Thresholds, Noise and Response Bias - Insights from Blindsight

Explore the complex relationship between perceptual decisions, internal noise, and response criteria in this thought-provoking conference talk. Delve into the concept of blindsight and its implications for understanding visual awareness and consciousness. Examine how empirically-determined thresholds are influenced by both experimenter-defined performance criteria and observers' internal thresholds. Investigate the role of primary visual cortex in conferring visual awareness and consider alternative interpretations of the dissociation between performance and awareness in blindsight patients. Gain insights into the importance of response criterion management in maintaining the correspondence between performance and awareness in conscious behavior. Reflect on the challenges of interpreting behavioral responses as measures of awareness and the implications for our understanding of consciousness.