The scope of unconscious processing remains hotly debated, driven by diverse methods for manipulating and measuring perceptual awareness. Through dialogue among researchers with varied theoretical backgrounds, ten recommendations and nine outstanding issues are provided for designing experimental paradigms, analyzing data, and reporting results. These guidelines aim to evoke discussion about norms in studying unconscious processes and help researchers make informed decisions. While some recommendations may not align with existing approaches and will likely evolve, they are intended to foster a more convergent understanding of the extent and limits of unconscious processing.
Directing top-down attention to a specific location or a narrowly defined feature (color) does not accelerate the conscious detection of suppressed visual stimuli at that location or of that feature, even when attention is successfully manipulated. However, when attention is directed to a color using a broader attentional template (ill-defined shape), conscious access is faster for probes in the attended color. These findings suggest that the specificity of attentional templates imposes limitations on the ability of top-down attention to bias which visual information reaches consciousness.