The Unconscious Will: How the Pursuit of Goals

Operates Outside of Conscious Awareness

Ruud Custers, et al.
Science 329, 47 (2010);
DOI: 10.1126/science.1188595

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only.

If you wish to distribute this article to others, you can order high-quality copies for your
colleagues, clients, or customers by clicking here.

Permission to republish or repurpose articles or portions of articles can be obtained by

following the guidelines here.

The following resources related to this article are available online at www.sciencemag.org
(this information is current as of July 1, 2010 ):

Updated information and services, including high-resolution figures, can be found in the online
version of this article at:
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/329/5987/47

Downloaded from www.sciencemag.org on July 1, 2010

This article cites 45 articles, 12 of which can be accessed for free:
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/329/5987/47#otherarticles

This article appears in the following subject collections:

Psychology
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/collection/psychology

Science (print ISSN 0036-8075; online ISSN 1095-9203) is published weekly, except the last week in December, by the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1200 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005. Copyright
2010 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science; all rights reserved. The title Science is a
registered trademark of AAAS.
 REVIEW
who proposed that our (often sexual) desires are
suppressed and banished to the dark corners of
the mind but pop up in hysteria and under hyp-
The Unconscious Will: How the nosis. Whereas Freud’s complex theory on the
unconscious was largely unfalsifiable (5), research-
Pursuit of Goals Operates Outside ers in the behaviorist tradition built more-testable
theories, according to which neither consciousness

of Conscious Awareness nor cognition but rigid responses to environmental

stimuli determine behavior.
Obviously, the environment plays a crucial
Ruud Custers* and Henk Aarts* role in directing behavior. However, acting on
fixed stimulus-response rules—such as smashing
People often act in order to realize desired outcomes, or goals. Although behavioral science a beeping alarm clock in the morning—is not the
recognizes that people can skillfully pursue goals without consciously attending to their behavior whole story. A substantial part of human be-
once these goals are set, conscious will is considered to be the starting point of goal pursuit. havior can only be explained by assuming that
Indeed, when we decide to work hard on a task, it feels as if that conscious decision is the first and people have goals in mind that direct their be-
foremost cause of our behavior. That is, we are likely to say, if asked, that the decision to act havior in a dynamic world (6). Cognitive sci-
produced the actions themselves. Recent discoveries, however, challenge this causal status of entists indeed proposed that the flexibility to

Downloaded from www.sciencemag.org on July 1, 2010

conscious will. They demonstrate that under some conditions, actions are initiated even though we produce the same desired outcomes under vary-
are unconscious of the goals to be attained or their motivating effect on our behavior. Here we ing circumstances comes from our capacity to
analyze how goal pursuit can possibly operate unconsciously. mentally represent what we want and do: to build
and store mental representations
s humans, we generally have the feeling of goals. These goal representations

