Role of Consciousness in Temporal Integration of Semantic Information
Date Issued
2016
Date
2016
Author(s)
Tien, Yung-Hsuan
Abstract
Previous studies showed that word meaning can be processed unconsciously; however, whether temporally segregated words can be integrated into a meaningful phrase without consciousness remains unknown. We presented the first three words of Chinese four-word idioms sequentially to one eye, and dynamic Mondrians to the other, followed by an unmasked target: a congruent ending, an incongruent ending, or a non-word. The lexical decision task and a visibility check to the masked words were adopted. In Experiment 1, we compared the invisible condition with a visible condition where the preceding words were superimposed on the Mondrians and presented to both eyes. We found faster RTs and smaller N400s to the congruent endings in the visible condition. However, the congruency effect vanished when words were invisible, which was replicated despite enhancing statistical power (Experiment 2) and top-down attention (Experiment 3). Our findings suggest that consciousness plays an important role in semantic temporal integration.
Subjects
semantic processing
temporal integration
continuous flash suppression
unconscious processing
consciousness
Type
thesis
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