The Unconscious Mind: Human Behavior

Goal: To further explore one of the themes of this course, the extent to which humansconsciously control their behavior and mental states.Your task1. Choose at least 1 of the topics below and watch the related video (you can choose to watchmore than one if you’re interested):• The Capgras Delusion, in which an individual no longer responds emotionally to the sight ofhis/her loved ones, and creates a delusion (e.g., they have been replaced by replicant aliens)to explain the emotional distance they are experiencing.• • Split brain patients, who have had their corpus callosum (a dense bundle of nerve fibersconnecting the two hemispheres of the brain) surgically severed. Although this procedurecorrects their seizures (the reason the procedure is done), the patient will be left with twofunctionally disconnected brains instead of a single, unified brain. One consequence of thissplit is that the two hemispheres may simultaneously experience different moods, onehemisphere may not believe in God while the other does, and one hemisphere may notsupport the same presidential candidate as the other!• Although only a small replication, the video below is based on research that suggests that ourbehavior and cognition can be subconsciously altered (individuals can be primed to be rude,to make them more aware and fearful of their own mortality, to clean up after themselvesbetter, and so on).2. Answer the following questions, drawing on the information above:2.1. What does this (the concept or concepts you learned about above) tell us about therole of the unconscious mind in everyday behavior?2.2. To what extent is our daily, waking behavior and mental life controlled byunconscious activity? When answering this question, you should be sure to includespecific examples (beyond the material you learned about in part 1) to support yourclaim. You should do your best to estimate as specifically as possible, how much of yourbehavior you believe is under your direct control (e.g., "I think 5% of my behavior iscontrolled consciously."). Think carefully about this one!