Motor Responses Influence Perceptual Awareness Judgements

Abstract

Perception and action are tightly related, but what is the relation between perceptual awareness and action? In this study we tested the hypothesis that motor response influences perceptual awareness judgements. We design a procedure in which participants were asked to decide whether Gabor grating was oriented towards the left or the right. Presentation of the stimuli was immediately followed by a cue requiring motor response that was irrelevant to the task but could be the same, opposite or neutral to the correct response to the Gabor patch. After responding to the cue participants were asked to rate their stimulus awareness using Perceptual Awareness Scale and then to report their discrimination decision.\n\nThe results showed that participants reported a higher level of stimulus awareness after carrying out responses that were either congruent or incongruent with a response required by a stimulus, compared to the neutral condition. The results suggest that directional motor response (congruent or incongruent with correct response to the stimulus) provides information about the decision process and its outcome increasing reported awareness of a stimulus.