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Measurement of Neurophysiological Signals of Ignoring and Attending Processes in Attention Control
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Specifying attentional top-down influences on subsequent unconscious semantic processing.

Ulla Martens1, Markus Kiefer

  • 1Department of General Psychology I, University of Osnabrück, Germany.

Advances in Cognitive Psychology
|June 5, 2010
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Summary

Unconscious automatic processing is not autonomous. It depends on attentional resources and top-down cognitive control, as demonstrated by masked semantic priming experiments.

Keywords:
attentional controlautomatic processessemantic primingsubliminal perceptionunconscious cognition

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Psycholinguistics

Background:

  • Classical theories posit that unconscious automatic processes operate independently of higher cognitive functions.
  • This study challenges this view by proposing that automatic processing is modulated by top-down control.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the influence of attentional resources on unconscious automatic processing.
  • To examine how task sets affect masked semantic priming.
  • To determine if automatic processing is susceptible to top-down cognitive control.

Main Methods:

  • Two experiments were conducted using a lexical decision task with masked semantic priming.
  • Experiment 1 manipulated attentional resources via an easy or hard primary task.
  • Experiment 2 modulated task sets using semantic or perceptual induction tasks.

Main Results:

  • Masked semantic priming was reduced when attentional resources were limited (hard primary task).
  • Prior semantic or perceptual task sets differentially influenced subsequent priming effects.
  • Findings indicate that automatic processing is not independent but relies on cognitive system configuration.

Conclusions:

  • Unconscious automatic processing is contingent upon the availability of attentional resources.
  • Automatic processing is demonstrably influenced by top-down control mechanisms.
  • This research reframes the understanding of automatic cognitive processes and their interaction with executive functions.