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Consciousness, Cognitive Theories of

Bernard J. Baars

Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science January 15, 2006 DOI: 10.1002/0470018860.s00297 (opens in new tab)

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed
Key points Proposes that consciousness operationally consists of all reported experiences and functions as a global access mechanism for executive control and decision-making.

Abstract

Abstract‘Consciousness’ operationally consists of all the things human beings report experiencing, from perception to mental images, inner speech, recalled memories, semantics, dreams, hallucinations, emotional feelings, and aspects of cognitive and motor control. In cognitive theory, consciousness appears to be a global access function, presenting an endless variety of focal contents to executive control and decision‐making.