A that we decide what we want and what

we do. These self-reflections remind us
that we are not bound to the present environ-
function as beacons for behavior,
motivating action and guiding its
course (7).
ment for our actions: We can envision ourselves For a long time, it was generally
in different places, in alternative futures, doing assumed that many of the mental
different things. We only have to decide to do so, processes that make goal pursuit
and we can go see a movie tonight or hang out possible require consciousness. But
with friends in a bar. It is up to us. Our behaviors in the past decade or so, the sci-
seem to originate in our conscious decisions to entific study of goal pursuit has
pursue desired outcomes, or goals. discovered that these processes
Scientific research, though, suggests other- can also operate without conscious
wise. In a remarkable experiment conducted awareness, and hence, human be-
more than 25 years ago (1), research participants havior may originate in a kind of
were instructed to freely choose when to move unconscious will. This recent evi-
their index fingers while the timing of the action dence that goal pursuit can occur
itself, of its preparation in the brain, and of without people being conscious of
when the person became aware of the decision the active goal or its influence on their
to act were measured. Although the decision did motivation and behavior has been
indeed precede the action, the preparation of the met with resistance and skepticism,
finger movement in the brain was well on its way perhaps partly due to its far-reaching
by the time people consciously decided to act. implications for our understanding of
Apparently, when people are persuaded to consciousness and for our view of
consciously set a goal to engage in behavior, their what it is to be human (8). Further-
conscious will to act starts out unconsciously. Fig. 1. The painting Achilles Slays Hector by Peter Paul Rubens more, scientists have not come to
The finding that the pursuit of the goals that depicts a scene from the Iliad in which no reference whatsoever grips with the potential redundancy
is made to conscious decisions or intentions (52). Instead, the
we consciously set and adopt is prepared uncon- of consciousness in (seemingly) voli-
pursuits of Achilles and the other characters are determined by
sciously, at least in the earliest moments before we tional behavior, because the mecha-
external factors, such as fate or the gods. Here we argue that
act on them, is intriguing. Recent research in social although people may have the feeling that their behavior is the nism by which the activation of goal
cognition, however, goes even one step further. This result of their conscious decisions, their goal pursuits too are representations can produce goal
research shows that goals themselves can arise and often directed by external sources of which they are not conscious. pursuit unconsciously is not fully
operate unconsciously. Social situations and stimu- understood. Understanding this
li in the surroundings activate or prime goals in mechanism is especially important
people’s minds outside of their awareness, thereby that they can socialize and hang out with friends because unconscious goal pursuit is proposed to
motivating and guiding them, for example, to work (4). Thus, goals and their pursuit can be influenced play a key role in many aspects of social life, such
harder on a task (2), to reach out a helping hand to by unconscious sources, and these goals do not as consumer and health behavior, moral behavior,
others even when facing obstacles (3), or to ensure need to be consciously set and adopted before their and social discrimination (9).
influence begins to operate (Fig. 1). Here we review research demonstrating that
Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 1, goals and the motivation to pursue them can arise
3584 CS Utrecht, Netherlands. A Brief Chronology unconsciously, and we propose a mechanism for
*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: The notion that the pursuit of goals can occur how this may happen. This proposed mechanism
[email protected] (R.C.); [email protected] (H.A.) unconsciously is reminiscent of Sigmund Freud, is based on the idea that, in principle, the mind

www.sciencemag.org SCIENCE VOL 329 2 JULY 2010 47

REVIEW
(and the brain in which it resides) is designed for criticized for allowing participants to be aware vated to pursue the primed goal. The general
action, and continuously and largely uncon- of the primes. Even though participants report finding of these checks is that although people’s
sciously processes behavioral-relevant infor- being unaware of the influence of the goal reported motivation often correlates with their
mation to readily “tell” its owner what she wants priming on their behavior, they still could have behavior (people who worked harder reported
and should do to deal with the opportunities and formed conscious intentions at the moment when that they were more motivated), these reports are
challenges presented by the environment. Thus, they consciously perceived the goal information. not influenced by the primes. This suggests that
setting, pursuing, and realizing goals can occur Hence, their goal pursuit may still have been the reason that subliminal priming of the goal
without conscious interventions. caused by their conscious will. affects goal pursuit is not that people become
To offer even more compelling evidence for conscious of their motivation to pursue the goal
Evidence for Unconscious Goal Pursuit unconscious goal pursuit, researchers have after it is primed. Participants may become
Unconscious goal pursuit was first systematically recently resorted to more stringent methods such conscious of their motivation after the behavior
examined in social psychological experiments as subliminal stimulation, which prevents con- is performed and when they are explicitly asked
that made use of so-called “unrelated studies” scious perception of the primes. Subliminal to reflect on it. In other words, the reported
setups. Bargh and colleagues (2) used such a stimulation refers to the presentation of stimuli conscious experience of pursuing goals may be
setup to prime the goal to achieve—a desired with an intensity that is too low to reach the an inference rather than the cause of goal pursuit
outcome most people strive to attain—in U.S. threshold of conscious awareness. Typically, (23, 24).
students without them becoming aware of being people cannot consciously detect these stimuli, In sum, a large body of research indicates that
influenced. Students were seated at a table to but they are nevertheless influenced by them. the pursuit of goals can be evoked outside of
work on two seemingly unrelated language puz- Whether subliminal stimulation can convey awareness. People become motivated to initiate

