UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Studying unconscious processing: Contention and consensus

Stockart, François; Schreiber, Maor; Amerio, Pietro; Carmel, David; Cleeremans, Axel; Deouell, Leon Y; Dienes, Zoltan; ... Mudrik, Liad; + view all (2025) Studying unconscious processing: Contention and consensus. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 10.1017/S0140525X25101489. (In press).

[thumbnail of studying-unconscious-processing-contention-and-consensus.pdf] Text
studying-unconscious-processing-contention-and-consensus.pdf - Accepted Version
Access restricted to UCL open access staff until 23 January 2026.

Download (895kB)

Abstract

The scope of unconscious processing has long been, and still remains, a hotly debated issue. This is driven in part by the current diversity of methods to manipulate and measure perceptual consciousness. Here, we provide ten recommendations and nine outstanding issues about designing experimental paradigms, analyzing data, and reporting the results of studies on unconscious processing. These were formed through dialogue among a group of researchers representing a range of theoretical backgrounds. We acknowledge that some of these recommendations naturally do not align with some existing approaches and are likely to change following theoretical and methodological development. Nevertheless, we hold that at this stage of the field they are instrumental in evoking a much-needed discussion about the norms of studying unconscious processes and helping researchers make more informed decisions when designing experiments. In the long run, we aim for this paper and future discussions around the outstanding issues to lead to a more convergent corpus of knowledge about the extent – and limits – of unconscious processing.

Type: Article
Title: Studying unconscious processing: Contention and consensus
Location: England
DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X25101489
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X25101489
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author-accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Unconscious processing, awareness measures, best practices, perceptual awareness, recommendations
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Experimental Psychology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10211885
Downloads since deposit
1Download
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item