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Current concerns in visual masking.

Stefan Wiens
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Abstract

Theories of emotion postulate that emotional input is processed independently from perceptual awareness. Although visual masking has a long tradition in studying whether emotional pictures are processed below a supposed threshold of perceptual awareness (subliminal perception), a consensus has yet to be reached. This article reviews current concerns in the use of visual masking. These include a reliable presentation method, the role of masking pictures, common definitions of awareness and their problems, current models of awareness, and neural mechanisms. A useful strategy may be the study of dose-response relationships between awareness and emotion processing that avoids a dichotomous view of awareness and allows conclusions about the relative independence of emotional processing from awareness.

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AffectAwarenessHumansPerceptual MaskingPsychological TheoryVisual PerceptionJournal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

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Stefan Wiens. 2006. Current concerns in visual masking.. https://doi.org/10.1037/1528-3542.6.4.675

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