Unconscious Processes Research Articles

Progressing, not regressing: A possible solution to the problem of regression to the mean in unconscious processing studies.

How convincing is current evidence for unconscious processing? Recently, a major criticism suggested that some, if not much, of this evidence might be explained by a mere statistical phenomenon: regression to the mean (RttM). Excluding participants based on an awareness assessment is a common practice in studies of unconscious processing, and this post hoc data selection might lead to false effects that are driven by RttM for aware participants wrongfully classified as unaware. Here, we examined this criticism using both simulations and data from 12 studies probing unconscious processing (35 effects overall). In line with the original criticism, we confirmed that the reliability of awareness measures in the field is concerningly low. Yet, using simulations, we showed that reliability measures might be unsuitable for estimating error in awareness measures. Furthermore, we examined other solutions for assessing whether an effect is genuine or reflects RttM; all suffered from substantial limitations, such as a lack of specificity to unconscious processing, lack of power, or unjustified assumptions. Accordingly, we suggest a new nonparametric solution, which enjoys high specificity and relatively high power. Together, this work emphasizes the need to account for measurement error in awareness measures and evaluate its consequences for unconscious processing effects. It further suggests a way to meet the important challenge posed by RttM, in an attempt to establish a reliable and robust corpus of knowledge in studying unconscious processing.

The role of awareness in shaping responses in human visual cortex

The visual cortex contains information about stimuli even when they are not consciously perceived. However, it remains unknown whether the visual system integrates local features into global objects without awareness. Here, we tested this by measuring brain activity in human observers viewing fragmented shapes that were either visible or rendered invisible by fast counterphase flicker. We then projected measured neural responses to these stimuli back into visual space. Visible stimuli caused robust responses reflecting the positions of their component fragments. Their neural representations also strongly resembled one another regardless of local features. By contrast, representations of invisible stimuli differed from one another and, crucially, also from visible stimuli. Our results demonstrate that even the early visual cortex encodes unconscious visual information differently from conscious information, presumably by only encoding local features. This could explain previous conflicting behavioural findings on unconscious visual processing.

Pre-stimulus alpha activity modulates long-lasting unconscious feature integration

Pre-stimulus alpha (α) activity can influence perception of shortly presented, low-contrast stimuli. The underlying mechanisms are often thought to affect perception exactly at the time of presentation. In addition, it is suggested that α cycles determine temporal windows of integration. However, in everyday situations, stimuli are usually presented for periods longer than ∼100 ms and perception is often an integration of information across space and time. Moving objects are just one example. Hence, the question is whether α activity plays a role also in temporal integration, especially when stimuli are integrated over several α cycles. Using electroencephalography (EEG), we investigated the relationship between pre-stimulus brain activity and long-lasting integration in the sequential metacontrast paradigm (SQM), where two opposite vernier offsets, embedded in a stream of lines, are unconsciously integrated into a single percept. We show that increases in α power, even 300 ms before the stimulus, affected the probability of reporting the first offset, shown at the very beginning of the SQM. This effect was mediated by the systematic slowing of the α rhythm that followed the peak in α power. No phase effects were found. Together, our results demonstrate a cascade of neural changes, following spontaneous bursts of α activity and extending beyond a single moment, which influences the sensory representation of visual features for hundreds of milliseconds. Crucially, as feature integration in the SQM occurs before a conscious percept is elicited, this also provides evidence that α activity is linked to mechanisms regulating unconscious processing.

The Mediating Effect of Self-confidence on the Impact of Conscious and Unconscious Processes on Risky Investment Intention

This study investigated the mediating effect of trust and self-confidence on the effects of both conscious processes (coping strategies) and unconscious processes (defence mechanisms) on risky investment intention. In this context, data were collected from 832 participants using an online survey. Exploratory factor and correlation analyses were performed on the collected data, and the research model was tested using structural equation modelling. According to the results of the analysis, both coping strategies and defence mechanisms have an effect on risky investment intention, and self-confidence has a mediating role in this relationship. This study is unique because it explores the effects of both conscious and unconscious processes on financial decisions.

