How Does the Human Mind Work?

The human mind works in two ways: Consciously and unconsciously. It’s the unconscious mind that’s the most fascinating, as much of what you do every day is automatically carried out by it. Thinking of the term “unconscious” almost instantly brings the theories of Sigmund Freud to mind.

The truth is that this mental layer brings together all those automatic tasks that we carry out frequently and that don’t require active and conscious information processing.

• Self-awareness
• Working memory
• Impulse control
• Emotional self-control
• Imagination and creativity
• Problem resolution
• Logical reasoning and reflection

• Intuition
• Some learning, such as that which is based on the association of stimuli
• Automatic processing of information, such as facial and pattern recognition, as well as received stimuli
• Habit processing and motor skills. An example of this is learning to write or riding a bicycle. Once we practice enough, these activities are carried out automatically and unconsciously

Intuition is a process that our unconscious mind carries out by storing all our experiences. Thanks to it, we make quick decisions at certain times.

The computational model of the mind started from the theory of Noam Chomsky. According to him, there are rules that explain the ease with which we all learn language from a young age. Those rules would start from our natural and automatic ability to recognize symbols.

The mind isn’t seen as a computer but as a system that manipulates complex symbols. It’s comparable to the machine that Alan Turing built at the time.

• A computation is a set of rules that articulate and process each stimulus we receive
• The way the human mind works is similar to a device that constantly creates symbols

Information processing theory describes the human mind as a computer in which all information is recorded, encoded, and stored.

• According to this theory, the mind is the software, and the brain is the hardware
• According to this perspective, the most decisive phase is contained between the moment we receive a stimulus and the moment we issue a response. The way in which we elaborate and handle each piece of information, sensation, or experience is decisive

One more hypothesis about how the human mind works is that which Steven Pinker exposed in his book and which has a long tradition in psychology. According to the modular theory, the mind is organized into modules, in different specialized structures.

This model draws on evolutionary psychology and says that, like our body, the mind is the result of evolution. Over time, we integrate new collections of mental domains and abilities to better adapt to the environment.