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Published on: April 18, 2017
Insights on overflow from failure to report tasks
Brendan T Hutchinson1, Kavindu H Bandara1, Hugh T McGovern2
1Research School of Psychology, Australian National University, Australia.
Consciousness may exist without reportability, challenging the idea that access is all there is to conscious experience. Studies show visual experiences can be unreportable, suggesting consciousness exceeds access.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Philosophy of Mind
Background:
- Theories of consciousness debate whether conscious states must be reportable.
- Some argue consciousness capacity exceeds reportability, while others equate consciousness with access.
Purpose of the Study:
- To empirically separate consciousness from reportability.
- To challenge the "access-only" view of consciousness.
Main Methods:
- Overview of neurophysiological findings from no-report tasks.
- Examination of studies where participants failed to report visible items.
Main Results:
- New data suggest properties of visual experience can remain unreportable.
- These findings challenge the "access-only" model of consciousness.
Conclusions:
- Access-free consciousness is plausible and empirically testable.
- Failure-to-report tasks are valuable for studying consciousness and access.
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