title: Perceptual overloading reveals illusory contour perception without awareness of the inducers.
abstract: Unconscious perception is frequently examined by restricting visual input (e.g., using short stimulus durations followed by masking) to prevent that information from entering visual awareness. Failures to demonstrate perception without awareness may thus be a consequence of this restricted input rather than of limitations in unconscious perception. Here, we demonstrate a novel method that circumvents these significant drawbacks inherent in other methods. Using this new perceptual overloading technique (POT), in which stimuli are repeatedly presented in alternation with a stream of variable masks, we demonstrate illusory contour perception and modal completion even when subjects are completely unaware of the inducing elements. In addition to demonstrating a powerful new method to study consciousness by effectively gating robust visual input from visual awareness, we show that more complex contextual effects, previously considered to be a privilege only of conscious vision, can occur without awareness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Sciences, Human Services and Criminal Justice, Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York, 199 Chambers Street, New York, NY, 10007, USA. mpersuh@bmcc.cuny.edu.
authors.forename: Marjan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Persuh
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Baruch College, City University of New York, B8215, Newman Vertical Campus, One Bernard Baruch Way, New York, NY, 10010, USA.|Program in Psychology, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Tatiana Aloi
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Emmanouil
authors.affiliation: Programs in Psychology and Biology, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, 365 Fifth Ave, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ro
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness; D003243:Consciousness; D005260:Female; D005556:Form Perception; D006801:Humans; D007088:Illusions / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D014785:Vision, Ocular; D014796:Visual Perception; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Awareness; Illusory contours; Modal completion