A new study, led by University of Alberta, has revealed that when it comes to working out where the future lies, one’s unconscious mind is both smarter than one thinks and can be a great motivator.
Lead researcher Sarah Moore say that unconscious feelings about objects in the environment influence the pursuit of long -term goals.
The study explores how the unconscious mind responds to objects in relation to an individual’s goals — and how the unconscious continues to influence feelings about the objects once the goals are reached, whether or not the outcome has been successful, the ‘Daily Mail’ reported.
Unconscious feelings
“In our study, we looked at how our unconscious feelings about objects in the environment influence how we pursue goals,” Moore was as quoted saying.
Moore notes previous studies have shown when it comes to short-term, finite goals, such as responding to basic needs like thirst or hunger, the unconscious will evaluate objects and form preferences based on whether the object will help an individual achieve the goal.
She says in the case of thirst, items such as a water fountain or a bottle of Coke will be seen favourably, while a chocolate bar would not. However, she explains once the goal is reached, those same objects will be evaluated differently.
“Once your thirst is quenched, you don’t evaluate the water fountain positively anymore because you’ve accomplished the goal. But there are differences when we look at long-term goals,”
The study focused on longer-term goals, such as getting in shape or undertaking educational pursuits. For both types of goals, she says, the process is similar in that the unconscious identifies and responds to positively to objects and triggers in the environment that support the goal.
