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The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients

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Definitely maybe: can unconscious processes perform the same functions as conscious processes?

Guido Hesselmann¹, Pieter Moors²

¹Visual Perception Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin , Berlin, Germany.

Frontiers in Psychology

|May 23, 2015

Summary

The "Yes It Can" (YIC) principle suggests unconscious cognition matches conscious abilities. This commentary critiques the YIC principle, highlighting issues with literature review and methodology.

Keywords:

cognitive psychology consciousness continuous flash suppression social psychology visual perception

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Neuroscience
Philosophy of Mind

Background:

The "Yes It Can" (YIC) principle posits that unconscious cognitive processes can perform any high-level function achievable by conscious processes.
This principle suggests a significant, yet often overlooked, capacity for unconscious cognition in human behavior and decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

To critically evaluate the literature supporting Hassin's "Yes It Can" (YIC) principle.
To propose alternative explanations for observed differences in unconscious processing research across psychological subfields.
To challenge the suitability of specific experimental paradigms used to validate the YIC principle.

Main Methods:

Literature review and critical analysis of existing studies on conscious and unconscious cognition.
Comparative analysis of research trends in social and cognitive psychology regarding unconscious effects.
Examination of experimental methodologies employed to test the YIC principle.

Main Results:

The review supporting the YIC principle is deemed overly idealized, potentially overlooking contradictory evidence.
Discrepancies in findings between social and cognitive psychology concerning unconscious effects are attributed to varying definitions and measurements of awareness.
The experimental paradigm proposed to support the YIC principle is found inadequate for verifying the claim that all high-level cognitive functions can operate unconsciously.

Conclusions:

The "Yes It Can" (YIC) principle, as presented, may overstate the capabilities of unconscious cognition due to an idealized literature review.
Methodological variations in defining and measuring awareness are crucial for understanding divergent findings in unconscious processing research.
Further research with robust methodologies is required to definitively assess the extent to which high-level cognitive functions can be performed unconsciously.