About this Research Topic
When you wake up in the morning, do you consciously think about which foot to put down first and how to take the next steps to move forward? Of course not. However, you struggled consciously to learn to walk as an infant. But once you mastered walking by the end of the first year, it soon became automatic, and now you use zero consciousness when walking. In this way, all human movements become nonconsciously operated and automatic with enough repeats. No consciousness is needed because action execution is relegated to the nonconscious brain activity. Just think how hard and cognitively straining life would be if we had to consciously think of every movement we make. It then follows that all human movements are inclined or predisposed toward automaticity. People are biased to conserve cognitive and physical resources, and the nonconscious mind is their tool to do so.
Topic Editor Iso-Ahola points out that routine behaviors and movements become paths of least resistance and are therefore followed to conserve energy and make life less straining and demanding. Does this mean that “there is no role for consciousness”, as some psychologists have argued? No, of course not. When we start new activities or try to learn new motor skills, conscious thoughts play an important role in the early stages of the process. The same happens when we try to perform old and familiar movements in a new way, for example, walking backward. Such changes immediately invoke conscious thoughts. But once the skills have been practiced for a long time (countless repeats), they become more and more automatic. This is what happens with athletic skills. With practice, all the movements become more automatic and occupy increasingly more neural real estate, and more so with prolonged practice of the skills. Evidence has even shown that the acquisition of motor skills increases the density of the brain’s gray matter. In short, all movements reside in the brain’s regional networks and pathways. However, evidence indicates that automaticity can become a false ceiling rather than an indication of performance proficiency if skills are not continuously practiced and honed.
It is also known that conscious thoughts can interfere with automatic movements such that high-level athletes revert back to novice strategies when they have been made to focus on the specifics of skill execution under pressure. As a result, the interjection of conscious thoughts makes athletes “choke” in high-stakes situations. Topic Editor's research suggests that In a related vein, coaches often use time-outs in basketball to take opponents out of their nonconsciously driven and automatically run performances, thereby disrupting performance momentum, also called hot-hand, and flow. These examples demonstrate how conscious thoughts and actions can have both negative and positive effects on behavior and performance.
It is well established that nonconscious brain activity starts well before conscious intentions to act or move (1500 vs. 200 milliseconds). However, even though consciousness arrives at the scene well behind nonconsciousness, there is enough time, albeit barely, to “veto” movements if needed. Some neuroscientists have argued that since consciousness arrives at the scene after the nonconscious brain activity has started movements, consciousness is mainly used to interpret events and movements post hoc. Although nonconsciousness plays a dominant role in human behavior and performance most of the time, consciousness nevertheless can be recruited at any moment if needed.
However, there is still a wealth of questions to be answered by research. We welcome various article types focused on the following questions (but not limited to):
• How do people balance consciousness and nonconsciousness in their everyday activities?
• given that the conscious results from the nonconscious and the nonconscious from recent conscious experiences, how do people use this reciprocal or circular relationship productively to navigate movements in everyday living?
• how does implicit and explicit learning affect the later use of consciousness in actions?
• how do errors in a sequence of movements affect conscious control in the next movement?
• how does conscious physical activity transition to nonconscious exercise?
• are physical activities (e.g., hiking) used mindlessly for exercise or mindfully (consciously) for having rewarding experiences?
• do injuries make people conscious of their movements, and is the rehabilitation process as much about reducing consciousness as it is about healing muscles and bones?
• can the use of psychotherapeutic techniques facilitate a shift from heightened bodily awareness—marked by vigilance and apprehension—to more automatic and less conscious movement patterns in individuals recovering from physical injury?
• how do athletes learn to use and benefit from the interplay of conscious and nonconscious thoughts to enhance their performance?
• how does training and use of embodied cognitions (e.g., “marking” by ballet dancers) confer psychological benefits for athletes (i.e., reduced cognitive load)?
Topic Editor Iso-Ahola points out that routine behaviors and movements become paths of least resistance and are therefore followed to conserve energy and make life less straining and demanding. Does this mean that “there is no role for consciousness”, as some psychologists have argued? No, of course not. When we start new activities or try to learn new motor skills, conscious thoughts play an important role in the early stages of the process. The same happens when we try to perform old and familiar movements in a new way, for example, walking backward. Such changes immediately invoke conscious thoughts. But once the skills have been practiced for a long time (countless repeats), they become more and more automatic. This is what happens with athletic skills. With practice, all the movements become more automatic and occupy increasingly more neural real estate, and more so with prolonged practice of the skills. Evidence has even shown that the acquisition of motor skills increases the density of the brain’s gray matter. In short, all movements reside in the brain’s regional networks and pathways. However, evidence indicates that automaticity can become a false ceiling rather than an indication of performance proficiency if skills are not continuously practiced and honed.
It is also known that conscious thoughts can interfere with automatic movements such that high-level athletes revert back to novice strategies when they have been made to focus on the specifics of skill execution under pressure. As a result, the interjection of conscious thoughts makes athletes “choke” in high-stakes situations. Topic Editor's research suggests that In a related vein, coaches often use time-outs in basketball to take opponents out of their nonconsciously driven and automatically run performances, thereby disrupting performance momentum, also called hot-hand, and flow. These examples demonstrate how conscious thoughts and actions can have both negative and positive effects on behavior and performance.
It is well established that nonconscious brain activity starts well before conscious intentions to act or move (1500 vs. 200 milliseconds). However, even though consciousness arrives at the scene well behind nonconsciousness, there is enough time, albeit barely, to “veto” movements if needed. Some neuroscientists have argued that since consciousness arrives at the scene after the nonconscious brain activity has started movements, consciousness is mainly used to interpret events and movements post hoc. Although nonconsciousness plays a dominant role in human behavior and performance most of the time, consciousness nevertheless can be recruited at any moment if needed.
However, there is still a wealth of questions to be answered by research. We welcome various article types focused on the following questions (but not limited to):
• How do people balance consciousness and nonconsciousness in their everyday activities?
• given that the conscious results from the nonconscious and the nonconscious from recent conscious experiences, how do people use this reciprocal or circular relationship productively to navigate movements in everyday living?
• how does implicit and explicit learning affect the later use of consciousness in actions?
• how do errors in a sequence of movements affect conscious control in the next movement?
• how does conscious physical activity transition to nonconscious exercise?
• are physical activities (e.g., hiking) used mindlessly for exercise or mindfully (consciously) for having rewarding experiences?
• do injuries make people conscious of their movements, and is the rehabilitation process as much about reducing consciousness as it is about healing muscles and bones?
• can the use of psychotherapeutic techniques facilitate a shift from heightened bodily awareness—marked by vigilance and apprehension—to more automatic and less conscious movement patterns in individuals recovering from physical injury?
• how do athletes learn to use and benefit from the interplay of conscious and nonconscious thoughts to enhance their performance?
• how does training and use of embodied cognitions (e.g., “marking” by ballet dancers) confer psychological benefits for athletes (i.e., reduced cognitive load)?
Keywords: Nonconscious Effects, Movement, Exercise, Sports, Momentum, Choking, consciousness
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