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Glite Dictionary
🧠 Involuntary action 🧠 Unconscious movement
ideomotor

ideomotor

9.9
Relating to small body movements caused by thoughts and not done on purpose
  • adjective
  • /ˌaɪdiˈmoʊtər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : ideomotor
  • Some magic tricks rely on the ideomotor effect to make objects appear to move on their own.

Examples

  • The ideomotor response can be observed during hypnosis.

  • An ideomotor effect often occurs in muscle testing.

  • The psychologist studied the ideomotor responses of participants during the experiment.

  • The patient's ideomotor actions were triggered by simple suggestions from the therapist.

  • The psychologist studied the ideomotor responses of participants during the experiment.

  • Some magic tricks rely on the ideomotor effect to make objects appear to move on their own.

  • The patient's ideomotor actions were triggered by simple suggestions from the therapist.

Synonyms

involuntary
vsideomotor
73 5.4

Not done on purpose and not under a person's control

is limited to movements caused by thoughts rather than any unconscious action

How Involuntary

reflexive
  • Specialized
7 6.8
ideomotor
  • Specialized
9.9
automatic
48 3.7
voluntary
  • Specialized
11 3.9

Surface Forms

ideomotor positive

Morphology

ideomotor = motor (semi-transparent) = ideo + motor

The combining form 'ideo-' is obscure as a standalone English morpheme, while 'motor' is transparent; the technical sense is inferable but specialized.

Etymology

Ideomotor comes from two parts: ideo- meaning 'idea' and motor meaning 'to move', the same motor you know in a car. So, ideomotor describes movements that happen because of an idea, often without a person trying to move.