Unconscious addition: When we unconsciously initiate and follow arithmetic rules.

Ric, François; Michelet, Dominique

doi:10.1037/a0024608

Cited by 43 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Similar results have been obtained for solving simple arithmetic equations, such as multiplication [39], addition [40] and subtraction [37]. Although intriguing, we and others [41] argue that it remains an open question whether such findings actually reflect the active combination of multiple unconscious stimuli.…”

Section: (A) Effects Of Subliminal Wordssupporting

confidence: 65%

Can the meaning of multiple words be integrated unconsciously?

Gaal

Naccache

Meuwese

et al. 2014

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

105

103

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What are the limits of unconscious language processing? Can language circuits process simple grammatical constructions unconsciously and integrate the meaning of several unseen words? Using behavioural priming and electroencephalography (EEG), we studied a specific rule-based linguistic operation traditionally thought to require conscious cognitive control: the negation of valence. In a masked priming paradigm, two masked words were successively (Experiment 1) or simultaneously presented (Experiment 2), a modifier (‘not’/‘very’) and an adjective (e.g. ‘good’/‘bad’), followed by a visible target noun (e.g. ‘peace’/‘murder’). Subjects indicated whether the target noun had a positive or negative valence. The combination of these three words could either be contextually consistent (e.g. ‘very bad - murder’) or inconsistent (e.g. ‘not bad - murder’). EEG recordings revealed that grammatical negations could unfold partly unconsciously, as reflected in similar occipito-parietal N400 effects for conscious and unconscious three-word sequences forming inconsistent combinations. However, only conscious word sequences elicited P600 effects, later in time. Overall, these results suggest that multiple unconscious words can be rapidly integrated and that an unconscious negation can automatically ‘flip the sign’ of an unconscious adjective. These findings not only extend the limits of subliminal combinatorial language processes, but also highlight how consciousness modulates the grammatical integration of multiple words.

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Section: (A) Effects Of Subliminal Wordssupporting

confidence: 65%

Can the meaning of multiple words be integrated unconsciously?

Gaal

Naccache

Meuwese

et al. 2014

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

105

103

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“…** These results indicate that addition equations can also be performed unconsciously (similar results with the digits one through five are given in ref. 10). What the specific conditions are under which addition and subtraction equations are nonconsciously solved turns out to be a complex issue that must be left for future investigations.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All experiments had two basic conditions. In the compatible condition, the result of the primed equation was the target stimulus (10). In the incompatible condition, it was not (11).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although numerous studies have documented processing of subliminally presented single units of meaning (e.g., a word or a number) (5)(6)(7)(8) as well as unconscious retrieval of simple arithmetic facts (9)(10)(11), previous research has generally failed to document unconscious performance of functions that require multiple (and sequenced) rule-based operations on more than one abstract unit (12)(13)(14).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Reading and doing arithmetic nonconsciously

Sklar¹,

Levy²,

Goldstein³

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

234

364

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The modal view in the cognitive and neural sciences holds that consciousness is necessary for abstract, symbolic, and rule-following computations. Hence, semantic processing of multiple-word expressions, and performing of abstract mathematical computations, are widely believed to require consciousness. We report a series of experiments in which we show that multiple-word verbal expressions can be processed outside conscious awareness and that multistep, effortful arithmetic equations can be solved unconsciously. All experiments used Continuous Flash Suppression to render stimuli invisible for relatively long durations (up to 2,000 ms). Where appropriate, unawareness was verified using both objective and subjective measures. The results show that novel word combinations, in the form of expressions that contain semantic violations, become conscious before expressions that do not contain semantic violations, that the more negative a verbal expression is, the more quickly it becomes conscious, and that subliminal arithmetic equations prime their results. These findings call for a significant update of our view of conscious and unconscious processes.nonconscious processes | automaticity | CFS T he scientific investigation of consciousness and the human unconscious is an ongoing interdisciplinary effort that is central to our understanding of the human mind. The goal is simple: to map the functions performed by nonconscious processes and the functions that are performed consciously, and to understand how these two sets of functions are implemented in the brain. The modal view in cognitive sciences associates consciousness with capabilities that are uniquely (or largely) human. Two prime examples of capabilities of this kind, which are cataloged among the greatest achievements of human culture, are complex language and abstract mathematics. It is not surprising then that the modal view holds that the semantic processing of multiple-word expressions and performing of abstract mathematical computations require consciousness (1-4). In more general terms, sequential rule-following manipulations of abstract symbols are thought to lie outside the capabilities of the human unconscious.This view has received extensive empirical support. Although numerous studies have documented processing of subliminally presented single units of meaning (e.g., a word or a number) (5-8) as well as unconscious retrieval of simple arithmetic facts (9-11), previous research has generally failed to document unconscious performance of functions that require multiple (and sequenced) rule-based operations on more than one abstract unit (12)(13)(14).[Recently, work by Ric and Muller (10) has shown that simple addition (adding two numbers with a sum that is not greater than six) can occur nonconsciously. Although addition of this sort does not require more than one operation, we find these data very encouraging in terms of the challenge that we propose here.]The present study challenges this modal view of consciousness and the unconscious. Specifically...

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“…Successful performance would necessitate that arithmetic rules can be initiated and followed unconsciously, and that the unconscious intermediary results are stored in working memory. So far, there exists only a single study on unconscious addition making the former claim (Ric & Muller, 2012). Furthermore, considering the technical setup adds to the a priori implausibility of the effect reported by Sklar et al They used continuous flash suppression (CFS) to render the prime equations invisible for up to 2 seconds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A critical reexamination of doing arithmetic nonconsciously

Moors

Hesselmann

2017

Psychon Bull Rev

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A recent study claimed to have obtained evidence that participants can solve invisible multistep arithmetic equations (Sklar et al., 2012). The authors used a priming paradigm in which reaction times to targets congruent with the equation's solution were responded to faster compared with incongruent ones. We critically reanalyzed the data set of Sklar et al. and show that the claims being made in the article are not fully supported by the alternative analyses that we applied. A Bayesian reanalysis of the data accounting for the random variability of the target stimuli in addition to the subjects shows that the evidence for priming effects is less strong than initially claimed. That is, although Bayes factors revealed evidence for the presence of a priming effect, it was generally weak. Second, the claim that unconscious arithmetic occurs for subtraction but not for addition is not supported when the critical interaction is tested. Third, the data do not show well-established features of numerosity priming as derived from V-shaped response time curves for prime-target distances. Fourth, we show that it is impossible to classify reaction times as resulting from congruent or incongruent primetarget relationships, which should be expected if their results imply that participants genuinely solve the equations on each trial. We conclude that the claims being made in the original article are not fully supported by the analyses that we apply. Together with a recent failure to replicate the original results and a critique of the analysis based on regression to the mean, we argue that the current evidence for unconscious arithmetic is inconclusive. We argue that strong claims require strong evidence and stress that cumulative research strategies are needed to provide such evidence.

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Unconscious addition: When we unconsciously initiate and follow arithmetic rules.

Cited by 43 publications

References 19 publications

Can the meaning of multiple words be integrated unconsciously?

Can the meaning of multiple words be integrated unconsciously?

Reading and doing arithmetic nonconsciously

A critical reexamination of doing arithmetic nonconsciously

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