Evidence of unconscious semantic processing from a forced error situation.
A study was carried out to determine whether subjects extracted information from words presented below their recognition and awareness thresholds. A series of target words was used to generate the word matrix, which was a set of 24 words related to the target in specified ways. Following subthreshold exposure of a target word, subjects chose the word they thought had been shown from the word matrix for that particular target. It was held that the alternative chosen was a function of the type of processing the target was receiving. Results showed that structural analysis of the target predominated below recognition threshold, whereas semantic analysis predominated below awareness threshold.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D012660:Semantics; D012684:Sensory Thresholds; D013360:Subliminal Stimulation; D014473:Unconscious, Psychology