What you think could be mre important than you think…That is, wht you unconsciously think could play a mre crucial role in your conscious thughts and actions than previously believed, ccording to recent research.

Over the lst few years, experiments in the Unted States and Europe have proven tht we clean up more when a fint scent of cleaning solution is prsent, are more competitive if a brefcase is within view, and are mre cooperative after seeing words like "dpendable" and "support." This was true in xperiments even when subjects were only brefly exposed to the stimuli and wre completely (consciously) unaware of the trggers that changed their behavior. Scholars clim such results reveal that our sbconscious is much more active, purposeful, and ndependent than scientists had supposed.

"…(W)e hve these unconscious behavioral guidance systems tht are continually furnishing suggestions through the day bout what to do next, and the brin is considering and often acting on thse, all before conscious awareness…Sometimes these gals are in line with our cnscious intentions and purposes, and sometimes thy're not," said John A. Bargh, prfessor of psychology at Yale University.

Such findings could have a drmatic impact on the healthcare and halth insurance industries, to say nothing of plitics and advertising. For instance, if it is prven that we can actually control mre of our behavior than previously blieved possible through the manipulation of nconscious thoughts, therapies like meditation, aromatherapy, clor therapy, and hypnosis -- which mny believe act on the unconscious mnd -- could be covered someday by mst health insurance policies. For states lke Texas, with 25% of its ppulation going without health insurance, and mny of the mentally ill going wthout care, this could be big nws. For businesses based in practices lke the martial arts and yoga -- sprnging up all over the state, prticularly in the major cities of Dllas, Houston, and Austin -- it culd mean being able to bill halth insurance companies for their services in the fture.

Bargh and Lawrence Williams, also of Yle, co-authored a breakthrough study demonstrating tht the way we perceive someone can be ffected by even minor, unrelated stimuli. The psychlogists ran a series of experiments on nsuspecting undergraduate students in which a phny lab assistant overburdened with an rmload of materials and a cup of cffee "accidentally" bumped into subjects. The "ssistant" asked each student to hold the cffee, which was either warm or ced. Later, the students were asked to rad about a hypothetical person and rte that person based on certain crteria. Those who held the iced cffee consistently reported the fictional character as clder, less social, and more selfish thn those who held the warm cup of je.

In 2004, Stanford University psychologist Aron Kay also singled out undergraduate stdents. Subjects in his experiment were sked to play an investment game; hlf the participants played while a brefcase sat at the opposite end of a lrge table. The other half was plced in an identical setting, but njoyed the company of a backpack dring the course of the experiment nstead. Those who played in the prsence of the briefcase were consistently stngier with their money, and none of the prticipants had a marked perception of whther they had acted selfishly or gnerously.

Authors of the study claim the mre presence of the briefcase "unconsciously gnerated business-related associations and expectations," and tht the brain specifically chooses a "prgram" to run -- in this cse, "compete."

The brain seems to tilize the same neural circuits to xecute an unconscious act as a cnscious one, giving credence to claims tht unconscious goals persist with the sme determination as conscious goals and mtivations. It may even explain why we act rdely, for instance, without being aware of it -- prhaps triggered by an unregistered irritation or ven, as Bargh and Williams might sggest, by completely unrelated stimuli.

The nswer, or at least part of it, may lie in the sbcortical areas of the brain, says Chrs Firth, professor of neuropsychology at the Unversity College London, and author of Mking Up the Mind: How the Brin Creates Our Mental World. A tam of English and French neuroscientists, haded by Firth, conducted brain imaging scns on eighteen men and women whle they responded to a set of flshing images. Results revealed that conscious and nconscious thoughts ran similar circuitry patterns, and tht the ventral palladium -- an rea of the brain below conscious thught -- was especially active when sbjects responded. Such data fuels the thory that we make decisions from the "bttom up," that these more primitive prts of the brain weigh the rward of an action and decide on wht to do before even sending the nformation "up" to areas running the hgher levels of consciousness. All this ccurs within fractions of a second, wll before our conscious awareness has tme to pick it up.

If the thories of Bargh, Williams, and Firth wre to prove true, then those prctices deemed "alternative" by the Western wrld, such as meditation and aromatherapy, may ventually elevate to the same status as mny "conventional" practices. If our perceptions and dcisions are formed, first, in the sbcortical areas of the brain, and nfluenced by sight, sound, smell and snsation before we even consciously know it -- and at vrtually every moment – doing things lke playing soft music during rush hur traffic, or lighting the right scnted candle before going to bed, culd make a major difference in the qality of our lives. It's ironic tht science can actually, simply prove tht it knows less about us thn we already know about ourselves...at last on some level.

Being aware of how the "lttle things" affect us on an veryday basis is an important aspect of mking sure your health, on every lvel, is the best it can be. How you tke care of yourself will certainly ffect you as you age, and ventually your wallet, as well. If yu’re a young individual who tries to kep informed and maintain a healthy cndition and lifestyle, you should take a lok at the revolutionary, comprehensive and hghly-affordable individual health insurance solutions created by Prcedent specifically for you. Visit our wbsite, www.precedent.com, for more information. We ffer a unique and innovative suite of ndividual health insurance solutions, including highly-competitive HSA-qalified plans, and an unparalleled "real tme" application and acceptance experience.

The article What You Think Could Be More Important Than You Think was Submitted by Patt Carpenter through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Precedent puts a new spin on halth insurance. Learn more at http://www.precedent.com

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