TY - JOUR
T1 - A dissociation of performance and awareness during binocular rivalry
AU - Baker, Daniel H.
AU - Cass, John R.
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - When conflicting stimuli are presented to equivalent locations in each eye, people experience binocular rivalry, a phenomenon characterized by alternations in conscious awareness of each eye’s image. Attempts at objective measurement using monocular probe-detection methods show that sensitivity to probe stimuli is reduced during periods when those stimuli are reportedly suppressed. But are observers really able to detect stimuli that are perceptually invisible, or does the probe presentation itself reverse rivalry dominance between the two eyes? Here, we measured both judgment accuracy and confidence in those judgments across multiple probe contrast levels, and we found evidence for high accuracy with reduced awareness during suppression that was not due to probe-induced switches in rivalry dominance. This dissociation points to the existence of blindsight-like behavior in normal observers.
AB - When conflicting stimuli are presented to equivalent locations in each eye, people experience binocular rivalry, a phenomenon characterized by alternations in conscious awareness of each eye’s image. Attempts at objective measurement using monocular probe-detection methods show that sensitivity to probe stimuli is reduced during periods when those stimuli are reportedly suppressed. But are observers really able to detect stimuli that are perceptually invisible, or does the probe presentation itself reverse rivalry dominance between the two eyes? Here, we measured both judgment accuracy and confidence in those judgments across multiple probe contrast levels, and we found evidence for high accuracy with reduced awareness during suppression that was not due to probe-induced switches in rivalry dominance. This dissociation points to the existence of blindsight-like behavior in normal observers.
UR - http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/535246
U2 - 10.1177/0956797613496824
DO - 10.1177/0956797613496824
M3 - Article
SN - 0956-7976
VL - 24
SP - 2563
EP - 2568
JO - Psychological Science
JF - Psychological Science
IS - 12
ER -