Your brain observes and remembers things even when you aren't consciously aware of observing and remembering things. This test shows that "unconscious perception" is not an oxymoron. When you click a "GO" button a random number between 0 and 9 will flash very briefly. Each number is "backward masked" by an "X," which means that the number appears very briefly, then is replaced by the "X." Normally, such masking "erases" the masked number from your consciousness, but not necessarily from your unconscious. Usually, you won't perceive anything more than a vague impression of the number that is masked, and will think that you are "just guessing" when you indicate which number you saw. But your "just guessing" is informed by your unconscious. Although you probably will not "guess" right all of the time, or even most of the time, if you performed better than chance, then your unconscious saw and remembered things that you didn't!
You will get ten trials. After each trial you will learn what the correct choice was, along with your cumulative score, as well as how well you are performing relative to random chance.
The average of all of the scores for people who have taken this test will display when you have finished all 10 trials.
Oh, and be sure to set your screen brightness to its highest level for best results.
Return to Psychology Today blog