Downloaded from www.sciencemag.org on July 1, 2010

zles. For some students, the first puzzle included and exhibit behaviors available in their repertoire
words related to achievement (such as win or when goals that are represented as desired
achieve), and for others it did not. Students who outcomes are primed, even though they are not
were exposed to achievement words were found aware of the primed goal or its effect on their
to outperform the others on the second puzzle. Unconscious activation motivation and behavior. But how can this
Furthermore, achievement priming was found to of a goal representation happen?
prompt behavioral qualities that are characteristic
of motivational states or volition, such as persist- A Mechanism for Unconscious Goal Pursuit
ence in solving puzzles and increased flexibility To understand how the pursuit of goals occurs
on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (10), a stan- unconsciously, it is important to examine the
dard measure of flexibility in cognitive process- Preparation Detection functions that make motivated, goal-directed
ing (11). Extensive debriefing revealed that the of of positive behavior possible. Fortunately, behavioral scien-
students did not perceive an influence of the first action reward signal tists have worked hard to reduce the processes
task (in which they were exposed to consciously involved in goal pursuit to a few basic principles.
visible achievement-related words) on their re- Whereas these principles have been modeled in
sponses to the second. Hence, the effect of achieve- different psychological terms, most models of
ment priming on subsequent performance and goal pursuit share the three following basic
cognitive flexibility was likely to be the result of Goal pursuit features: a person (i) takes a possible outcome
unconscious processes. or goal in mind; (ii) considers whether the actions
Several experiments using the unrelated and resources to attain the outcome are available;
studies setup have replicated these goal-priming and (iii) assesses the value of the outcome (that is,
effects with different goals and different primes. Fig. 2. The proposed mechanism for unconscious the extent to which it is rewarding or desirable)
It has been found that reading words related to goal pursuit. (25). Thus, whether people set an outcome that
cooperation causes people to work together in comes to mind as a goal to pursue depends on its
economic games (2) and that perceiving words attainability and desirability.
describing occupations associated with making meaningful information has been debated for The assessment of this attainability and
money (such as stockbroker) or inferring this goal quite some time (16). However, recent findings desirability of a goal is considered to require
from another person’s actions (such as a person provide compelling evidence that subliminal consciousness by most dominant theories on goal
operating a slot machine) makes them work primes affect people’s responses (17), activate pursuit. Yet the evidence for unconscious goal
harder when money is at stake (12). Furthermore, semantically related knowledge (18), and even pursuit suggests that this does not have to be the
it has been shown that people’s pursuits are in- influence cognitive control in tasks (19). Build- case. The notion that goal pursuit can operate
fluenced by subtle cues in the environment out- ing on these findings, research has demonstrated unconsciously sounds ridiculous to some people
side their awareness: Upon entering an office, effects of subliminal stimulation on goal pursuit, but sensible to others. Sensible or not, the
people become more competitive when seeing a such as increased task performance after priming increasing evidence on this issue is fairly silent
leather briefcase placed on the desk (13), talk of achievement-related words (20), enhanced about the mechanisms that allow people to
more softly when looking at a library picture on fluid consumption in a taste task after priming pursue goals without conscious awareness. We
the wall (14), and clean their table more when of drinking-related words (21), and an increase will now discuss a mechanism for unconscious
there is a vague scent of cleaning agent in the air in instrumental behavior leading to specific goals goal pursuit and demonstrate that people can
(15). Together, these results show that goal (such as helping another person by providing unconsciously detect the reward value of a
pursuit is influenced and controlled unconscious- useful comments) after priming of names of primed goal and prepare feasible actions that
ly by social features that have become associated significant others (such as a good friend) or make the goal attainable. We will then show how
with goals, either through direct practice or through occupations (such as nurse) associated with these these two processes work together to produce
social norms, communication with important others, goals (12, 22). goal pursuit outside people’s conscious aware-
or the media. It is important to note that in most studies on ness (Fig. 2).
The studies on unconscious goal pursuit subliminal goal priming, people are asked in Unconscious action preparation and execution.
alluded to above, however, are sometimes retrospect to indicate whether they were moti- People may often become conscious of the actions

