Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Reason and Intuition01:37

Reason and Intuition

7.1K
The human brain processes information for decision-making using one of two routes: an intuitive system and a rational system (Epstein, 1994; popularized by Kahneman, 2011 as System 1 and System 2, respectively). The intuitive system is quick, impulsive, and operates with minimal effort, relying on emotions or habits to provide cues for what to do next, while the rational system is logical, analytical, deliberate, and methodical. Research in neuropsychology suggests that the...
7.1K
Instinct Theory01:29

Instinct Theory

722
Instinct theory proposes that innate biological instincts, like animal behavioral patterns, primarily drive human behavior. These instincts are inborn, not learned, and are fundamental to decision-making and action. Just as animals rely on instincts for critical survival functions such as migration, nest building, and defense, humans are also believed to exhibit behaviors rooted in evolutionary needs. For example, the instinct to reproduce motivates sexual behavior, while territorial instincts...
722
Instinctive Drift01:05

Instinctive Drift

393
Instinctive drift refers to the tendency of animals to revert to their innate behaviors despite repeated reinforcement. Breland and Breland demonstrated this concept in an experiment with a raccoon. The raccoon was trained to pick up two coins and place them in a container in exchange for food. Initially, the raccoon learned to associate the coins with food, making them a conditioned stimulus or a substitute for food. However, over time, the raccoon became less willing to put the coins into the...
393
Introspection01:29

Introspection

58
Introspection, long upheld as a reliable route to self-knowledge, involves examining one's thoughts, emotions, and mental processes. It underpins many psychological practices, from mindfulness meditation to psychotherapy and self-help strategies. However, empirical evidence challenges the accuracy of introspection as a means of understanding oneself.Limitations of Introspective InsightSeminal work by Nisbett and Wilson demonstrated that individuals are frequently unaware of the true causes...
58
Magical Thinking01:29

Magical Thinking

45
Magical thinking encompasses the belief in assumptions that defy logical reasoning yet appear intuitively convincing. It is a common psychological phenomenon that persists across various cultural and individual contexts. While these assumptions contradict empirical evidence and scientific laws, they often serve meaningful psychological roles in promoting emotional resilience and a sense of control, especially under stress or uncertainty.Thought-Action Fusion and the Law of SimilarityA key...
45
The Availability Heuristic01:08

The Availability Heuristic

6.7K
A heuristic is a general problem-solving framework (Tversky & Kahneman, 1974). You can think of these as mental shortcuts that are used to solve problems. Different types of heuristics are used in different types of situations, and the impulse to use a heuristic occurs when one of five conditions is met (Pratkanis, 1989):
6.7K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Authenticity or Risk?

AJOB neuroscience·2024
Same author

Mutual entailment between causation and responsibility.

Philosophical studies·2023
Same author

Wilhelm Roux' Archiv fur Entwicklungsmechanik der Organismen·2017
Same author

Attributions of consciousness.

Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. Cognitive science·2015
Same author

Two types of typicality: rethinking the role of statistical typicality in ordinary causal attributions.

Studies in history and philosophy of biological and biomedical sciences·2012
Same author

On the relevance of folk intuitions: a commentary on Talbot.

Consciousness and cognition·2011
Same journal

People make graded judgments about the inconceivable.

Cognition·2026
Same journal

The self as an image: Appearance and belief in visual representations of one's own face.

Cognition·2026
Same journal

Corrigendum to 'Consonant, vowel, and tone cues in early wordform recognition: Evidence from Cantonese-learning infants' [Cognition 275 (2026) 106624].

Cognition·2026
Same journal

Identifying distinct sources of whole number interference in children's decimal comparison: the role of numerical magnitude and inhibitory control.

Cognition·2026
Same journal

Evidence for abstract spatial concept learning in young animals.

Cognition·2026
Same journal

Blurred lines or clear boundaries? Synchrony and social dominance shape domain-specific self-other processing.

Cognition·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 1, 2025

Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses
06:42

Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses

Published on: September 28, 2018

11.8K

Zombie intuitions.

Eugen Fischer1, Justin Sytsma2

  • 1University of East Anglia, School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies, Chancellor's Drive, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom..

Cognition
|June 21, 2021
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Philosophical zombie intuitions, often based on word meanings, can be misleading. This study shows framing effects influence intuitions about consciousness, challenging the zombie argument against materialism.

Keywords:
Comprehension inferencesExperimental philosophyMeta-problem of consciousnessPhilosophical intuitionsZombie argument‘Hard’ problem of consciousness

More Related Videos

The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients
05:48

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

Published on: June 12, 2020

6.0K
Modelling Zika Virus Infection of the Developing Human Brain In Vitro Using Stem Cell Derived Cerebral Organoids
09:18

Modelling Zika Virus Infection of the Developing Human Brain In Vitro Using Stem Cell Derived Cerebral Organoids

Published on: September 19, 2017

10.7K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Nov 1, 2025

Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses
06:42

Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses

Published on: September 28, 2018

11.8K
The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients
05:48

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

Published on: June 12, 2020

6.0K
Modelling Zika Virus Infection of the Developing Human Brain In Vitro Using Stem Cell Derived Cerebral Organoids
09:18

Modelling Zika Virus Infection of the Developing Human Brain In Vitro Using Stem Cell Derived Cerebral Organoids

Published on: September 19, 2017

10.7K

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Science
  • Philosophy of Mind
  • Experimental Philosophy

Background:

  • Philosophical arguments, like the zombie argument against materialism, often rely on intuitions derived from thought experiments.
  • Linguistic comprehension involves automatic inferences that can be influenced by word meanings and context.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether intuitions about philosophical zombies are influenced by linguistic salience bias and framing effects.
  • To examine the role of stereotypical inferences from the word 'zombie' in shaping intuitions about consciousness.
  • To assess the evidential support for the zombie argument against materialism.

Main Methods:

  • Experimental philosophy approach extending evidentiary methods.
  • Analysis of comprehension inferences from polysemous words in thought experiments.
  • Documentation of framing effects using 'zombie' vs. 'duplicate' terminology.

Main Results:

  • Contextually defeated stereotypical inferences from 'zombie' significantly influence intuitions about philosophical zombies.
  • Framing effects were observed, demonstrating sensitivity of intuitions to word choice.
  • Findings suggest that intuitions about the conceivability of philosophical zombies are undermined.

Conclusions:

  • The 'hard problem of consciousness' may be exacerbated by epistemically deficient intuitions.
  • The impression of principled obstacles to explaining consciousness scientifically is potentially an artifact of philosophical argumentation.
  • A deflationary response to the zombie argument is supported by the empirical findings.