Attention and consciousness frequently occur simultaneously, however, they are dissociable

and independent processes. I will be presenting evidence for why this is the case as well as some

refuting evidence, and then explain why my argument triumphs.

In a 2007 study, they explored the relationship between attention and consciousness. It

appears that we can have attention without consciousness, which is demonstrated by lateral

masking (visual crowding) (Koch & Tsuchiya, 2007). Subjects can focus their attention on a
certain location for many seconds but fail to see one or more attributes of an object at that same

location (Koch & Tsuchiya, 2007). In lateral masking, there is a peripherally presented grating

whose orientation is hidden from conscious sight, but its potency is sufficient to produce an

after-effect (Koch & Tsuchiya, 2007). Such an aftereffect can still require focal attention even

after the object originally at the center of attention is gone (Koch & Tsuchiya, 2007). So, this

indicates that you can be attentive without conscious perception. In another example in the same

study, consciousness seemed to be present in the absence of attention. When we focus on one

event in the real world, we are simultaneously partially paying attention to things outside that

event (Koch & Tsuchiya, 2007). We can also be aware of the gist of our surroundings while

being focused only on one thing (Koch & Tsuchiya, 2007). In an experiment, when a photograph

was flashed unexpectedly, for a very brief moment, participants could still report an accurate

summary of it (Koch & Tsuchiya, 2007). However, the evidence for consciousness without

attention is constantly subjected to criticism and is considered to be far less significant than the

evidence for attention without consciousness (Burton, Personal communication, March 26,

2021). These are pieces of evidence that attention and consciousness are distinct and can occur

independently of one another. In the same study, however, they found that attention and

consciousness sometimes co-occur or are absent altogether, which seems to be counterevidence.

Whenever we pay attention to something located within a clustered scenario, we typically

become conscious of its attributes and have access to the privileges of consciousness such as

working memory and verbal reportability (Koch & Tsuchiya, 2007). Several decades of research

show the relationships between attention and conscious perception, such as a study that

demonstrated that subjects must pay attention to novel or unexpected stimuli to become

conscious of them (Koch & Tsuchiya, 2007). It also seems that a lack of attention and lack of
consciousness can occur at the same time. A lack of both attention and consciousness can be

seen due to the formation of afterimages, rapid vision, and zombie behaviors (Koch & Tsuchiya,

2007).

In a 2018 study, it appears that multiple types of attention may have a unique relationship

with consciousness (Pitts et al., 2018). Different attention types such as visuospatial, feature-

based, or object-based all affect visual processing at different rates in a stimulus projection

experiment (Pitts et al., 2018). There are different kinds of consciousnesses (phenomenal and

access), and each of them may depend on different attentional mechanisms, such as the ones

listed above (Pitts et al., 2018). One question they ask in this study is that, if attention is

necessary for conscious perception, at what point during a visual event does consciousness arise?

(Pitts et al., 2018). We have seen from the first study and this one, that it is possible to pay

attention without having conscious perception. However, it is unclear where exactly that point of

conscious perception lies. These different types of consciousness and attention provide further

evidence that they are distinct processes, even though there may be certain correlations among

them. Potential refuting evidence suggests that consciousness may be something that comes in

degrees or is graded as opposed to an all-or-none phenomenon (Paller & Suzuki, 2021). This

indicates that consciousness may align with attention as we know that attention can vary from

low to high as well. Also, there was an example shared during the lecture discussion which

shows why attention and consciousness cannot be completely independent. If we are in a

completely new environment, and there is a poster on the wall, we should be able to know that

there is a poster on the wall without looking at it (paying attention to it) (Burton, Personal

communication, March 26, 2021). Being in a new environment controls the confusion between

memory and consciousness, as if we are in a familiar environment, our memory can detect things
without attention (Burton, Personal communication, March 26, 2021). However, this example is

not possible as we cannot be conscious of something novel without paying attention to it. So, it

suggests that attention and consciousness must co-occur and should be dissociable.