48 2 JULY 2010 VOL 329 SCIENCE www.sciencemag.org

 REVIEW
they prepare and execute, but their conscious the preparation and execution of the proper conscious awareness of rewards is not needed for
knowledge of what exactly they do to reach a goal behavior upon the priming of a goal representa- goal pursuit to occur.
is surprisingly limited (26). Consider the muscle tion. Because the world is a dynamic place that is The observation that a variety of reward cues
contractions and relaxations that make our arm full of opportunities and distractions, people are encoded by the same brain system to motivate
grab a cup of coffee. Computational models have should be both flexible (performing actions in cognition and action and can be processed
been proposed that describe how motoric pro- new settings or switching from one goal to the unconsciously has led to the proposal that a
cesses and sensory feedback work together to other) and persistent (keeping one’s eye on the positive reward signal associated with outcomes
control this behavior (27), but on a conscious level selected goal) to optimize goal pursuit. People plays a crucial role in unconscious goal pursuit
we have no idea how we do it. We just think of therefore also take into account the value or (42). Specifically, when a desired outcome or goal
grabbing the cup and it happens. rewarding properties of the goal, because this tells is primed, activation of the mental representation
We are able to initiate actions by thinking them whether it is warranted to invest the effort or of this outcome is immediately followed by the
about their outcomes, because actions and their recruit the resources necessary for maintaining activation of an associated positive affective tag,
outcomes are associated on a perceptual, sensory, their behavior, overcoming obstacles, or deviating which acts as a reward signal for pursuing the
and motor level (28). Through prior learning, from routines to attain the goal. Hence, even primed goal. The positive reward signal attached
certain patterns of muscle contraction and re- though priming a goal prepares and programs to a goal thus unconsciously facilitates the actual
laxation have become associated with their ob- actions unconsciously, whether this goal will selection of the goal and the subsequent mobili-
servable outcomes (such as grabbing and lifting a flexibly control information processing and be- zation of effort and resources to maintain the goal,
cup). Because of these associations, bringing to havior depends on whether it is worth pursuing. unless other (more rewarding) goals gain priority
mind the representation of an outcome prepares This crucial step from preparing actions to (43, 44). This affective-motivational process relies

