Incollection,
Behavioral, Neuroimaging, and Neuropsychological Approaches to Implicit Perception
The Cambridge Handbook of Consciousness, Cambridge University Press, The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK, (2007)
Abstract
For well over a century, the idea that
rich, complex perceptual processes can
occur outside the realm of awareness has
either intrigued or exasperated researchers.
Although popular notions of implicit processing
largely focus on the practical consequences
of implicit perception, the empirical
literature has addressed more focused,
basic questions: (a) Does perception occur
in the absence of awareness? (b) what types
of information are perceived in the absence
of awareness? and (c) what forms of processing
occur outside of awareness? This
chapter discusses recent advances in the
study of implicit perception, considering
the ways in which they do and do not
improve on earlier approaches. We contrast
the conclusions a skeptic and a believer
might draw from this literature. Our review
considers three distinct but related classes
of evidence: behavioral studies, neuroimaging,
and brain-damaged patient case studies.
We conclude by arguing that qualitative
differences between perceptual mechanisms
are interesting regardless of whether or not
they demonstrate the existence of perception
without awareness.
