Current concerns in visual masking.
Theories of emotion postulate that emotional input is processed independently from perceptual awareness. Although visual masking has a long tradition in studying whether emotional pictures are processed below a supposed threshold of perceptual awareness (subliminal perception), a consensus has yet to be reached. This article reviews current concerns in the use of visual masking. These include a reliable presentation method, the role of masking pictures, common definitions of awareness and their problems, current models of awareness, and neural mechanisms. A useful strategy may be the study of dose-response relationships between awareness and emotion processing that avoids a dichotomous view of awareness and allows conclusions about the relative independence of emotional processing from awareness.
Wiens
Stefan
S
Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden. Sws@psychology.su.se
D000339:Affect; D001364:Awareness; D006801:Humans; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D011582:Psychological Theory; D014796:Visual Perception