TY - JOUR
T1 - The role of conscious perception in semantic processing
T2 - Testing the action trigger hypothesis
AU - Micher, Nitzan
AU - Lamy, Dominique
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2023/1
Y1 - 2023/1
N2 - Finding that invisible primes affect categorization of visible targets (response priming) is held to demonstrate that semantic processing does not require conscious perception. However, the effects are typically very small, they do not indicate whether conscious perception enhances response priming and they often reflect visuo-motor rather than semantic processing. Here, we compared response priming elicited by liminal words when these were clearly seen vs missed, while participants categorized target animals’ names. We varied task demands to induce visuo-motor vs semantic processing. Conscious perception strongly enhanced both visuo-motor and semantic response priming. In line with the Action Trigger Hypothesis, task demands modulated processing of both missed and consciously perceived primes. Finally, conscious and unconscious response priming showed diverging patterns on fast and on slow trials, a dissociation suggesting that priming was not contaminated by conscious priming. We conclude that the impact of unconscious stimuli is small and task-dependent.
AB - Finding that invisible primes affect categorization of visible targets (response priming) is held to demonstrate that semantic processing does not require conscious perception. However, the effects are typically very small, they do not indicate whether conscious perception enhances response priming and they often reflect visuo-motor rather than semantic processing. Here, we compared response priming elicited by liminal words when these were clearly seen vs missed, while participants categorized target animals’ names. We varied task demands to induce visuo-motor vs semantic processing. Conscious perception strongly enhanced both visuo-motor and semantic response priming. In line with the Action Trigger Hypothesis, task demands modulated processing of both missed and consciously perceived primes. Finally, conscious and unconscious response priming showed diverging patterns on fast and on slow trials, a dissociation suggesting that priming was not contaminated by conscious priming. We conclude that the impact of unconscious stimuli is small and task-dependent.
KW - Backward masking
KW - Liminal prime paradigm
KW - Response priming
KW - Semantic processing
KW - Unconscious processing
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85142768726&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.concog.2022.103438
DO - 10.1016/j.concog.2022.103438
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C2 - 36450219
AN - SCOPUS:85142768726
SN - 1053-8100
VL - 107
JO - Consciousness and Cognition
JF - Consciousness and Cognition
M1 - 103438
ER -