17 December 2016

Notes - a bit on how automaticity works


       Mid-afternoon. You had a late lunch at Cracker Barrel and are now at Barnes and Noble off Fields Ertel Road. Before lunch you and Carol were working on the last of the Christmas cards, at least for now. The day has been dreary and wet but at least the ice has melted. You assume that there is a draft seven there is more to add to the conclusion before moving on to finishing chapter one. As such let's go to draft seven. - Amorella

       1552 hours. I'll have it in a moment. Again, I feel clueless as to what's coming here. Last night I had a flash inclination but it dimmed away before I could absorb it.

       You are now ready but the fingers don't work. - Amorella

       1602 hours. I don't have a focus.

       This is because your mind is clear, not blank. - Amorella

       1607 hours. I always thought blank and clear were the same meaning in this context.

       Your mind is clear and ready to receive a message from myself not blank. - Amorella

       1608 hours. I don't think I've ever considered this, or if I have it didn't stick. Automaticity takes in the general run of 'how things work'. I need to check the word. I have two definitions the first from scilean and the second from Wikipedia.

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Automaticity is that ability to do things without having to think about them at a conscious level. When we do something automatically, the mind isn’t occupied with the small details of the task. Imagine some of the common every day activities you do with automaticity: driving a car, adding five plus three, riding a bicycle, catching a ball, dialing a telephone, and, yes, reading and writing. We acquire these skills through simple repetition and practice. Over time, such repetition establishes automatic response patterns that our brains call upon constantly throughout our daily lives. In achieving automaticity, we free our brains – our working memories – from the details of the task, allowing us to use that brain power to do more, building on those sets of automatic skills.

http://www.scilearn.com/blog/automaticity-in-reading

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Automaticity is the ability to do things without occupying the mind with the low-level details required, allowing it to become an automatic response pattern or habit. It is usually the result of learning, repetition, and practice.

Examples of automaticity are common activities such as walking, speaking, bicycle-riding, assembly-line work, and driving a car (the last of these sometimes being termed  "highway hypnosis"). After an activity is sufficiently practiced, it is possible to focus the mind on other activities or thoughts while undertaking an automatized activity (for example, holding a conversation or planning a speech while driving a car).

Characteristics

John Bargh (1994), based on over a decade of research, suggested that four characteristics usually accompany automatic behavior:

Awareness
A person may be unaware of the mental process that is occurring.

Intentionality
A person may not be involved with the initiation of a mental process.

Efficiency
Automatic mental processes tend to have a low cognitive load, requiring relatively low mental resources.

Controllability
A person may not have the ability to stop or alter a process after initiation.
Bargh states that these are simply common characteristics; not all are needed for a process to be considered automatic. For instance, stereotype activation has been described as an automatic process: it is unintentional and efficient, requiring little effort. However stereotype activation is accompanied by above chance awareness and if conflicting processing goals are available then it becomes controlled. Therefore stereotype activation only satisfies two of Bargh's criteria, but is still considered to be an example of automatic processing.

In reading

LaBerge and Samuels (1974) helped explain how reading fluency develops.[5] Automaticity refers to knowing how to perform some arbitrary task at a competent level without requiring conscious effort — i.e., it is a form of unconscious competence.

Moreover, if the student is automatic or is "a skilled reader, multiple tasks are being performed at the same time, such as decoding the words, comprehending the information, relating the information to prior knowledge of the subject matter, making inferences, and evaluating the information's usefulness to a report he or she is writing" (Samuels). It is essential to understand automaticity and how it is achieved to better a student's performance. This is important for teachers because automaticity should be focused on in early years to ensure higher level reading skills in adolescence.

In psychology, the four stages of competence, or the "conscious competence" learning model, relates to the psychological states involved in the process of progressing from incompetence to competence in a skill.

History

Initially described as "Four Stages for Learning Any New Skill", the theory was developed at Gordon Training International by its employee Noel Burch in the 1970s. It has since been frequently attributed to Abraham Maslow, although the model does not appear in his major works.

The Four Stages of Learning provides a model for learning. It suggests that individuals are initially unaware of how little they know, or unconscious of their incompetence. As they recognize their incompetence, they consciously acquire a skill, then consciously use it. Eventually, the skill can be utilized without it being consciously thought through: the individual is said to have then acquired unconscious competence.

Several elements, including helping someone 'know what they don't know' or recognize a blind spot, can be compared to some elements of a Johari window, although Johari deals with self-awareness, while the four stages of competence deals with learning stages.

The four stages of competence

1.   Unconscious incompetence The individual does not understand or know how to do something and does not necessarily recognize the deficit. They may deny the usefulness of the skill. The individual must recognize their own incompetence, and the value of the new skill, before moving on to the next stage. The length of time an individual spends in this stage depends on the strength of the stimulus to learn.
2.   Conscious incompetence Though the individual does not understand or know how to do something, he or she does recognize the deficit, as well as the value of a new skill in addressing the deficit. The making of mistakes can be integral to the learning process at this stage.
3.   Conscious competence The individual understands or knows how to do something. However, demonstrating the skill or knowledge requires concentration. It may be broken down into steps, and there is heavy conscious involvement in executing the new skill.
4.   Unconscious competence The individual has had so much practice with a skill that it has become "second nature" and can be performed easily. As a result, the skill can be performed while executing another task. The individual may be able to teach it to others, depending upon how and when it was learned.

Selected and edited from Wikipedia

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       Bedtime. You have been working around the house. Craig and Alta arrive Monday about lunchtime. Assorted odd jobs needed done plus you got Carol an early extra Christmas time present, a weather station just like the one she saw in a recent National Geographic catalogue. You have been watching HGTV on down time between chores. All for tonight, post. - Amorella

       2237 hours. We are excited that are friends will be here for a couple days. We didn't do any work on the book today, but I did learn a bit more about automaticity. 

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