Refugia: islands of social awareness in disrupted earth systems

An organisational leader's evolving mindset at times of significant systemic disruption frequently determines the quality and efficacy of the organisation's response to dramatic change. This article describes patterns of conscious and unconscious thinking, emotion, and containment in a group of business leaders during a disruptive earth system trauma. The context is the Christchurch, New Zealand earthquakes of 2010 through 2014 and the critical incident narratives that inform the mental stance leaders assumed with their organisations. There has been little research on leaders' evolving mental stance or how they "show up" in traumatic times, in terms of the practices and behaviours they exhibit, and how these in turn manifest as containing environments within disrupted systems. I call these environments "islands of social awareness". Within these refugia, the organisation, with its collective sense-making potential and action optionality, cooperates on the critical tasks of survival, human connection, and activation of resilience. I propose that turbulent social unconscious processes and the leader response to consequent emotional arousal ultimately underlie leaders' motivation and behaviour in times of disruption. These same perspectives may be applied to other complex earth mega-system crises, informing organisational preparedness for extraordinary events.

The Psychoanalysis of Music Improvisation: A Phenomenological Qualitative Study

<i>Research shows that clinicians use music, either as music therapy or as an adjunct to talk therapy, in providing treatment to patients with a history of trauma, ones struggling with depression and anxiety, as well as in treating patients whose diseases have organic etiologies. However, the endopsychic structural permutations as the result of encountering music are understudied. The unique qualities of psychoanalysis mean researchers can use it as a tool to study unconscious transmutations and processes. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative research was to understand the endopsychic structure changes during and after music improvisation based on the subjective experiences of 20 adult individuals. The researcher used unstructured interviews. The results show that participants moved toward partial ego positions during improvisation and felt whole after the intense moments of improvisation that involved the experience of heightened emotions. The research result can help inform treating patients with an array of psychological disorders including personality disorders and eating disorders. </i>

The influence of psychoanalysis on the state-legal views of M.A. Reisner and A. A. Ehrenzweig: a comparative analysis of ideas

The subject of the research in the article is approaches to the integration of ideas, concepts and theoretical constructions of S. Freud's psychoanalysis into jurisprudence, which are proposed in the works of the soviet lawyer and public figure M.A. Reisner (who was one of the brightest representatives of the brief period of soviet freudo-marxism) and the american jurist A. A. Ehrenzweig (author of a number of works on psychoanalytic jurisprudence). Special attention is paid in the article to the significance for the legal theory and practice of the doctrine of S. Freud is about the unconscious processes taking place in the human psyche, which to a significant extent form both an individual and the culture of peoples. The similarity of the authors' approaches to understanding the role of the unconscious principles of the human psyche in motivating people's behavior, as well as to understanding the processes of the genesis of law and the state, is shown. Along with this, fundamental differences in the concepts of soviet and american scientists are revealed, demonstrating the vulnerability of the position of M.A. Reisner, for whom (unlike A.A. Ehrenzweig) the subject of law is a social class, not an individual. It is shown that M.A. Reisner in his psychological interpretation of law replaces psychology with class ideology. The conclusion is substantiated that it is necessary to involve the ideas of psychoanalysis in jurisprudence for a deeper understanding of the nature of man as a subject of law.

Does unconscious processing benefit creative problem-solving, especially when people have been misdirected?

The incubation paradigm has demonstrated the importance of unconscious processing in creative problem-solving, but it cannot specifically control the unconscious content.As there is limited research using the masked prime paradigm to explore the effects of unconscious processing on creative problem-solving, this study selected the alternative-uses task and innovatively adopted the masked priming paradigm and the incubation paradigms. In Experiment 1, we subliminally presented typical or novel examples, and the results showed that novel examples led to better creative performance, demonstrating that unconscious stimuli can influence divergent thinking. In Experiment 2, we contrasted the effects of two unconscious states triggered by the incubation and masked prime paradigms on creative tasks. Previous research suggested that incubation often occurs when the mind becomes stuck or is misdirected during problem-solving, indicating the role of fixation in this process. To control for the fixation variable, we employed a conscious prime. Experiment 2 revealed the fixation effects, significant positive incubation effects, and positive priming effects. Interestingly, the interruption group with novel conscious examples and a novel unconscious prime produced the highest originality and flexibility of divergent item generation. Incubation also diminished the influence of fixation examples. In brief, both forms of unconscious processing are beneficial to creative problem-solving after going through an incubation period and being given positive subliminal stimuli.

