The Mediation of Intentional Judgments by Unconscious Perceptions: The Influences of Task Strategy, Task Preference, Word Meaning, and Motivation

Abstract

In two experiments subjects attempted to identify words presented below the objective threshold using two task strategies emphasizing either allowing a word to pop into their heads (pop condition) or looking carefully at the stimulus field (look condition). Words were selected to represent both meaningful (pleasant vs unpleasant) and structural (long vs short) dimensions. We also asked subjects to indicate their strategy preference (pop vs look) and to rate their motivation to perform well. In the absence of conscious perception, both strategy preference and word meaning interacted with strategy condition, mediating the accuracy of subjects' direct word identification judgments. Motivation also mediated performance. Word structure had no effect. Unconscious perception manifested only in the pop condition, underscoring the importance of task strategy in determining whether subliminal effects are observed. A follow-up control experiment using sham flashes demonstrated that strategy preference and motivation effects were not artifacts resulting from performance feedback cues.