Isolating unconscious influences: The neutral parameter procedure
Category
Journal Article
Authors
Vinter, A., Perruchet, P.
Year
1999
Title
Isolating unconscious influences: The neutral parameter procedure
Journal / book / conference
Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
Abstract
Earlier demonstrations of unconscious learning have been regularly challenged. In this paper, we suggest that earlier demonstrations were not compelling due to certain properties of the experimental situations, and notably that conscious exploitation of explicit knowledge, if present, would coincide or conflict with the results of unconscious processing. We designed a method consisting of inducing a neutral behavioural change in the way subjects drew geometric figures. Two experiments showed that important and long-lasting modifications of drawing behaviour were obtained following specially devised practice, although these modifications could not be expected from deliberate adaptive strategies. In addition, we showed that subjects were unaware of the manipulation to which they had been exposed. The study provides striking evidence for unconscious learning and offers insights for the design of suitable new tools to investigate unconscious cognition.
Issue
4
Volume
52A
Pages
857-875