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Review
. 2022 Oct 12:13:957359.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.957359. eCollection 2022.

Insuppressible cognitions in the reflexive imagery task: Insights and future directions

Jessica K Yankulova  1 , Lisa Moreno Zacher  2 , Anthony G Velasquez  2 , Wei Dou  3 , Ezequiel Morsella  2   4
Affiliations
Review

Insuppressible cognitions in the reflexive imagery task: Insights and future directions

Jessica K Yankulova et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

In 1959, Neal Miller made the bold claim that the Stimulus-Response, Behaviorist models of that era were describing the way in which stimuli lead to the entry of contents into consciousness ("entry," for short). Today, researchers have begun to investigate the link between external stimuli and involuntary entry, using paradigms such as the reflexive imagery task (RIT), the focus of our review. The RIT has revealed that stimuli can elicit insuppressible entry of high-level cognitions. Knowledge of the boundary conditions of the RIT effect illuminates the limitations of involuntary processes and the role of consciousness in the regulation of behavior. We review the boundary conditions of this paradigm as well as its systematic effects. Systematic effects are unlikely to be due to experimental demand. While reviewing each effect, we consider its theoretical implications. In addition, throughout our review, we discuss future directions for the study of insuppressible entry using the RIT. Last, we discuss a theoretical development (passive frame theory) that stems from the RIT and illuminates how involuntary entry and encapsulation, though at times disadvantageous for the actor, are essential for adaptive action selection during the course of ontogeny.

Keywords: consciousness; encapsulation; involuntary entry; reflexive imagery task; unconscious processing.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic depiction of an RIT trial (not drawn to scale).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The circumscribed domain of consciousness within the nervous system (based on Poehlman et al., 2012; Morsella et al., 2016). Response systems can influence action directly, as in the case of “un-integrated” actions. It is only through the conscious field that multiple response systems can influence action collectively, as when one holds one’s breath while underwater (a case of “integrated” action).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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