Experiencing without knowing? Empirical evidence for phenomenal consciousness without access

Can one have a phenomenal experience to which one does not have access? That is, can you experience something without knowing? The dissociation between phenomenal (P) and access (A) consciousness is widely debated. A major challenge to the supporters of this dissociation is the apparent inability to experimentally demonstrate that P-without-A consciousness exists; once participants report having a P-experience, they already have access to it. Thus, all previous empirical support for this dissociation is indirect. Here, using a novel paradigm, we create a situation where participants (Experiment 1, N = 40) lack online access to the stimulus yet are nevertheless able to retrospectively form judgements on its phenomenal, qualitative aspects. We further show that their performance cannot be fully explained by unconscious processing or by a response to stimulus offset (Experiment 2, N = 40). This suggests that P and A consciousness are not only conceptually distinct, but might also be teased apart empirically. Statement of relevanceA critical question in the scientific quest towards solving the problem of consciousness focuses on the ability to isolate conscious experiences at their purity, without any accompanying cognitive processes. This challenge has been augmented by a highly influential – yet controversial – dissociation suggested by the philosopher Ned Block between Phenomenal consciousness, or the “what it is like” to have an experience, and Access consciousness, indexing the ability to report that one has that experience. Critically, these two types of consciousness most typically go together, making it highly difficult – if not impossible – to isolate Phenomenal consciousness. Our work shows that the dissociation between phenomenal and access consciousness is not merely conceptual, but can also be empirically demonstrated. It further opens the gate to future studies pinpointing the neural correlates of the two types of consciousness.

장소정체성 요소로서의 공공예술 활용이 문화마을의 경관요소에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구

In order to identify the role of public art and landscape planning in the Regional Cultural Area as part of the cultural regeneration of the local community, this study analyzed the placeness and sense of place of these regions, focusing on the cases of Korea, China and Japan. The first analysis qualitatively analyzed the history and locality of each region. The framework of the second quantitative analysis is a correlation analysis of the cultural regeneration strategy, the function of public art, and the concept of landscape elements, and uses adjectives of landscape status with a specific generation in China, that is, millennials in their 20s and 30s as parameters. A questionnaire was conducted. As a result of the 1st and 2nd analysis, it was analyzed that each case exhibited a place-linked, place-dependent, place-dominant public art piece, and had a sense of place with mediating, experiential, and symbolic shared values. Traditional decorative public art form was the main form, but partly participation and intervention, and new genre public art form were shown. The sense of place perceived by the subjects was normally distributed with an average median value of 3 or higher on a Likert 5-point scale, and the difference was not large. However, among the landscape elements, there was a difference in systematicity, continuity, convenience, and originality, and a cross-section of the subjects' unconscious cognitive process could be confirmed.

(Un)deliberate ignorance. Discreet charm and adaptive functions of motivated ignorance

First, the author cites several of wilful ignorance and analyzes the concept in relation to related terms such as “voluntary blindness”, “information avoidance” and “negative knowledge”. Then he presents the six groups of motives distinguished by Engel and Hartwig, which may lead to the phenomenon of deliberate ignorance. The author proposes to reduce The author proposes to reduce this taxonomy to three more general motives, i.e. emotional, pragmatic and moral category, and characterizes their specificity. Referring to psychoanalytic tradition and the role attributed by the modern experimental psychology to unconscious processes, he notes that not every type of motivated ignorance is preceded by a “deliberate”, conscious decision. Many manifestations of ignorance are spontaneous (but not accidental) products of the activity of unconscious processes. More or less “deliberate” ignorance is a frequent reason for potential patients to avoid or delay medical examination. The practical problem is how to counteract this unfavorable tendency.

