ideomotor
/ˌaɪdiəˈmoʊtər/
adjective
- Relating to unconscious or involuntary physical movements that are caused by a thought or mental image.
- The slight nodding of his head was an ideomotor reaction to the question he was considering.
- The ideomotor effect explains why people might unconsciously move a Ouija board planchette.
- In psychology class, we learned about ideomotor responses during hypnosis experiments.