Automatic
Processing is something that I have done a lot without really noticing. For
example, I sometimes give incorrect answers to questions because I don’t put
enough thought into the question itself, and just spout what I automatically
thought the answer was. This can be simple questions such as, “What are you
doing?” or even mathematical questions, like, “If this was made in 1998, how
old is it?” This sort of thing can be seen in shows and movies, like the fourth episode of the first season of “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.” Twilight tells Applejack that
she is going to help her, no matter what. She wasn’t directly ready for
Applejack to say “Yes,” and almost said something as if she said “No.” Despite
these automatic responses I make, I have also taken steps to prevent myself
from doing so before learning what it was.
These
steps include listening to the question and actively pondering it for a moment
before forming a thoughtful, honest answer. Although the schemata I may have
formed for each question still get in the way when I do think, I’ve gotten
better at actually stating direct answers to questions and inquiries.
I have a problem with automatic interpretation as well. I often have to check myself so as to not make automatic responses just to people calling my name. While trying to correct the behavior I created another automatic response of asking someone to repeat a question just to give myself some time to process the inquiry.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, your use of My Little Pony as a reference example is excellent. It reminds me of old episodes of G.I. Joe when they would do the little educational bits at the end of each episode and always ended "Knowing is half the battle."