Introduction

Have you ever found yourself tormented at night by unwelcome thoughts you struggle to silence? Such a continuous stream of thought compels us to question whether beliefs, the causes and formations of thoughts, can be considered voluntary. Belief, in psychological terms, is the mental acceptance or conviction in the truth or actuality of certain ideas (Connors & Halligan, 2015). However, this definition raises the question of whether we always have the opportunity to evaluate the validity or truth of a matter and, thus, whether we always consciously choose to form and utilize beliefs voluntarily. By exploring how the subconscious makes our beliefs, how external factors shape our beliefs, and examples of involuntary beliefs in everyday settings, this essay contends that many of our beliefs form involuntarily despite the human capacity for reason.

The Voluntary Nature of Beliefs

Some philosophers, including Augustine and Scotus, assert that humans have free will (O’Connor & Franklin, 2018). Free will is the capacity for self-direction (“APA Dictionary of Psychology,” n.d.), enabling individuals to form autonomous voluntary beliefs. Hence, some may interpret voluntary beliefs as expressions of an individual’s free will. For instance, it has been found that the mindset of students, specifically their perception of their abilities, is a crucial factor in influencing their motivation and achievement (Dweck, 2015). The fact that students can learn to develop a growth mindset for higher achievement means belief adoption is a voluntary process, as students can actively choose what they believe.

Consciousness, or our awareness of our thoughts, actions, and the world, is a fundamental factor in voluntary beliefs. Beliefs are voluntary when we think critically and become conscious of our thoughts, influencing the formation of beliefs.

Conscious critical thinking can be observed through the lens of neurology. Humans’ frontal lobes are characterized by their capacity for free will, as they can monitor multiple behavioural strategies and assess their predictive ability (Collins & Koechlin, 2012). The frontal lobe’s binary executive control structure encourages exploration and new strategies in uncertain situations. This integrated model of human frontal function encompasses cognitive processes like reasoning and learning and facilitates decision-making and adaptive behaviours (Collins & Koechlin, 2012) highlighting the voluntary nature of our thought processes, hence our belief formation.

From an evolutionary standpoint, humans encompass this cognitive process because humans have evolved to occupy a distinctive ‘cognitive niche,’ which entails survival by manipulating the environment using causal reasoning and participating in social cooperation. Various psychological faculties have developed within this cognitive niche, enabling abstract thinking and language usage. This evolutionary theory proposes that beliefs can be voluntary since individuals can critically reason and evaluate to form beliefs (Avise & Ayala, 2010).

From this neural framework in the frontal lobes, the voluntary nature of beliefs becomes apparent, aligning with the multifaceted dimensions of free will, including self-control, rational choice, initiative, and planning (Baumeister & Monroe, 2014). A concrete example highlighting the voluntary capacity of beliefs can be observed in the adoption of a healthy diet by certain individuals. Though instant gratification and hedonistic hunger drive people to consume food primarily for pleasure (Espel-Huynh et al., 2018), some individuals consciously choose a diet that prioritizes health and nutrition. This deliberate decision- making process is motivated by their belief in the long-term benefits of a healthy diet, including preventing noncommunicable diseases (World Health Organization, 2021). Additionally, this requires adopting a growth mindset, and believing in one’s ability to maintain a healthy diet. This growth mindset highlights the voluntary nature of beliefs since people tend to make decisions that maximise their self-interests. However, it is important to acknowledge that not all individuals consistently make rational choices regarding their diet, given that approximately 38% of the global population ages five years and older were classified as obese in 2020 (Elflein, 2023). This phenomenon raises questions about the consistency of rational decision-making. Hence, it proposes that humans can modify their beliefs to make self-guided choice.

The Subconscious and Involuntary Beliefs

Despite humans’ capacity for reason, our subconscious beliefs often influence decisions before we consciously evaluate and determine the outcome. This shows that our ability to employ reasoning is not always fully utilized. Researchers have discovered through brain scans that numerous automatic brain processes occur in regions such as the medial frontopolar cortex and posterior precuneus without conscious awareness during routine tasks (Soon et al., 2008). This finding challenges the conventional notion that decisions originate solely from conscious beliefs. It suggests that our beliefs are not always voluntary; subconscious processes can shape them before conscious reasoning.

In a subsequent study involving more complex decision-making, the researchers could predict subjects’ decisions based on prior brain signals observed in the medial prefrontal cortex and parietal cortex up to four seconds before participants became consciously aware of their choices (Soon et al., 2013). This study further emphasized humanity’s lack of evaluation and reasoning; instead, we sometimes opt to rely on subconscious beliefs. The findings in these decision-making processes highlight that unconscious brain activity extends beyond motor preparation, operating at various levels of complexity, implying that beliefs play a subconscious role. Nonetheless, the precise relationship between unconscious neural processes and conscious intentions remains up for debate; the delay between the onset of neural predictors and conscious intentions may not be due to unconscious processes but ongoing conscious evaluations. Although the exact implications of these findings are not fully understood, the studies indicate that our subconscious thoughts can outweigh our critical thoughts, thus underscoring that beliefs are involuntary.

