Automatism

Automatism is the practice or theory of the spontaneous production of words (speech or writing), drawing, painting or other creative production, or behavior in general, without conscious self-control or self-censorship.

There are two types of automatism: mediumistic automatism, in which the speech, writing or behaviour produced is purported to be communicated from ghosts, spirits or the like, channeling through a psychic or medium, and surrealist automatism.

See also

• Surautomatism
• Surrealist techniques
• Automatic writing
• Automatism and the computer

---

In law, automatism is the state of acting involuntarily, as in sleepwalking.