automatisms
Actions without thought
Automatisms are actions performed without conscious control or awareness.
In psychology, the term describes behaviors carried out mechanically—writing, speaking, or moving while in a trance, seizure, or dissociative state.
In art, automatism refers to techniques that bypass deliberate planning, letting the unconscious guide the hand: The surrealists practiced automatism to access deeper creative impulses.
Legal contexts use the term for acts committed without volition, potentially excusing criminal responsibility.
Mental separation from surroundings
- fugueContrapuntal musical form
- tranceSemiconscious, unresponsive condition
- unconsciousNot awake or aware
- hypnosisInduced trance state
sleepwalking · somnambulism · amnesia · altered state · possession · depersonalization · subconscious · involuntary
Doctrine of causal necessity
- mechanismMeans by which something operates
- reflexInvoluntary stimulus response
- instinctInnate behavioral tendency
- habitSettled regular tendency
conditioned response · behaviorism · stimulus-response · involuntary action · Cartesian · Descartes · animal spirits · machine
Brittany's Celtic language
- spontaneousArising without external cause
- stream of consciousnessNarrative mimicking uninterrupted thought
- free associationUnfiltered verbal thought flow
- chanceLikelihood of occurrence
randomness · psychic · irrational · dream imagery · surrealism · Dada · uncontrolled · improvisation
dissociation
Mental separation from surroundings
- fugueContrapuntal musical form
- tranceSemiconscious, unresponsive condition
- unconsciousNot awake or aware
hypnosis · sleepwalking · somnambulism · amnesia · altered state · possession · depersonalization · subconscious · involuntary · compulsion
determinism
Doctrine of causal necessity
- mechanismMeans by which something operates
- reflexInvoluntary stimulus response
- instinctInnate behavioral tendency
habit · conditioned response · behaviorism · stimulus-response · involuntary action · Cartesian · Descartes · animal spirits · machine · clockwork
Breton
Brittany's Celtic language
- spontaneousArising without external cause
- stream of consciousnessNarrative mimicking uninterrupted thought
- free associationUnfiltered verbal thought flow
chance · randomness · psychic · irrational · dream imagery · surrealism · Dada · uncontrolled · improvisation
seizure
Forcible taking or convulsion
- epilepsyBrain disorder causing seizures
- temporal lobeBrain section for hearing
- convulsionSudden involuntary muscle contractions
tic · spasm · motor · oral · gestural · postictal · absence · EEG · aura · episode
automatismsintentional acts
Behaviors chosen deliberately
free will · agency · self-determination · executive functions · self-regulation
automatismsmindfulness
Awareness of the present
reflective thinking · analytical thinking · metacognition · deliberation · contemplation