The Power of the Unconscious I

2023

These memory experiments follow Psotka (2023a) with distorted binary patterns created on Excel and presented on a computer. The base pattern of 8 binary letters is presented 200 times with random distortions that test the power of the unconscious to take cues and hints from the accurate parts of the sequences and create a prototype of the underlying pattern. Although the random distortions often hint at the incorrect pattern, (with an average of more than 3 distortions out of 8 binary patterns the number of distortions sometimes hits 7 or 8 elements); yet, I was still always able to detect the base pattern unconsciously and write it down, even when all the undistorted sequences were all removed from the list of presented trials. I was always surprised when my unconscious detected the base pattern.

These memory experiments follow Psotka (2023a) with distorted binary patterns created on Excel and presented on a computer. The base pattern of 10 binary letters is presented 100 times with random distortions that test the power of the unconscious to take cues and hints from the accurate parts of the sequences and create a prototype of the underlying pattern. Although the random distortions often hint at the incorrect pattern, (with an average of more than 4 distortions out of 10 binary patterns the number of distortions sometimes hits 8 or 9 elements); yet, within 100 trials was still usuall able to detect the base pattern unconsciously and write it down, even when all the undistorted sequences were all removed from the list of presented trials. I was always surprised when my unconscious detected the base pattern.

These memory experiments follow Psotka (2023b) exploring long range human associative memory with distorted binary patterns. The binary patterns are created on Excel and presented on a computer. The base pattern of 10 binary letters is presented 100 times with random distortions that test the power of the unconscious to take cues and hints from the accurate parts of the sequences and create a prototype of the underlying pattern. Then, somehow, our conscious minds absorb this information and guess at the prototype. Although the random distortions often hint at the incorrect pattern, (with an average of more than 3 distortions out of 10 binary patterns the number of distortions sometimes hits 6 or 7 elements); yet, within 100 trials I was still usually able to create something close to the base pattern consciously and write it down, even when all the undistorted sequences were all removed from the list of presented trials. When reviewing my predictions, I was always surprised when my conscious became aware of the base pattern created by my unconscious.

These prototype abstraction experiments follow Posner and Keele (1970) with binary patterns and add conscious verification by the experimenter and learning rate over 100 trials. Conscious iconic representations produced by unconscious convolution of binary patterns of multiple lengths of 16 are influenced by many factors. Here we examine the number of changes or distortions in binary patterns of length 16. A simple paradigm is used, where about three to 6 elements of a binary pattern of length 16 are randomly complemented and presented in a list of 100 sequences. What is the learning rate (correlations between predicted number of changes and actual changes)? Previous experiments show that the base pattern is selected way above chance with 4 to 16 elements. This experiment focuses on the easier patterns, recognizable consciously within about 200 trials to look at the rate of learning. Only one Subject (the Experimenter S/E) was used but the results are so clear they demand communication.

These memory experiments follow Psotka et al. (2022 b) with distorted binary patterns and examine how important strategies of conscious memory for binary patterns for the first, fast correct prediction are; but with more distorted sequences, a slower convolution process is needed. A simple paradigm is used, where some elements of each base binary pattern of length 8 are randomly complemented, and presented in a list of up to 100 sequences, presented discretely and sequentially. Each sequence is presented one element at a time and the next element is guessed. After each presentation of all 8 elements (one trial) the Experimenter/Subject guessed if a base pattern had entered consciousness, and wrote that pattern down in chunks of length 4. Also on the next trial, he guessed the correct pattern and he counted the number of errors in guessing he had made. The number of trials to the first correct prediction was then counted and the mean number of distortions to that point assessed. Only one Subject (the Experimenter S/E) was used but the results are so clear they demand communication. On each trial he tried to find subsequences or chunks of 4 that matched the undistorted base The number of trials to the first correct prediction was correlated with the mean number of changes at the point where a sequence became conscious. With more distortions the conscious strategies seemed to disappear, and an unconscious convolution or averaging of the distortions appeared to arise.

