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=Automaticity= Automaticity is a view in social psychology that the majority of everyday human behaviour occurs as a result of automatic, nonconscious factors that function outside of awareness (Willer, 2011).

Behaviour can be defined as automatic if it meets at least one of the four distinct features of automaticity. Automatic behaviour can be [1] unconscious (the individual lacks awareness of the behaviour), [2] unintentional (a goal is not required to trigger the behaviour), [3] efficient (the behaviour requires minimal attentional resources), and/or [4] uncontrollable (the behaviour is difficult to control or stop) (Bargh, 1994).

Evidence for automatic social behaviour
It has long been argued that behavioural responses are triggered automatically by the situational context (see Lewin, 1943).

Consistently behaving the same way in response to a situation increases the likelihood of that behaviour occurring automatically when confronted with a similar situational context (Bargh, Chen, & Burrows, 1996).

Action priming
Bargh, Chen, and Burrows (1996) demonstrated that social behaviour can be triggered automatically and nonconsciously in a relevant situational context. Using a scrambled-sentence task, participants were primed with words related to the elderly stereotype (e.g., old, grey, wrinkle) or with words unrelated to the elderly stereotype. The key dependent variable was measured when participants believed the experiment was over. Participants primed with the elderly stereotype walked slower down the hallway when leaving the experiment compared to control participants (8.28 s vs. 7.30 s). Surprisingly, the nonconscious activation of the elderly stereotype in one context produced behaviour consistent with the stereotype in a later unrelated context.

Interpersonal mimicry
William James (1890) posited the principle of ideomotor action; merely thinking about a behaviour increases its likelihood of occurring. However, the likelihood of a behaviour occurring does not solely result from internal sources, as James believed, but also from external sources — the situational context (Bargh, Chen, & Burrows, 1996). Imitation, for example, involves perceiving the behaviour of others in a social environment.

Chartrand and Bargh (1999) demonstrated that we tend to automatically mimic the nonverbal behaviours of interaction partners. In their study, participants described photographs to two confederates (who they believed were fellow participants), one after the other. The confederate in the first interaction either rubbed their face or shook their foot, with the confederate in the second interaction performing the opposite mannerism. As predicted, participants rubbed their face more in the presence of the face-rubbing confederate and shook their foot more in the presence of the foot-shaking confederate. In other words, the participants' behaviour automatically changed as a result of the situational context.

Benefits
Automatic behaviours can develop in response to situations that we habitually encounter, easing cognitive workload. Automatic behaviours alleviate the strain on our limited attentional resources and as a result, are very fast and efficient. It would be impossible to function effectively if we had to consciously deal with every aspect of daily life. Automatic behaviours also provide familiar and harmonious interactions with our ever changing environments.

Costs
The costs of automaticity exist in the lack of control that develops when we learn behaviours too well and are not aware of executing them. We may automatically respond to certain people based on stereotypes. It is possible that we may immediately dislike an individual despite not knowing anything about their true personality. It is also extremely difficult to undo an automatic behaviour.