Itās all very well having a clever unconscious running the show, but it would be nice to know what itās up to. How, though, when you are not aware of what itās thinking?
In fact, there are a few tried and tested ways of getting in touch with your hidden thoughts. Harvard Universityās Project Implicit unconscious biases using quick-fire questions that assess how readily they associate words such as āblackā and āwhiteā with others such as āgoodā and ābadā. The projectās website has a slew of online tests exposing unconscious attitudes to race, gender and homosexuality. The questions flash up fast so itās hard to cheat. Try them ā you may be surprised at what your unconscious has to say ().
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Russell Hurlburt, a psychologist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, has another approach. He asks volunteers to wear an earpiece linked to a beeper, which goes off at random intervals six times a day, prompting them to note their thoughts. At the end of the day, Hurlburt conducts an hour-long interview to tease out what people are thinking and how. After four decades of doing this, he has come to the conclusion that most people have no idea what is running through their minds, but that they can be taught to tune into it in just a few days.
Thatās exactly what I find, when I volunteer to join the study. The first day I am terrible at it. I believe Iāve captured what I was thinking: āI am on the train thinking that I should send some emails.ā But then I speak to Hurlburt. āDid you hear words in your head?ā he asks. I donāt have a clue. āProbably. Maybe,ā I say. This is typical for the first day, he assures me.
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The second day goes better. At the time of one beep I am feeling overwhelmed and note that my head is spinning. āLiterally spinning?ā asks Hurlburt. āYesā, I reply, and proceed to describe a very familiar sensation that I seem to have always known without knowing it. Hurlburt nods. He believes figurative sayings may often reflect reality. āI think that when some people say they are seeing red, they literally see red,ā he says.
Another beep while I am very angry reveals that I donāt literally see red. But it turns out that I do pay a lot of attention to bright colours. I had no idea. Another bleep reveals more weirdness. It goes off while Iām walking in the woods, making an imaginary phone call, and the words āOh, helloā are floating from top right to bottom left across my field of vision. Surreal!
Mind reading
Spinning head, floating letters and colours everywhere ā is this my unconscious mind laid bare? Hurlburt isnāt convinced. He believes we are conscious of such thoughts while having them, but then they vanish ālike a dream upon wakingā. Using the beeper is more like mindfulness meditation, he tells me. āZen monks have a very similar system ā they sound the gong and you pay attention to whatās going on right now.ā
Still, learning to tune in to my moment-to-moment experiences might give me greater access to my unconscious. A study published earlier this year were quicker than others to consciously register a decision made by their unconscious mind. At the very least, the beeper experience has revealed parts of my inner life that I didnāt know existed. It has been fascinating. Whatās more, anyone with a smartphone can download Hurlburtās app, IPromptU, which interrupts you randomly to remind you to tune in.
The thoughts you donāt know you have actually run your life. Hereās how to eavesdrop on them
This article appeared in print under the headline ā7. How to make the unconscious consciousā