These memory experiments follow Psotka et al. (2022 b) with distorted binary patterns and examine how chunking improves memory for binary patterns, and how many repetitions are needed for the first correct prediction. A simple paradigm is used, where less than 1 element of each base binary pattern of length 16 is randomly complemented, on average, and presented in a list sequences, presented discretely and sequentially. Each sequence is presented one element at a time and the next element is guessed. After each presentation of all 16 elements (onre presentation) the Experimenter/Subject guessed how many distortions were in the pattern Only one Subject (the Experimenter S/E) was used but the results are so clear they demand communication. On each trial, the S/E chunked the sequences into subsequences of length 4. This conscious rule arose after many trials and was tested in a separate experiment. Chunking dramatically increased the learning rate but learning was still a function of the redundancies in the sequence.

2022

These prototype abstraction experiments follow Posner and Keele (1970) with binary patterns and add unconscious creation of prototypes as measured by the Syntely algorithm. Conscious iconic representations produced by unconscious convolution of binary patterns of multiple lengths of 16 are influenced by many factors. Here we examine the number of changes or distortions in binary patterns of length 16. A simple paradigm is used, where about 1.5 to 4 elements of a binary pattern of length 16 are randomly complemented and presented in a list of 100 sequences. What is the learning rate as measured by the Syntely algorithm (correlations between predicted elements versus test elements of the base pattern for sequences where the average number of changes vary)? This experiment then focuses on the easier patterns, recognizable consciously within about 200 trials to look at the Syntely algorithm's rate of learning. Only one Subject (the Experimenter S/E) was used but the results are so clear they demand communication.

PLOS One, 2011

The cognitive signature of unconscious processes is hotly debated recently. Generally, consciousness is thought to mediate flexible, adaptive and goal-directed behavior, but in the last decade unconscious processing has rapidly gained ground on traditional conscious territory. In this study we demonstrate that the scope and impact of unconscious information on behavior and brain activity can be modulated dynamically on a trial-by-trial basis. Participants performed a Go/No-Go experiment in which an unconscious (masked) stimulus preceding a conscious target could be associated with either a Go or No-Go response. Importantly, the mapping of stimuli onto these actions varied on a trial-by-trial basis, preventing the formation of stable associations and hence the possibility that unconscious stimuli automatically activate these control actions. By eliminating stimulus-response associations established through practice we demonstrate that unconscious information can be processed in a flexible and adaptive manner. In this experiment we show that the same unconscious stimulus can have a substantially different effect on behavior and (prefrontal) brain activity depending on the rapidly changing task context in which it is presented. This work suggests that unconscious information processing shares many sophisticated characteristics (including flexibility and context-specificity) with its conscious counterpart.

Journal of Consciousness Studies , 2019

While there seems to be much evidence that perceptual states can occur without being conscious, some theorists recently express skepticism about unconscious perception. We explore here two kinds of such skepticism: Megan Peters and Hakwan Lau's experimental work regarding the well-known problem of the criterion-which seems to show that many purported instances of unconscious perception go unreported but are weakly conscious-and Ian Phillips' theoretical consideration, which he calls the 'problem of attribution'-the worry that many purported examples of unconscious perception are not perceptual, but rather merely informational and subpersonal. We argue that these concerns do not undermine the evidence for unconscious perception and that this skeptical approach results in a dilemma for the skeptic, who must either deny that there is unconscious mentality generally or explain why perceptual states are unique in the mind such that they cannot occur unconsciously. Both options, we argue, are problematic.

Cognition, 2003

Visual stimuli (primes) presented too briefly to be consciously identified can nevertheless affect responses to subsequent stimuli-an instance of unconscious cognition. There is a lively debate as to whether such priming effects originate from unconscious semantic processing of the primes or from reactivation of learned motor responses that conscious stimuli afford during preceding practice. In four experiments we demonstrate that unconscious stimuli owe their impact neither to automatic semantic categorization nor to memory traces of preceding stimulus-response episodes, but to their match with pre-specified cognitive action-trigger conditions. The intentional creation of such triggers allows actors to control the way unconscious stimuli bias their behaviour.