Downloaded from www.sciencemag.org on July 1, 2010

and controls perception and action to produce the actually pursuing a goal is assumed to require an on associations between the representations of
outcome without much thought (6, 29). This way, act of conscious will (35, 36). So, can people outcomes and positive reward signals that are
action follows from an ideomotor principle (30): determine whether it is worth pursuing a given shaped by one’s history (for example, when a
The mere activation of the idea of a behavioral act goal and invest effort in attaining it without the person was happy when making money or
or outcome moves and programs the human body involvement of consciousness? Recent studies on performing well). In this case, the goal is said to
without a conscious decision to act. Research on the basic role of the processing of reward cues in preexist as a desired state in the mind. Priming this
social cognition and neuroscience has indeed human motivation suggest that yes, they can. goal representation not only prepares the appro-
revealed that merely seeing or reading about a Neuroimaging research has discovered that priate instrumental actions but also motivates
behavioral act or outcome immediately increases reward cues are processed by limbic structures behavior, rendering it persistent and flexible,
the tendency to realize it, even when this “idea” is such as the nucleus accumbens and the ventral directed at attaining the desired outcome.
triggered outside of conscious awareness (31, 32). striatum. These subcortical areas play a central We investigated the role of this positive
The ideomotor principle does not hold only role in determining the rewarding value of reward signal in the effect of subliminal goal-
for the preparation and execution of simple goal- outcomes and are connected to frontal areas in priming in teenagers and young adults (45). They
directed responses such as grabbing a cup, but the cortex that facilitate goal pursuit (37). These were seated in front of a computer, allegedly to
also for cognitive control and more complex reward centers in the brain respond to evolution- test their computer mouse skills. Before starting
social behavior. For instance, in a recent exper- arily relevant rewards such as food and sexual on this test, some participants were subliminally
iment (19), participants had a goal to judge words stimuli, but also to learned rewards (such as exposed to words related to the goal of socializ-
in terms of either sound or meaning, depending money or status), or words (such as good or nice) ing on the computer screen, whereas others were
on the visual cue preceding the word. Sometimes, that are associated with praise or rewards (38). exposed to words unrelated to this goal. At the
the cue that corresponded to the opposite task This demonstrates that regardless of their shape onset of the mouse-skill test, they were told that if
was subliminally presented before the actual cue. or form, such positive stimuli induce a reward there would be enough time left after the test,
It was found that the subliminally primed cue signal that is readily picked up by the brain (39). they could engage in a lottery in which they
enhanced brain activity in the cortical areas Other recent research has demonstrated that could win tickets to a popular student party. Thus,
related to the corresponding goal (involved in subliminal primes that are specifically related to spending more effort (by working faster) on the
either auditory or semantic processing), whereas rewards can motivate people to increase the effort mouse-skill test was instrumental in attaining the
activity related to the consciously cued goal was they invest in behaviors. In one study (37), goal to socialize. The participants indeed worked
reduced. The cognitive control system, in other participants could earn money by squeezing a harder on the mouse-skill test when the socializ-
words, responded to the subliminal cues by handgrip. Before each squeeze, the money that ing goal was primed, and this effect was stronger
selecting and preparing the execution of the could be earned was indicated by a 1-pound or 1- when socializing evoked a stronger positive
corresponding goal. penny coin on the screen. Whereas on some trials reward signal in the minds of the participants
Research on how people perform more com- the coin was clearly visible, on others it was (which was assessed in a separate implicit
plex behavior has also demonstrated that when they presented subliminally. Thus, effects of conscious affective association task). Importantly, checks
frequently select a goal (such as going to work), and unconscious reward cues could be compared indicated that priming caused participants to
