Page 20 - Effective Communication Skills by Dalton Kehoe

The Operations of the Cognitive Unconscious
Lecture 4

The cognitive unconscious is a part of our mind to which our conscious
mind has no direct access because its memories are not constructed
of words and pictures but biochemical patterns. These patterns give
shape to every word we say. This lecture explores three aspects of the
cognitive unconscious: the operations of the cognitive unconscious
(how it gets us through our day), the three areas of decision making by
the cognitive unconscious that permit us to speak and act normally, and
the effects (both positive and negative) of these unconscious decisions
on our communication relationships.

he cognitive unconscious works in a completely different way than
the conscious mind: It’s automatic, fast, and rigid. It just sees and
Lecture 4: The Operations of the Cognitive Unconscious Tacts; there is no creative reÀ ection in the cognitive unconscious—just
pattern detection. Unlike your conscious brain, it’s always paying attention.
Every waking second as we grow, the cognitive unconscious is processing
incoming data, looking for patterns in the information that Àows from the

rest of our bodies or from the environment around us. It remembers these
patterns by giving them emotional markers. The cognitive unconscious
organizes and stores our deeply learned patterns of perception and preference
for people and actions.

There are three key functions that the cognitive unconscious carries out
on behalf of the conscious mind. (1) It supports rational decision making.
Since the time of Aristotle, we had believed that the conscious did all the
work of deciding, but we now know that without the support of the cognitive
unconscious, we simply couldn’t make decisions at all. (2) The cognitive
unconscious constantly evaluates the world around us. It senses what’s
going on before our conscious mind does, and its ¿rst impressions can be

extremely accurate most of the time. (3) It initiates action in a sophisticated

and ef¿cient manner. The cognitive unconscious knows what’s going to
happen next, and the limbic system is far faster than the conscious mind at
making decisions.

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