The automated will: Nonconscious activation and pursuit of behavioral goals

It is proposed that goals can be activated outside of awareness and then op erate nonconsciously to guide self-regulation effectively (J. A. Bargh, 199 0). Five experiments are reported in which the goal either to perform well or to cooperate was activated, without the awareness of participants, throu gh a priming manipulation. In Experiment I priming of the goal to perform w ell caused participants to perform comparatively better on an intellectual task. In Experiment 2 priming of the goal to cooperate caused participants to replenish a commonly held resource more readily. Experiment 3 used a dis sociation paradigm to rule out perceptual-construal alternative explanation s. Experiments 4 and 5 demonstrated that action guided by nonconsciously ac tivated goals manifests two classic content-free features of the pursuit of consciously held goals. Nonconsciously activated goals effectively guide a ction, enabling adaptation to ongoing situational demands.