Open mind : discoveries in cognitive science
January 1, 2023
Iris Berent
7 citations
The 'hard problem' of consciousness—how physical bodies produce subjective experience—may arise from two innate psychological biases rather than from a genuine ontological mystery. Essentialism leads people to believe that transformative experiences are those anchored in the body, while Dualism treats the mind as separate from the physical. Five experiments with laypeople show that a conscious experience (like seeing color) is judged transformative only when it seems embodied, that gaining such an experience is seen as causing a bodily change, and that the perceived transformation correlates with both the experience's embodiment and with Dualist intuitions. These results suggest the hard problem has psychological roots, though they do not resolve whether consciousness is actually non-physical.
Open mind : discoveries in cognitive science
January 1, 2024
Pietro Amerio, Matthias Michel, Stephan Goerttler et al.
5 citations
Comparing conscious and unconscious perception is central to consciousness science, but many studies fail to control for criterion biases when assessing awareness. In this study, observers tried to discriminate subjectively invisible offsets of Vernier stimuli, with visibility probed using a bias-free task. Stimuli were made less visible by backward masking or very brief presentation (1-3 milliseconds) using a modern tachistoscope. Some behavioral indicators of perception without awareness appeared, but no conclusive evidence emerged. Bayesian observer model simulations, including models generating visibility judgments alongside type-1 judgments, best fit observers with slightly suboptimal conscious access to sensory evidence. The stimuli and manipulations produced mild blindsight-like behavior, suitable for future investigation.
Open mind : discoveries in cognitive science
January 1, 2025
Chris Frith
3 citations
Conscious perception of a stable environment, despite sensory changes during movement, is created by neural computations that account for one's own actions. This perceived stability is experienced as objective—a set of world facts that constrain movement. Because the world is objective, it is expected to constrain others similarly, fostering a shared understanding that enhances social interactions. This shared model of the world constitutes a form of common knowledge inherent in basic conscious perception, even without deliberate sharing. Such common knowledge enables behavioral coordination, which is a critical precursor for the evolution of cooperative behavior.
Open mind : discoveries in cognitive science
January 1, 2025
Adam Morris
3 citations
Much of high-level cognition—choices, beliefs, judgments, intuitions—appears inaccessible to consciousness, but this may be due to internal inattentional blindness: missing an otherwise consciously accessible internal event because attention is elsewhere. Rather than being structurally unconscious, many higher mental processes might be preconscious, becoming conscious if attended to. The article synthesizes indirect evidence for this claim, argues it is a foundational untested assumption in therapy and mindfulness practices, and suggests it could form the basis for a science of introspection training.