Expectation creates something out of nothing: The role of attention in iconic memory reconsidered |
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| Institution: | 1. Institute of Penal Law, University of Tartu, Estonia;2. Institute of Computer Science, University of Tartu, Estonia;1. Department of Informatics, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QJ, United Kingdom;2. Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QJ, United Kingdom;3. School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, United Kingdom;1. Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths University of London, New Cross, London SE14 6NW, United Kingdom;2. Departments of Psychology and Computer Science, University of British Columbia, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada;1. Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA;2. Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA;3. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA;4. Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA |
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| Abstract: | Conscious experience is modulated by attention and expectation, yet is believed to be independent of attention. The experiments on iconic memory (IM) are usually taken as support for this claim. However, a recent experiment demonstrated that when attention is diverted away from the IM letter display subjects fail to see the absence of IM letters. Here we contribute to the ongoing debate by overcoming experimental shortcomings of this previous experiment, by measuring subjective visibility and by testing the effect of the post-cue. We were able to replicate these earlier findings and extend them by demonstrating that subjects who do not realize the absence of letters perceive illusory letters. This result means that there is still phenomenal consciousness, even when attention is diverted. Expectation creates illusory content that overwrites valid IM content. Taken together these findings suggest that the present experimental paradigm is not appropriate to make claims about IM content. |
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| Keywords: | Iconic memory Perception Subjective experience Expectation Predictive coding Phenomenal consciousness Individual differences Selective attention Cognitive penetration |
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