Consciousness is arguably one of the best things about being human. We not only get to exist as living creatures: we get to know we exist, think about it, and savor it.

But what is the purpose or function of consciousness? That was the question asked by William James with his philosophy of functionalism.

Experimental psychologist George Mandler suggested one set of answers in his Presidential Address to Division 1 (General Psychology) of the American Psychological Association in 1983. Mandler suggested three functions of consciousness.

It should be said that Mandler was describing one variety of consciousness: competent, controlled action. Mandler identified three functions for this mental activity:

1. Learning. People typically concentrate their awareness when trying to learn something new. Not until a skill is well-practiced does it become automatic.
2. Making judgments. People think consciously about alternatives and choices.
3. Troubleshooting. People use conscious mental processes to deal with unexpected situations that cannot be handled with automatic, well-learned routines.

Mandler used driving an automobile as an example. When first learning to drive, a person must pay full attention to every action. Conscious­ness accompanies the process by which we integrate lots of information and hold it in place or grasp it while learning.

After much experience, driving becomes familiar and no longer requires full attention. An experienced driver can drive on auto-pilot, letting the mind wander.

Driving on autopilot is a fine example of automaticity (auto-ma-TISS-ity). Automaticity is intelligent action without focused attention.

Consciousness returns to the act of driving when the driver must make a decision such as which way to turn at an intersection. This is what Mandler called making judgments.

Mandler's third category is trouble­shooting. Even when driving on autopilot, an experienced driver will snap back to full attention if something unusual or surprising happens.

For example, if an animal appears at the side of the road, attention is drawn to it. Full consciousness seems to accompany the process of rallying resources and making a decision about what to do.

The example of snapping out of an absent-minded state when something unusual happens–such as an animal approaching the side of a road-shows that even when attention is elsewhere, cognitive processes outside of awareness monitor ongoing activity.

Something in the brain notices events that might require conscious inter­vention. Not only are we capable of driving while absent-minded; we are able to recognize when a situation is unusual enough that automaticity must be interrupted.

This implies great complexity under the surface of the conscious mind. In fact, the more psychologists study conscious processes, the more respect they have for unconscious processes.

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Answer the following questions in complete sentences.

• What was Mandler's theory about the role of conscious thought?
• How does the example of driving an automobile illustrate Mandler's points?

Grade out of 10

Adapted from: https://www.psywww.com/intropsych/ch03-states/consciousness.html