Unconscious Processing of Semantic Information: A Study

883 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Inattentional blindness literature review

Dehaene provides many studies within the book to explain how the unconscious is capable of processing semantic information. In the 1970s Anthony Marcel produced a study in which participants were flashed the word red or blue under the threshold of consciousness, then asked to pick a corresponding color, even though the participant stated that he/she was not able to perceive any word being shown. The study showed that participants were able to choose a corresponding color one-twentieth of a second faster when the word flashed ahead of time was red or blue, instead of an unrelated word. Since the participant was better able to pick the color patch based on the congruent primed word, it can be suggested that the brain is able to unconsciously process …show more content…

He did not go over this in depth within the text, but we did watch and discuss the experiment in class. In this experiment the subject is to watch a video where there are six people playing basketball. Three players are wearing white shirts and the other three are wearing black shirts. The subject must count the number of passes made between the players in black shirts. While the subject is paying close attention to the number of passes being made, a person in a gorilla suit enters the video, which is usually unnoticeable to the watcher. At the end of the video the subject is asked whether they saw the gorilla, in which the typical response is no, because he/she was too busy keeping up with the basketball passes being made. This experiment explains inattentional blindness, which a person does not recognize a certain object, due to their attention being placed upon another task. A person is only able to point out the gorilla, once he/she has been told that a gorilla is expected to enter the scene at some point during the video. Attention is required in order to be consciously

Show More
Related

  • Now You See It by Cathy Davidson

    1322 Words  | 3 Pages

    A video is put on, and in the beginning of this video your told to count how many times the people in the white shirts pass the ball. By the time the scene is over, most of the people watching the video have a number in their head. What these people missed was the gorilla walking through as they were so focused on counting the number of passes between the white team. Would you have noticed the gorilla? According to Cathy Davidson this is called attention blindness. As said by Davidson, "Attention blindness is the key to everything we do as individuals, from how we work in groups to what we value in our classrooms, at work, and in ourselves (Davidson, 2011, pg.4)." Davidson served as the vice provost for interdisciplinary studies at Duke University helping to create the Program in Science and Information Studies and the Center of Cognitive Neuroscience. She also holds highly distinguished chairs in English and Interdisciplinary Studies at Duke and has written a dozen different books. By the end of the introduction Davidson poses five different questions to the general population. Davidson's questions include, "Where do our patterns of attention come from? How can what we know about attention help us change how we teach and learn? How can the science of attention alter our ideas about how we test and what we measure? How can we work better with others with different skills and expertise in order to see what we're missing in a complicated and interdependent world? How does attention change as we age, and how can understanding the science of attention actually help us along the way? (Davidson, 2011, p.19-20)." Although Davidson hits many good points in Now You See It, overall the book isn't valid. She doesn't exactly provide answers ...

    Read More

  • Scopes Monkey Trial

    737 Words  | 2 Pages

    The 1920’s, also known as the “Roaring Twenties”, was a period of peace and prosperity that overshadowed the losses of the Great War. There were flappers, Prohibition; and widespread popularity of Jazz music. Apart from this culture, the Scopes Monkey Trial would become a widespread controversy between traditionalism and modernity. Traditionalists would have a more conservative view, while the Modernists would have a more liberal behavior.

    Read More

  • The History Of The Scopes Monkey Trial

    1647 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the summer of 1925, the quaint little town of Dayton, Tennessee would become the stage for the event that would soon become known as the “trial of the century” (Moran 2). What began as a test case to challenge the recently passed Butler Bill by the Tennessean legislature would quickly become about so much more than anyone would have imagined, especially high school biology teacher John Thomas Scopes. Religion versus science, Bryan versus Darrow, modernism versus fundamentalism, the Jazz Age, culture, urbanism, regionalism; all of the conflicts and issues present during this time would each have a major impact on The Scopes “Monkey” Trial.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Incognito: The Secret Lives Of The Brain By David Eagleman

    1125 Words  | 3 Pages

    Eagleman talks about unconscious learning, and explores how much of what we do daily is learned and directed by the unconscious mind. The first example is changing lanes: when we’re driving, we do it without thinking. However, when asked to describe how they change lanes, many people are flummoxed. Changing lanes is so automatic that when the conscious mind tries to take control, it confuses our brains and our gears become out of sync. The second example is chicken sexers: people who can sort chick hatching even though male and female chicks look exactly alike. The third example is plane spotters: people who could distinguish between enemy and ally planes thousands of feet in the air. In both cases, the people just knew! They couldn’t explain how they knew. Rather, after trial and error, their unconscious picked up on the slight cues that allowed to them tell the difference. The conscious mind, on the other hand, was unaware of this

    Read More

  • Gorilla, My Love

    1137 Words  | 3 Pages

    Trustworthiness is an important element in a relationship. It is the groundwork for dependability between two people, and from it, relationships grow and mature. When that trust is shattered, it creates a barrier between the two people. What defines a legal agreement with a business partner from a silly promise made to a child? In a child’s eyes, there is no distinction. A promise is a promise. In Toni Cade Bambara’s “Gorilla, My Love,” the evolving perspective of the distinction between an act of betrayal and the breaking of a juvenile pact is scrutinized through an incident between a child, Hazel, and her uncle, Hunca Bubba.

    Read More

  • Different Theories of Inattentional Blindness

    985 Words  | 2 Pages

    Classical theories demonstrating the inattentional blindness paradigm are (1) the perceptual load, (2) inattentional amnesia and (3) expectation.

