Processing of Information Acquired at a Preconscious Level of Awareness: Instruction and Sex Effects on Hemispheric Laterality and Accuracy

Abstract

The authors investigated situations in which appropriate behavior depends on information that is not consciously processed, and they attempted to influence the brain hemisphere which is most active when using such information. The experiment investigated two general ideas. First, task- appropriate hemispheric activation could be conditioned by instructions; and second, activation of the appropriate hemisphere would improve accuracy scores. Brain wave activation data confirmed that instructions could successfully trigger activation of either the right or the left hemisphere, and appropriate activation improved recall accuracy. They also found gender differences in responses to two parallel sets of stimulus slides.