External Control of High-Level Processing: Involuntary Counting, Verbal Imagery, and Attentional Shifts

Percepts and urges often enter consciousness involuntarily. Research suggests that high-level processes, too, can occur involuntarily and insuppressibly. We investigated whether high-level attentional shifts and counting can arise in this manner. We also examined the learning-based sources of these effects and how the effects are affected by perceptual load.