    Read More

  • Primate Culture

    1444 Words  | 3 Pages

    It has been believed that culture is unique to humans and no other groups of animals have culture, but recent evidence refutes this ideology. Before getting into the meat of the argument, it is important to first address the issues regarding the ambiguity of the term, “culture.” What is culture? Many scientists may argue that culture is the way of life for a group of individuals, this definition includes the values, beliefs and traditions of the group (Sapolsky, 2006). Other scientists may argue that culture is the transmission of habits and information by social means (Sapolsky, 2006). Despite the different specifics of what culture is, almost all scientists would agree that culture is transmitted socially through social learning that promotes the transfer of information between members in a group (Boesch and Tomasello, 1998). Based on these notions of culture, it can be justifiably stated that primates have culture. Primates exhibit food preparation techniques, use of tools, communication skills, and most importantly, behaviors of social learning. An exemplar of primates’ capabilities for culture is Koko, the lowland gorilla. Koko, in captivity, was able to learn American sign language, demonstrate self-awareness and the ability to deceive.

    Read More

  • Daniel Gilbert Immune To Reality Analysis

    1231 Words  | 3 Pages

    For instances, in one study, volunteers were required to stare at a computer screen as different phrases quickly appeared and disappeared without their knowledge. These phrases such as “violent” and “elderly” influenced their minds when they complete different types of tasks, such as writing or walking. Their behaviors changed according to the flashing words because the unconscious mind was affected by it, even though they were unaware of these influences. Since their conscious minds were not able to pick up the words on the screen, they created reasoning with the knowledge they did have. As Daniel Gilbert stated, “ their brains quickly considered the facts they are aware and draw out the same kinds of plausible but mistaken inferences about themselves that an observer would probably draw about them” (131). Daniel Gilbert proves that the unconscious mind takes the knowledge one is aware of and creates a logical reasoning behind it, even if it is not true. When Daniel Gilbert says "mistaken inferences" he means that the person is unaware of the factors that influence one's behavior, thus creating a false sense of understanding. The volunteers believed their false reasoning, thus affecting the truth behind their

    Read More

  • animal experimentation

    545 Words  | 2 Pages

    Imagine if your pet was getting experimented on for a product you might buy in the future. Would anyone really want that product, your pet was in pain because of it? Animals are getting experimented on for products to get released to the public. Some companies are using vitro researching to test their products but not enough companies are using vitro as their form of testing products. Synthetic skin could reduce the amount of animals getting tested on everyday for companies to release new products to the public. Animals are getting experimented on everyday.

    Read More

  • Animal Experimentation

    940 Words  | 2 Pages

    For centuries scientists have used animals to study the causes of diseases; to test drugs, vaccines and surgical techniques; and to evaluate the safety of chemicals used in pesticides, cosmetics and other products. However, many scientists amongst animal- right activists forbid the use of animals in scientific research regardless how many illnesses are eliminated through the use of animals in scientific research. Amongst animal right activists, David Suzuki also raises concerns towards animal experimentation. In his article, The Pain of Animals, Suzuki argues that humans have no right to exploit animals because--much like humans--animals also experience pain. In contrast to Suzuki, Haldane, in his article, Some Enemies of Science, argues because animals are very similar to humans, scientists have no choice but to use animals in scientific experiments. Both authors greatly contrast their opinions towards animal experimentation; however Haldane has a more explanatory approach towards animal experimentation. He argues animal experimentation should be acceptable because other forms of animal exploitation are acceptable in society. Secondly, unlike other forms of exploitation which seek pleasure in killing animals such as leisure sport, scientists, most likely do not harm animals; if pain is intended on an animal it is strictly for the purpose of scientific advancement. Thirdly, although, animal experimentation may cause some extinction, it is only one of many other causes of extinction, if other causes are not condemned; then neither should animal experiment...

    Read More

  • Zoo Primate Observation

    1056 Words  | 3 Pages

    Our earliest ancestors are primates. They are our closest relatives which is why we can see our behavior’s and practices in them. If we observe them we can get a better understanding of them and us, human beings. But unfortunately we all don’t get the chance to see a Primate right in our backdoor. So the best thing I could do for my observation was to visit them at the zoo.

    Read More

  • Outcome of The Scopes Monkey Trial

    1564 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Scopes Trial, formally known as The State of Tennessee vs. Scopes but given the nickname “The Monkey Trial”, has been credited as starting the popular legal dispute between evolution and creationism in the court, and its impact in the 20’s was immeasurable.

    Read More

  • Consequences Of Ambition In Macbeth And Frankenstein

    581 Words  | 2 Pages

    experiment and the possible implications -by not looking at the monsters face he does not realize

    Read More

  • Gorilla Research Paper

    854 Words  | 2 Pages

    The gorillas live mainly in coastal West Africa in the Congo, Zaire, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon. Gorillas live in the rain forest. They usually live on the ground but build nest in trees to sleep in. Gorilla troops keep a 15-20 square mile range which often overlaps the range of other troops. There are three different kinds of gorillas. The eastern lowland gorilla the western lowland and the mountain gorilla. They are herbivores and eat only wild celery, roots, tree bark pulp, fruit, stems of many plants and bamboo shoots. They spend nearly half their day eating.

    Read More

  • Language and Brain

    1338 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the last few decades, the notion of language and brain has been highlighted in different scientific fields such as: neurology, cognitive science, linguistics biology, technology and finally education.

    Read More

More about Unconscious Processing of Semantic Information: A Study

Open Document