Is anticipatory postural control conscious or nonconscious processing?

• A. Conscious only
• B. Nonconscious only
• C. Both
• D. Neither

Answer: (C)

Anticipatory postural control involves adjustments made before a predicted disturbance to keep balance, and it uses both automatic and intentional processes. Some of these adjustments are automatic, generated by feedforward motor planning and internal models so you prepare the body without conscious thought. But the same system can be guided by attention, strategy, and intent—when you focus on maintaining balance or when you’re instructed to adopt a specific posture, your conscious control can modulate, enhance, or alter the anticipatory responses. Learning and practice further shape these adjustments, making them more efficient and sometimes more automatic, yet still sensitive to where attention is directed. So anticipatory postural control encompasses both nonconscious and conscious processing, depending on the situation and the individual's focus and training.