How much can we differentiate at a brief glance: revealing the truer limit in conscious contents through the massive report paradigm (MRP).
Royal Society open science May 1, 2022 Liang Qianchen, Regan M Gallagher, Naotsugu Tsuchiya
People can tell with high accuracy (over 80%) whether a small image patch was part of a natural scene they just glimpsed, contradicting earlier claims that such differentiation is poor. Previous studies may have underestimated conscious perception by using limited stimulus variability and response options. In a massive report paradigm, participants viewed a natural scene image and then judged if a patch came from that image; subtler modifications tested discriminability limits. Accuracy remained high, and the ability to detect modified objects depended on object size and how well the object fit the scene. The paradigm offers a way to measure the rich information present in a single moment of consciousness.