ideomotor

American  

[ahy-dee-uh-moh-ter, id-ee-uh-] / ˌaɪ di əˈmoʊ tər, ˌɪd i ə- /

adjective

Psychology.

1. of or relating to involuntary motor activity caused by an idea.

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ideomotor British  

/ ˌaɪdɪəˈməʊtə /

adjective

1. physiol designating automatic muscular movements stimulated by ideas, as in absent-minded acts

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Other Word Forms

• ideomotion noun

Etymology

Origin of ideomotor

First recorded in 1865–70; ideo- + motor

Example Sentences

FC has been repeatedly documented to produce the ideomotor effect, or “ouija board” effect, in which a person unconsciously influences his or her own motor behavior, in this case guiding a disabled person’s hand as a consequence.

From Slate

The literature showing the ideomotor effect in FC is voluminous.

From Slate

In late 1993, ‘‘Frontline’’ aired a special that told Betsy Wheaton’s story, among others, and suggested that facilitated communication was an elaborate display of what psychologists call the ideomotor effect, in which an external suggestion or a person’s beliefs or expectations trigger unconscious movement: The facilitator was guiding the typing, even if she didn’t know it.

From New York Times

The fake "detectors" - sold with spurious but scientific-sounding claims - were little more than empty cases with an aerial which swings according to the user's unconscious hand movements, "the ideomotor effect".

From BBC

Quattlebaum could have fallen victim to the ideomotor effect, the same psychological phenomenon that convinces users of dowsing rods and Ouija boards that they are witnessing the results of a powerful yet inexplicable force.

From BusinessWeek