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automatism Definition

au·toma·tism (ô täm′ə tiz′əm)

noun

  1. the quality or condition of being automatic
  2. automatic action
  3. Philos. the theory that the human or animal body is a machine governed by physical laws and that consciousness does not control but only accompanies its actions
  4. Physiol.
    1. action independent of outside stimulus, as sleepwalking
    2. action not controlled by the will, as the heartbeat
    3. the power of such action
  5. Psychol. an automatic or unconscious action, as a tic
  6. free expression of the unconscious mind by releasing it from the control of the conscious: a surrealist concept

Etymology: automat(ic) + -ism

automatism Related Forms
au·tom′a·tist noun
automatism Usage Examples

Adjective modifier

  • mental: The notions of ' self ' and ' mental automatism ' in nineteenth-century French and German psychopathology C. T. Walker, CAI.