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Subjective discriminability of invisibility: a framework for distinguishing perceptual and attentional failures of awareness

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 14:34 authored by Ryota Kanai, Vincent Walsh, Chia-huei Tseng
Conscious visual perception can fail in many circumstances. However, little is known about the causes and processes leading to failures of visual awareness. In this study, we introduce a new signal detection measure termed subjective discriminability of invisibility (SDI) that allows one to distinguish between subjective blindness due to reduction of sensory signals or to lack of attentional access to sensory signals. The SDI is computed based upon subjective confidence in reporting the absence of a target (i.e., miss and correct rejection trials). Using this new measure, we found that target misses were subjectively indistinguishable from physical absence when contrast reduction, backward masking and flash suppression were used, whereas confidence was appropriately modulated when dual task, attentional blink and spatial uncertainty methods were employed. These results show that failure of visual perception can be identified as either a result of perceptual or attentional blindness depending on the circumstances under which visual awareness was impaired.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

Consciousness and Cognition

ISSN

1053-8100

Publisher

Elsevier

Issue

4

Volume

19

Page range

1045-1057

Department affiliated with

  • Psychology Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2013-03-11

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    University of Sussex (Publications)

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