Unconscious bias further illustrates the involuntary nature of beliefs. Unconscious bias occurs when beliefs are influenced by deeply ingrained thought patterns, assumptions, or interpretations without conscious awareness (Chambon & Haggard, 2012). Prejudice and discrimination can be outcomes of these biases, as they affect how we perceive and evaluate others (Smith et al., 2004), influencing our beliefs on these matters. Our unconscious brain constantly processes information, seeks patterns and makes connections, possibly leading to the formation of stereotypes and biased behaviors (Raymond, 2013). For example, from birth, we naturally prefer people similar to those around us. This involuntary belief, driven by unconscious biases, tells us that some people are more reliable than others, emphasizing that humans do not always use independent reasoning.

The Influence of External Factors and Involuntary Beliefs

While people may make decisions before conscious awareness, the influence of external factors on belief formation cannot be overlooked, as beliefs are not purely voluntary constructs shaped by independent thoughts and evaluations.

One important external factor, childhood experiences, wields significant influence over one’s lifelong belief system and the creation of self-limiting beliefs. These beliefs, established through interactions with parental figures, remain unquestioned and serve as guiding principles (Rees, 2020). Implicit memory, which develops from birth, involves the construction of unconscious mental models based on interactions with caregivers. Securely attached infants develop positive images of their parents, perceiving them as sources of safety and nurturance. Conversely, insecurely attached infants form negative mental representations, viewing their parents as sources of threat without affection (Levy, 2021). Consequently, these mental images shape children’s beliefs about the people around them from an early age. As children age, explicit memory emerges, allowing them to consciously recall specific events, including sensory impressions, bodily sensations, and emotional associations associated with parental interactions (Jawabri & Cascella, 2020). Freud proposed that anxiety in adults often traces back to early childhood experiences. He argued that a person’s source of anxiety and negative beliefs as an adult is influenced by their childhood experience, suggesting a potential correlation between their adult beliefs and early experience. Furthermore, encoded within the limbic region of the brain, these early experiences solidify into internal working models or core beliefs about the self, others, and the world. The formation of an individual’s self- concept, which influences how they perceive themselves, plays a crucial role in forming their belief systems (Rosenberg, 1989). Despite our attempts to consciously choose our beliefs, these fundamental beliefs’ influence operates beyond our conscious control, highlighting the involuntary nature of our belief systems.

The phenomenon of social influence also underscores the involuntary nature of belief formation. Social influence refers to the process whereby individuals adapt their opinions, revise their beliefs, or alter their behavior through social interactions with others (Moussaïd et al., 2013). Social influence plays a prominent role in shaping self-organized phenomena in our interconnected society. For example, a fundamental challenge arising from social influence is that individuals tend to develop heightened confidence in their beliefs upon perceiving alignment with others’ opinions (Moussaïd et al., 2013). This social phenomenon highlights that high confidence indicates consensus rather than individual accuracy when judgments are subject to social influence; this does not align with the definition of voluntary belief, which is when we believe something to be true. Therefore, the involuntary nature of belief formation becomes apparent, as individuals’ convictions are susceptible to external factors such as the opinions of others (Cialdini & Goldstein, 2004).

Involuntary Beliefs in Everyday Practices
Hypnosis techniques such as relaxation, visualization, and positive suggestion can be applied in various ways to enhance our everyday life. Neural changes associated with hypnosis demonstrate how beliefs can be influenced involuntarily. During hypnosis, the activity of the dorsal anterior cingulate, a component of the brain’s salience network, decreases, allowing individuals to participate in self-suggested or clinician-advised activities without feeling self- conscious (Williams, 2016). Moreover, the connections between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the insula increase, whereas those between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the default mode network decrease (Williams, 2016). These changes in neural activity and connectivity during hypnosis can result in belief modifications, highlighting the involuntariness of beliefs, as they can be modified by others. A study involving over 100 patients suffering from stress-related conditions found that 75% believed their symptoms improved after 12 weeks of self-hypnosis practice, and 72% reported complete remission within a year (Maher-Loughnan, 1980). This evidence further underscores the involuntary nature of beliefs, as patients’ subconscious acceptance and engagement in self-hypnosis helped improve and eventually resolve symptoms. Some may argue that hypnotizing is an active choice as it may be raised from the voluntary belief that it benefits them. However, it is crucial to note that hypnosis can modify human brain processes, underscoring the capacity for beliefs to be altered, regardless of our conscious intentions or desires.

Subliminal priming serves as an illustration of how beliefs can be unconsciously influenced as well. Studies in consumer behavior have revealed that subliminal exposure to brand names can heighten the probability of selecting a particular beverage, as individuals subconsciously believe that this specific brand is better than other options. Notably, this effect depends on the person’s present motivations or objectives (Karremans et al., 2006). The fact that subliminal primes are more likely to influence beliefs when they align with a person’s existing needs or desires demonstrates that beliefs can be shaped without conscious awareness based on the relevance of the information to one’s current state or goals. These examples highlight the intricate interplay between our conscious and subconscious minds, challenging the notion of beliefs as purely voluntary constructs.

Conclusion
Essentially, beliefs are involuntary to a large extent. While humans can critically and consciously evaluate beliefs, the presence of the subconscious mind and the influence of external factors on our subconscious constrain our ability to do so consistently. New research on this complex phenomenon is continuously developing. Further research could explore the impact of social norms, cultural elements, and social media on our beliefs and how they shape our cognitive frameworks. By investigating the mechanisms underlying the transmission of beliefs within social groups and exploring the factors that either bolster or diminish social conformity, we can strive to foster more knowledgeable and inclusive societies that value critical thinking, respect diverse perspectives, and facilitate constructive dialogue.

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