they are not only able to orchestrate and execute within one experiment. It was found that people pursue the goal independently of their reported
actions that are instrumental in realizing it without squeezed harder on high than on low reward motivation to attain it. This finding not only
conscious attention to their behavior (absentmind- trials, regardless of whether the reward was demonstrates that people invest effort as a result
edly driving one’s car to the office). Priming the consciously visible or not. Moreover, this effect of subliminal goal priming but also that the
goal immediately selects the actions themselves was accompanied by activation in the brain areas resulting behavior is flexible, because people
(33). As such, the attainment of many goals is a that play a role in reward processing and the pursued an action that was available in their
straightforward affair: People automatically select recruitment of effort for action. Similar effects of repertoire (skillfully using a computer mouse) but
and execute behaviors available in their repertoire unconscious (and conscious) monetary rewards was novel to attain the goal. Similar effects of
when a goal is primed, and unconsciously adjust have been shown in cognitive tasks that require reward value have been documented for other,
their behavior based on perceptual input in the flexibility and cognitive resources (40, 41). These perhaps more consequential, behaviors. Priming
current situation to reach it (26, 34). findings indicate that conscious and unconscious an egalitarian goal, for instance, changes people’s
Unconscious reward processing and motiva- reward cues have similar effects on effort and voting behavior to the extent that this goal is
tion. The pursuit of goals does not only involve flexible cognitive processing, which suggests that represented as positive or rewarding (46).

www.sciencemag.org SCIENCE VOL 329 2 JULY 2010 49

REVIEW
The findings discussed above indicate that the ity for unconscious goal pursuit results from the 6. W. T. Powers, Science 179, 351 (1973).
pursuit of goals occurs “out of the blue” when a design and workings of the brain and mind, which 7. S. Monsell, J. Driver, Eds., Control of Cognitive Processes:
Attention and Performance XVIII (MIT Press, Cambridge,
goal representation is primed and followed by the process and represent behaviorally relevant MA, 2000).
activation of a positive reward signal due to an information in such a way that goal pursuit can 8. H. M. Gray, K. Gray, D. M. Wegner, Science 315, 619 (2007).
established association. However, a preexisting be controlled by the social situation without 9. J. A. Bargh, Eur. J. Soc. Psychol. 36, 147 (2006).
association between a goal representation and a conscious awareness of the activation and 10. R. R. Hassin, J. A. Bargh, S. Zimerman, Soc. Cogn. 27, 20
(2009).
reward signal may not be the only source from operation of the goal. 11. A. Miyake et al., Cognit. Psychol. 41, 49 (2000).
which unconscious goal pursuit arises. Under Earlier research has shown that action goals, 12. H. Aarts et al., Soc. Cogn. 23, 465 (2005).
some circumstances, unconscious goal pursuit such as moving a finger, that were initially con- 13. A. C. Kay, S. C. Wheeler, J. A. Bargh, L. Ross, Organ.
emerges when goal representations are primed sciously set are unconsciously prepared before Behav. Hum. Decis. Process. 95, 83 (2004).
14. H. Aarts, A. Dijksterhuis, J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 84, 18 (2003).
together with positive reward signals. This ability they are acted on (1). The literature reviewed here 15. R. W. Holland, M. Hendriks, H. Aarts, Psychol. Sci. 16,
to respond to the mere coactivation of goal suggests that the unconscious nature of the will 689 (2005).
representations and positive affective cues is has an even more pervasive impact on our life. 16. R. L. Abrams, A. G. Greenwald, Psychol. Sci. 11, 118 (2000).
thought to play a fundamental role in social Goals far more complex than finger movements, 17. F. Schlaghecken, M. Eimer, Psychon. Bull. Rev. 11, 463
(2004).
learning (47) and is considered as basic in moti- can guide behavior without being consciously set
18. L. Naccache, S. Dehaene, Cognition 80, 215 (2001).
vational analyses of human behavior (39). Thus, first, when they themselves are activated outside 19. H. C. Lau, R. E. Passingham, J. Neurosci. 27, 5805 (2007).
when a child observes his mother smile when conscious awareness. These unconsciously acti- 20. W. Hart, D. Albarracín, J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 97, 1129
munching homemade cookies, a student hears a vated goals cause people to invest effort and (2009).
hilarious joke upon entering the classroom, or a select actions available in their repertoire to attain 21. E. J. Strahan, S. J. Spencer, M. P. Zanna, J. Exp. Soc. Psychol.
38, 556 (2002).