(Un)deliberate ignorance. Dyskretny urok i adaptacyjne funkcje niewiedzy

First, the author cites several definitions of wilful ignorance and analyzes the concept in relation to related terms such as “voluntary blindness”, “information avoidance” and “negative knowledge”. Then he presents the six groups of motives distinguished by Engel and Hartwig, provoking the occurrence of the phenomenon of deliberate ignorance. The author proposes to reduce this division to three more general motives, i.e. emotional, pragmatic and moral category, and characterizes their specificity. Referring to psychoanalytic tradition and the role attributed by the modern experimental psychology to unconscious processes, he notes that not every type of motivated ignorance is preceded by a “deliberate”, conscious decision. Many manifestations of ignorance are spontaneous (but not accidental) products of the activity of unconscious processes. More or less “deliberate” ignorance is a frequent reason for potential patients to avoid or delay medical examination. The practical problem is how to counteract this unfavorable tendency.

‘The Genie's Out of the Bottle’: The Impact of Working Online with Individual Psychodynamic Psychotherapy for Therapists and Clients, and its Lessons for Psychodynamic Training

The forced move to online work in 2020 was initially greeted with consternation by many in the psychoanalytic world, but adaptation was subsequently accomplished by many with successful results for clients. At WPF Therapy where individual psychodynamic psychotherapy is offered by therapists in training, we did a qualitative and participative study with clients, trainees and supervisors to explore how these groups felt about online work. A participative and pluralistic approach was chosen to achieve a fuller and more balanced understanding. Eighteen trainees interviewed each other, 19 supervisors contributed through focus groups and individual interviews, and eight clients’ perspectives were explored in individual interviews. The findings were that working online offered different and exciting opportunities for therapy, including the unconscious processes which are central to the psychodynamic modality. This has implications for future psychodynamic training since new phenomena need to be incorporated into psychoanalytic thinking and practice. While results did not support replacing in‐person therapy, there was support for a combined approach in future. As one participant said: ‘The genie's out of the bottle now’, something has happened which cannot be stopped.

Workplace ostracism: a qualitative enquiry

PurposeThe study aims to understand the phenomenon of workplace ostracism from multiple perspectives (target, perpetrator and observer). The understanding of the phenomenon is used to thematically analyse the antecedents of workplace ostracism and identify appropriate strategies for each antecedent.Design/methodology/approachThe study findings are based on face-to-face semi-structured interviews with thirty-three senior and medium-level employees from various public and private sector organizations in India. The interview transcripts were systematically analyzed to identify antecedents of ostracism, which were inductively grouped together based on similarity.FindingsThe antecedents of workplace ostracism were grouped into four major heads: perceived non-alignment with organizational needs; emotional reaction; unconscious social processes and structural and demographic differences. Based on interview transcripts, strategies to reduce the effect of each of the broad antecedents of ostracism were identified.Practical implicationsWorkplace ostracism has been linked with multiple negative outcomes including increased stress and turnover intention. The study provides managers with a framework that enables them to evaluate and understand incidences of ostracism among their subordinates. The study also equips managers with the knowledge of specific strategies for dealing with specific antecedents of ostracism.Originality/valueThe study answers the need to look at the phenomenon of ostracism through multiple perspectives. It identifies multiple potentially new antecedents and strategies to deal with workplace ostracism and groups them in a coherent manner. It is among the few studies on ostracism in India and extends the generalizability of the construct.

Fixation-related electrical potentials during a free visual search task reveal the timing of visual awareness

It has been repeatedly claimed that emotional faces readily capture attention, and that they may be processed without awareness. Yet some observations cast doubt on these assertions. Part of the problem may lie in the experimental paradigms employed. Here, we used a free viewing visual search task during electroencephalographic recordings, where participants searched for either fearful or neutral facial expressions among distractor expressions. Fixation-related potentials were computed for fearful and neutral targets and the response compared for stimuli consciously reported or not. We showed that awareness was associated with an electrophysiological negativity starting at around 110ms, while emotional expressions were distinguished on the N170 and early posterior negativity only when stimuli were consciously reported. These results suggest that during unconstrained visual search, the earliest electrical correlate of awareness may emerge as early as 110ms, and fixating at an emotional face without reporting it may not produce any unconscious processing.

