Subconscious Cognition?!

What you don’t know, might help you

Perception and Cognition

• We have elaborate perceptual mechanisms to provide information to our brains to guide current or future behavior

Perception and Cognition

• We have elaborate perceptual mechanisms to provide information to our brains to guide current or future behavior

• Notice there’s no mention of consciousness

Perception and Cognition

• We have elaborate perceptual mechanisms to provide information to our brains to guide current or future behavior

• Notice there’s no mention of consciousness

• Lot’s of information gets processed and used by your brain without you noticing

Perception and Cognition

• We have elaborate perceptual mechanisms to provide information to our brains to guide current or future behavior

• Notice there’s no mention of consciousness

• Lot’s of information gets processed and used by your brain without you noticing

• Consider some examples

Masked Priming

Masked Priming

S P A MTIME

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Masked Priming

S P A MTIME

S P _ _

XXXXX

Masked Priming

S P A MTIME

Masked Priming

• Subject must complete the stem to make any word other than the word that was masked

Masked Priming

• Subject must complete the stem to make any word other than the word that was masked

• Subjects are more likely to use masked word…indicates subconscious influence on behavior

Blindsight and the Dorsal Stream

• Patients with lesions to primary visual cortex occasionally retain some visual abilities:– better than chance performance on forced-

choice discrimination tasks– spatial navigation and coordination (i.e. avoid

obstacles, interact with environment)

Blindsight and the Dorsal Stream

• Patients with lesions to primary visual cortex occasionally retain some visual abilities:– better than chance performance on forced-choice

discrimination tasks– spatial navigation and coordination (i.e. avoid

obstacles, interact with environment)• Thought to be because of spared pathways that send

signals to the Dorsal Stream, A.K.A the “Where and How Pathway”

Blindsight and the Dorsal Stream

• The Dorsal Stream is thought to mediate much spatial processing and interaction with the environment

“WHAT”

“WHERE”

Blindsight and the Dorsal Stream

• The Dorsal Stream is thought to mediate much spatial processing and interaction with the environment

• But the neural activity in these structures does not (is not alone sufficient to) enter into consciousness

Blindsight and the Dorsal Stream

• The Dorsal Stream is thought to mediate much spatial processing and interaction with the environment

• But the neural activity in these structures does not (is not alone sufficient to) enter into consciousness

• The locations of objects and your position relative to them is channeled through the Dorsal Stream without you knowing it (explicitly)

Perception and Cognition

• Clearly perception doesn’t not imply awareness

Perception and Cognition

• Clearly perception doesn’t not imply awareness

• MYSTERY: what is special about neural activity that leads to awareness ?

Perception and Cognition

• Clearly perception doesn’t not imply awareness

• MYSTERY: what is special about neural activity that leads to awareness ?

NOBODY KNOWS !

Perception and Cognition

• Absence of awareness does not imply lack of perception but…

Perception and Cognition

• Absence of awareness does not imply lack of perception but…

• That doesn’t mean that all information presented to you influences your thoughts and actions

Next Time:

• Vokey & Read - Subliminal Messages: Between the Devil and the Media