Finkbeiner Matthew, Forster Kenneth I
Macquarie Centre for Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
Trends Cogn Sci. 2008 Feb;12(2):59-64. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2007.11.003.
Many researchers use subliminal priming to investigate domain-specific processing mechanisms, which have classically been defined in terms of their autonomy from other cognitive systems. Surprisingly, recent research has demonstrated that nonconsciously elicited cognitive processes are not independent of attention. By extension, these findings have been used to call into question the autonomy of domain-specific processing mechanisms. By contrast, we argue that the demonstrated modulation of nonconscious cognitive processes by attention occurs at a predomain-specific stage of processing. Thus, although we agree that attention might be a prerequisite of nonconscious processes, we suggest that there is no reason to think that higher-level cognitive systems directly modulate domain-specific processes.
许多研究人员使用阈下启动来研究特定领域的加工机制，传统上这些机制是根据它们与其他认知系统的自主性来定义的。令人惊讶的是，最近的研究表明，非意识引发的认知过程并非独立于注意力。由此推论，这些发现被用来质疑特定领域加工机制的自主性。相比之下，我们认为注意力对非意识认知过程的已证实的调节作用发生在特定领域前的加工阶段。因此，虽然我们同意注意力可能是非意识过程的一个先决条件，但我们认为没有理由认为高级认知系统会直接调节特定领域的过程。
