ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the state of psychological research on the stream of conscious and unconscious thought. Most cognitive theories tend to emphasize consciousness as a feature of the private personality. They do not preclude, however, the possibility that many of plans and anticipations may have become so automatic that they unroll too rapidly for to notice them in the flurry of events. Cognitive theories often make the assumption that private experiences such as conscious thoughts, fantasies, or images provide an alternative environment to the continuous processing of material from the external world. Cognitive theories also assume that some attitudes, beliefs, or patterns of information are more central or self-oriented than others, and, therefore, are more likely to evoke complex affective responses. The self can be regarded as an object of cognition or as part of perceived experience rather than as an agent.
