nonconscious
Below mental threshold
Nonconscious describes mental processes that occur outside conscious awareness—automatic responses, implicit memories, or cognitive operations the mind performs without deliberate attention.
Unlike *unconscious*, which often implies something repressed or hidden, nonconscious is neutral: Nonconscious processing handles most of what the brain does.
The term appears frequently in psychology and cognitive science.
Below threshold of awareness
- tacitUnderstood without words
- latentPresent but inactive
- underlyingExisting beneath the surface
- embeddedSet firmly within something
unspoken · covert · unarticulated · primed · indirect · hidden · unacknowledged · heuristic
Not under conscious control
- reflexiveDirected back at subject
- autonomicSelf-regulating without awareness
- mechanicalOperated by machinery
- habitualDone by routine
autopilot · second-nature · rote · unthinking · effortless · preprogrammed · spontaneous · unintentional
Existing since birth
- primalFirst in origin
- intuitionInstinctive immediate understanding
- driveOperate a vehicle
- impulseSudden urge to act
reflex · urge · instincts · survival · fight-or-flight · visceral · hardwired · evolutionary
Mental interpretation of stimuli
- processingSystematic operation on data
- primingMaking ready beforehand
- attentionFocused mental awareness
- encodingConverting data to format
retrieval · recognition · detection · categorization · evaluation · judgment · decision-making · problem-solving
subliminal
Below threshold of awareness
- tacitUnderstood without words
- latentPresent but inactive
- underlyingExisting beneath the surface
embedded · unspoken · covert · unarticulated · primed · indirect · hidden · unacknowledged · heuristic · schema
involuntary
Not under conscious control
- reflexiveDirected back at subject
- autonomicSelf-regulating without awareness
- mechanicalOperated by machinery
habitual · autopilot · second-nature · rote · unthinking · effortless · preprogrammed · spontaneous · unintentional · unpremeditated
innate
Existing since birth
impulse · reflex · urge · instincts · survival · fight-or-flight · visceral · hardwired · evolutionary · adaptive
perception
Mental interpretation of stimuli
- processingSystematic operation on data
- primingMaking ready beforehand
- attentionFocused mental awareness
encoding · retrieval · recognition · detection · categorization · evaluation · judgment · decision-making · problem-solving · incubation
nonconsciousconscious
Mentally present and alert
aware · sentient · self-aware · awake · cognizant
nonconsciousdeliberate
Consciously chosen, not accidental
intentional · conscious · voluntary · purposeful · willful
conscious, unconscious, subconscious, consciousness, unconsciousness, unconsciously, subconsciously, preconscious, subconsciousness