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Glite Dictionary
unconscious process

unconscious process

1 4.8
A mental activity that happens without you noticing or controlling it
  • noun
  • /ʌnˈkɒnʃəs ˈprəʊsɛs/
  • Specialized
: proceso inconsciente
  • Understanding how unconscious processes impact our choices can help us make more informed decisions.

But another level we can't choose, as we're driven by underlying unconscious processes.

Examples

  • It is an automatic and unconscious process that allows individuals to resist the destabilizing effect of gravity.

    Academic text (1999)

  • But evidence shows we don't really know and that there are unconscious processes at work in our decision-making.

    Academic text (2006)

  • It's a totally unconscious process, Eddie.

    Hurlyburly (1998)

  • The objective is to gain some measure of consciousness about an unconscious process.

    Blog text (1)

  • We may be able to consciously reflect on decisions arising from our unconscious processes.

    Academic text (2006)

  • But the efficient, unconscious processes that make belief resistant to change can also put change outside the reach of direct and conscious efforts to effect change.

    Blog text (1)

  • If attention is used in conscious or unconscious processes in making decisions, remembering, evaluating, etc., then this much is removed from the awareness of the sense experience.

    Blog text (7)

  • The development of schemas and their retrieval from memory represent an unconscious process through which past perceptions influence the interpretation of the current situation (e.g., Kihlstrom, 1990).

    Academic text (1998)

  • Many behaviors we exhibit throughout the day are guided by unconscious processes that we are not fully aware of.

  • He realized that his favorite hobbies are influenced by unconscious processes, driving him to pursue certain activities over others.

Synonyms

reflex action
vsunconscious process
2 3.4

A quick movement your body makes without thinking, for example pulling your hand from something hot

is broader, including mental processes beyond simple bodily responses
automatism
vsunconscious process
  • Specialized
1 9.9

Actions done without thinking, often during a seizure or while sleepwalking

is general mental activity without awareness rather than clinical or pathological acts
subception
vsunconscious process
  • Specialized
9.9

A response to something you do not know is happening

is broader, covering many mental activities outside direct awareness
subliminal perception
vsunconscious process
  • Specialized
8.3

Noticing and reacting to pictures or sounds without being aware of them

is broader, covering processes outside awareness at any threshold

How Conscious

unconscious process
  • Specialized
1 4.8
automaticity
  • Specialized
8.1

Surface Forms

unconscious process singular
unconscious processes plural

Morphology

unconscious + process

The noun phrase is compositionally built from 'unconscious' (unaware) + 'process' (a sequence of steps), so the meaning 'a mental process occurring without awareness' follows directly from the constituents. This ADJ+N pattern is a common, cross-linguistically transparent way to label mental states, so a B1 learner who knows both words should be able to infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

The noun unconscious process creates the image of a process as a set of steps working unconsciously, like a machine running in the dark or someone doing things on 'autopilot' without notice. So, it means 'a mental process that happens without a person being aware'.