Downloaded from www.sciencemag.org on July 1, 2010

person strolling around a mall hears people laugh the goal in novel settings without them being 22. G. M. Fitzsimons, J. A. Bargh, J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 84,
while reading on a billboard “start your holiday aware of the goal or its operation. Overall, the 148 (2003).
here,” this can cause the goal representations that evidence on unconscious goal pursuit indicates 23. H. Aarts, R. Custers, H. Marien, J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 96,
are primed by those situations (eating cookies, that the control of unconscious goals is flexible 967 (2009).
24. D. M. Wegner, The Illusion of Conscious Will (MIT Press,
achieving at school, booking a vacation) to acquire and effortful, suited to meet the dynamics of the Cambridge, MA, 2002).
an intrinsic reward value, which prepares and environment. 25. J. T. Austin, J. B. Vancouver, Psychol. Bull. 120, 338 (1996).
motivates goal-directed behavior. Understanding exactly how unconscious goals 26. P. Fourneret, M. Jeannerod, Neuropsychologia 36, 1133
A recent study examined the effects of flexibly control behavior remains a challenge for (1998).
27. C. D. Frith, S. J. Blakemore, D. M. Wolpert, Philos. Trans.
coactivating goal representations and positive future research. It has been argued that goals direct R. Soc. London Ser. B 355, 1771 (2000).
reward signals on the preparation and motivation attention and behavior, even in the absence of 28. B. Hommel, J. Müsseler, G. Aschersleben, W. Prinz,
of behavior in more detail. In this study, healthy conscious awareness of the goal (44, 50). That is, Behav. Brain Sci. 24, 849, discussion 878 (2001).
young adults had to squeeze a handgrip in the operation of higher cognitive processes 29. M. A. Goodale, D. A. Westwood, A. D. Milner, Prog. Brain
Res. 144, 131 (2004).
response to a start sign while the timing and supporting goal pursuit (also conceptualized as
30. W. James, Principles of Psychology (Holt, New York, 1890).
persistence of their behavior were measured (48). working memory or executive control) does not 31. M. Chen, J. A. Bargh, J. Exp. Soc. Psychol. 33, 541 (1997).
Before this task, words pertaining to the goal of care much about the conscious state of the 32. F. Pulvermüller, Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 6, 576 (2005).
physical exertion were subliminally presented or individual. This view concurs with recent insights 33. H. Aarts, A. Dijksterhuis, J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 78, 53 (2000).
not, together with positive words that signal that attention and consciousness are distinct (51). 34. R. Custers, H. Aarts, Pers. Soc. Psychol. Bull. 33, 623
(2007).
rewards (such as good or nice) or not. In line The research discussed here suggests that 35. P. M. Gollwitzer, Eur. Rev. Soc. Psychol. 4, 141 (1993).
with the ideomotor principle, participants who conscious goals (often induced by explicit task 36. E. L. Deci, R. M. Ryan, Intrinsic Motivation and
were subliminally primed with the goal of instructions) and unconscious goals (induced by Self-Determination in Human Behavior (Plenum,
exertion started to squeeze earlier. However, only priming) have similar effects on tasks that rely on New York, 1985).
37. M. Pessiglione et al., Science 316, 904 (2007).
participants for whom the goal was coactivated executive control. However, it is too early to 38. W. Schultz, Annu. Rev. Psychol. 57, 87 (2006).
with a positive reward signal recruited more conclude that consciousness is redundant in the 39. P. Shizgal, Curr. Opin. Neurobiol. 7, 198 (1997).
resources to execute this goal, as was evidenced pursuit of goals, as we do not yet know whether 40. E. Bijleveld, R. Custers, H. Aarts, Psychol. Sci. 20, 1313
by more forceful and persistent squeezing. Again, there are special cases in which consciousness (2009).
41. E. Bijleveld, R. Custers, H. Aarts, Cognition 115, 330
consciously reported motivation did not show (apart from attention) facilitates performance. In (2010).
any relation to the subliminal goal priming fact, we only know that we can become con- 42. R. Custers, H. Aarts, J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 89, 129 (2005).
manipulation. Hence, activating a goal represen- sciously aware of the decisions that we make and 43. G. Aston-Jones, J. D. Cohen, Annu. Rev. Neurosci. 28,
tation gives behavior a head start, whereas the the goals we pursue without having a proper 403 (2005).
44. A. Dijksterhuis, H. Aarts, Annu. Rev. Psychol. 61, 467
accompanying reward signal motivates behavior empirical test telling us how consciousness itself
(2010).
outside awareness. Other studies have shown that exactly influences our behavior. Future research 45. R. Custers, H. Aarts, J. Exp. Soc. Psychol. 43, 312 (2007).
this coactivation procedure yields effects that are will have to explore when consciously and un- 46. M. J. Ferguson, J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 92, 596 (2007).
similar to those of conscious goals (induced by consciously activated goals direct attention and 47. N. E. Miller, J. Dollard, Social Learning and Imitation
conscious goal instructions or by making people information processing in similar or distinct man- (Yale Univ. Press, New Haven, CT, 1941).
48. H. Aarts, R. Custers, H. Marien, Science 319, 1639 (2008).
aware of their current needs) in tasks that require ners to recruit the cognitive functions and brain 49. M. Veltkamp, H. Aarts, R. Custers, Eur. Rev. Soc. Psychol.
flexibility and effort in novel situations (42, 49). systems that translate goals into behavior. 20, 345 (2009).
50. J. A. Bargh, M. J. Ferguson, Psychol. Bull. 126, 925 (2000).
Conclusion References and Notes 51. C. Koch, N. Tsuchiya, Trends Cogn. Sci. 11, 16 (2007).
1. B. Libet, C. A. Gleason, E. W. Wright, D. K. Pearl, Brain 52. J. Jaynes, The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown
The present review and analysis reveal that the of the Bicameral Mind (Mariner Books, New York, 1976).
106, 623 (1983).
basic processes necessary for goal pursuit— 2. J. A. Bargh, P. M. Gollwitzer, A. Lee-Chai, K. Barndollar, 53. We thank M. Brass, D. T. Gilbert, T. M. Kenter,
preparing and directing instrumental actions and R. Trötschel, J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 81, 1014 (2001). W. Stroebe, K. Van den Bos, the Goallab group
assessing the reward value of the goal—can 3. R. Custers, M. Maas, M. Wildenbeest, H. Aarts, (www.goallab.nl), and three anonymous reviewers for
Eur. J. Soc. Psychol. 38, 1013 (2008). comments. This work was financially supported by the
operate outside conscious awareness. Although it Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research
4. P. Sheeran et al., Br. J. Soc. Psychol. 44, 47 (2005).
is often taken for granted that goal pursuit 5. R. R. Hassin, in The New Unconscious, R. R. Hassin, (VENI grant 451-06-014 and VICI grant 453-06-002).
originates in conscious decisions, it can also arise J. S. Uleman, J. A. Bargh, Eds. (Oxford Univ. Press,
from unconscious sources. This remarkable capac- New York, 2005), pp. 196–224. 10.1126/science.1188595

50 2 JULY 2010 VOL 329 SCIENCE www.sciencemag.org