automatic processes influence our likes and dislikes for almost everything, as well as how we perceive other people, such as when we make stereotypic assumptions about someone based on their race or gender or social class. Even more strikingly, the latest research is showing that the aspects of life that are the richest experience and most important to us - such as emotions and our close relationships, as well as the pursuit of our important life tasks and goals - also have substantial unconscious components. Social Psychology and the Unconscious: The Automaticity of Higher Mental Processes offers a state-of-the-art review of the evidence and theory supporting the existence and the significance of automatic processes in our daily lives, with chapters by the leading researchers in this field today, across a spectrum of psychological phenomena from emotions and motivations to social judgment and behavior. The volume provides an introduction and overview of these now central topics to graduate students and researchers in social psychology and a range of allied disciplines with an interest in human behavior and the unconscious, such as cognitive psychology, philosophy of mind, political science, and business.

Evidence is mounting that we are not as in control of our judgements and behavior as we think we are. Unconscious or 'automatic' forms of psychological and behavioral processes are those of which we tend to be unaware, that occur without our intention or consent, yet influence us on a daily basis in profound ways. Automatic processes influence our likes and dislikes for almost everything, as well as how we perceive other people, such as when we make stereotypic assumptions about someone based on their race or gender or social class. Even more strikingly, the latest research is showing that the aspects of life that are the richest experience and most important to us - such as emotions and our close relationships, as well as the pursuit of our important life tasks and goals - also have substantial unconscious components.Social Psychology and the Unconscious: The Automaticity of Higher Mental Processes offers a state-of-the-art review of the evidence and theory supporting the existence and the significance of automatic processes in our daily lives, with chapters by the leading researchers in this field today, across a spectrum of psychological phenomena from emotions and motivations to social judgement and behavior. The volume provides an introduction and overview of these now central topics to graduate students and researchers in social psychology and a range of allied disciplines with an interest in human behavior and the unconscious, such as cognitive psychology, philosophy of mind, political science, and business.

How are social behaviors initiated, sustained, disrupted, and resumed? What are the cognitive bases of goals, and how are goals and actions affected by emotions? Putting an end to the traditional, and unproductive, juxtaposition of motivation and cognition, this book relates these domains to shed new light on the control of goal-directed action. Bringing together renowned social and motivational psychologists, it presents concise formulations of complete research programs that effectively map the territory, provide new findings, and suggest innovative ideas for future research.

Bringing together an array of outstanding contributors, this volume offers an in-depth examination of unintended thought--its underlying mechanisms, consequences in day-to-day life, and role in mental and emotional disturbance. Chapters describe a number of important phenomena that are influenced by unintended (and sometimes automatic, uncontrolled, or unconscious) ways of perceiving and interpreting the social and physical environment. These include inferences and judgments about self and others, stereotyping and prejudicial behavior, the impact of persuasive messages, long-term goals, responses to stress, and clinical depression. Key questions explored include the extent to which research findings in controlled settings bear on cognition and behavior outside the laboratory; how such constructs as intention and control of thought have been operationalized by investigators; and when self-control of unintended thought is possible or even desirable. Researchers, practitioners, and graduate students in cognitive, social, personality, and clinical psychology will find much of value in this unique work.

Over the past two decades, a new picture of the cognitive unconscious has emerged from a variety of disciplines that are broadly part of cognitive science. According to this picture, unconscious processes seem to be capable of doing many things that were thought to require intention, deliberation, and conscious awareness. Moreover, they accomplish these things without the conflict and drama of the psychoanalytic unconscious. These processes range from complex information processing, through goal pursuit and emotions, to cognitive control and self-regulation.
This collection of 20 original chapters by leading researchers examines the cognitive unconscious from social, cognitive, and neuroscientific viewpoints, presenting some of the most important developments at the heart of this new picture of the unconscious.
The volume, the first book in the new Social Cognition and Social Neuroscience series, will be an important resource on the cognitive unconscious for researchers in cognitive psychology and neuroscience.