A re-introduction of the psychodynamic approach to the standard clinical psychology curriculum.

There is a strong evidence-base for a psychodynamic approach, supporting primary theoretical tenets as well as the treatment effectiveness. Additionally, there are increasing calls from the field for more individualized treatment for clients, and the lack of training in multiple orientations limits the ability of students in clinical psychology Ph.D. programs in the United States to personalize their treatments. The accumulated evidence-base for contemporary relational psychodynamic theory and therapy places it in good standing to return to the standard clinical psychology curriculum, along with other evidence-based approaches. We use data from the Insider's Guide (which describes clinical Ph.D. programs in the United States) from three time points over 20 years to document the waning psychodynamic approach in clinical psychology programs. We review the scientific evidence for four primary tenets of a contemporary psychodynamic approach: three related to development-from healthy to psychopathological: (1) unconscious processes; (2) internal representations of self and other; (3) dimensional model of psychopathology, and a fourth tenet that builds on these three and is the foundation for a contemporary psychodynamic approach to psychotherapy: (4) therapeutic relationship as a primary mechanism of change. Based on the review of the evidence, we make specific recommendations for clinical psychology training programs about how to include a psychodynamic approach in the curriculum.

COVID-19 and Rapid Response in Healthcare: Enacting Bricolage to Overcome Resource Constraints

In resource-poor emerging economies, the COVID-19 pandemic has inspired governments and various organisations to develop innovative solutions to help combat the pandemic. We conducted a qualitative evidence synthesis of 19 cases drawn from a sample of emerging countries to understand how varied actors rapidly forged healthcare solutions. We uncover the entrepreneurial agency of bricolage as an intrinsic, unconscious and cooperative process of entrepreneurial action in crisis management. Our study contributes to the theory of bricolage as we propose the concept of ‘crisis-driven bricolage’ in healthcare. By highlighting the capacity of multiple actors to collaborate and create effective healthcare solutions within a very short timeframe, our study holds strong practical implications for regional responses. It encourages bricolage as a viable solution when resources are tight and responses need to be rapid. Our study proposes greater consideration of bricolage as a way to provide low-cost and efficacious solutions, and as a complement to society’s innovation repertoire.

Neural bases of freedom and responsibility.

This review presents a broad perspective of the Neuroscience of our days with special attention to how the brain generates our behaviors, emotions, and mental states. It describes in detail how unconscious and conscious processing of sensorimotor and mental information takes place in our brains. Likewise, classic and recent experiments illustrating the neuroscientific foundations regarding the behavioral and cognitive abilities of animals and, in particular, of human beings are described. Special attention is applied to the description of the different neural regulatory systems dealing with behavioral, cognitive, and emotional functions. Finally, the brain process for decision-making, and its relationship with individual free will and responsibility, are also described.

The evasive truth: do mere exposures at the subliminal and supraliminal levels drive the illusory truth effect?

The subjective truth of a statement is boosted by mere exposure to itself or a part of itself. This phenomenon is referred to as the illusory truth effect. We examined whether subliminal pre-exposure to the statement topic would increase its subjective truth. In the exposure phase, participants observed the topic, which was presented supraliminally or subliminally. After the exposure phase, they rated the subjective truth of the statement. If unconscious processing contributed to the illusory truth effect, subliminal exposure to the topic would increase the subjective truth of the statement. On the other hand, if the illusory truth effect required conscious and controlled processing, increases in the subjective truth of a statement would be induced only by supraliminal exposure to the topic. The results showed that the illusory truth effect was not found in either supraliminal or subliminal groups. Our findings provide no reliable evidence that pre-exposure to the statement topic saliently promotes its subjective truth.

Dissociation between conscious and unconscious processes as a criterion for sentience

Dissociation between conscious and unconscious processes as a criterion for sentience