A participant controls a situation iff he has the power to start, continue and stop it.
Correlates of prototypical control
- Intentionality: the controller intends to let the situation happen.
- Consciousness: the controller is aware of the situation.
- Monitoring: the controller observes the situation in its course.
Processes
- uncontrollable: sneeze, slide
- controllable: breathe
“the contrast between conscious and automated processing is not a single discrete division, but rather a hierarchic, multi-level, scale.” (Givón 1989:258)
[A theory of control] “conceives automatic processing not as lacking control, but as being controlled at levels below the level of conscious awareness.” (Neumann 1984:256)