There was a 2010 study by Van Boxtel and colleagues discussed during the lecture,

which presented some of the first evidence of a double dissociation between consciousness and

attention (Burton, Personal communication, March 26, 2021). While most studies have found a

single dissociation (attention possible without consciousness), this was one of the first to find a

double dissociation (consciousness possible without attention as well). The point of this study

was to determine whether attention and consciousness both lead to the same or different

behavior. This would help determine how similar or different they may be. Participants had to

report the presence of an afterimage, while attention and consciousness were manipulated

(Burton, Personal communication, March 26, 2021). Participants had to show, by the press of a

button, if an afterimage appeared and for how long it appears. The results showed that when

attention was high, the afterimage duration was short, and when attention was low (attention was

divided), the afterimage duration was high. When consciousness was high, the afterimage

duration was longer, than when consciousness was low (Burton, Personal communication, March

26, 2021). This shows that attention and consciousness have opposite effects on behavior, and so

in terms of behavior, they differ. However, a possible downside to this study is that these results

were never replicated. Similar studies tried to replicate the results, however, the exact results of

the 2010 study were not replicated. So, this calls into question the replicability and reliability of

this study. The study may have high validity if we say the measurements of attention,

consciousness, and reaction time were accurate. But the fact that this study did not take place

across time and the results were not replicated, will negatively affect its credibility.
 One study aimed to look at attention-consciousness dissociation and how that may

influence artificial intelligence (Haladjian & Montemayor, 2016). The type of consciousness

which arises from emotional arousal, rejection, or moral approval is independent of the forms of

rationality and intelligence associated with the attentional processes of features, objects, and

events (Haladjian & Montemayor, 2016). Empathy-related vivid experiences have a cognitive

foundation in the role that consciousness plays, which is different from attention to the content

(Haladjian & Montemayor, 2016). Moreover, attention routines are generally programmable in

machines, in terms of functions that stop at a certain point, but consciousness cannot be

programmed the same way (Haladjian & Montemayor, 2016). Also, it does not seem certain that

we can program a large set of routines that can produce empathy and the associated phenomenal

consciousness into machines (Haladjian & Montemayor, 2016). So, this study creates a

distinction between consciousness and attention by assigning things such as emotions and

empathy to consciousness rather than attention. Also, attention seems to be easier to program

into machines while consciousness seems difficult, implying that consciousness is a more

complicated process. All in all, this study seems to be a complete study with little to no

incoherencies or discrepancies, and the fact that it has 132 references just helps its credibility.

Another study, however, suggests the “commonsense” view of consciousness, which is

that consciousness is necessary for attention (Mole, 2008). Although consciousness is not

thought to be a prerequisite of attention, attention must occur (Mole, 2008). So, if you pay

attention to something, then you are necessarily conscious of it. To provide an objection to this

idea, they proposed an example that considered the fact that a mother will awaken more quickly

hearing a baby’s cry rather than other things (Mole, 2008). Presumably, the mother will attend to

the sound of the cry before she can be conscious of it, but this goes against the common-sense
view of consciousness. So, to refute this result, they argue that upon hearing the cry, the mother

is not paying attention at all, instead, she is conscious of the cry (Mole, 2008). So, this common-

sense view of consciousness views consciousness as something general which is necessary for

attention to occur. This makes consciousness much more aligned with attention because even if

consciousness can occur without attention, attention cannot occur without consciousness.

Typically, we assume, given seemingly easy evidence, that attention can occur without conscious

perception, but this study completely opposed that idea. One disadvantage of this study is that we

are working with a different definition of consciousness than we normally would. Normally we

would refer to phenomenal and access consciousness in our distinctions, but this study uses a

broad definition which allows it to better align with attention. This study fails to combat the idea

of having attention without consciousness if we state consciousness as having different parts

(phenomenal and access).

In conclusion, I think that although attention and consciousness likely are not completely

separable as they usually co-occur, they are still distinct processes. The first study shows us that

attention and consciousness can be present together, absent altogether, or occur in the absence of

one another. However, the fact that they can occur independently of one another is enough proof

that they are not the same processes and can be seen separately. I am using the word

“independent” in the sense that they can occur without each other, even if it is only for an instant.

Even if consciousness occurs and ranges in degrees just as attention does, that does not

necessarily mean that the progression of attention must match the progression of consciousness

linearly. Even if going from lower to higher attention increases the likelihood of conscious

perception, we do not know the exact ratio of their interactions. Being in a new environment

would no doubt require attention for conscious perception, but what about scenarios that are not
new? The subconscious and unconscious parts should be acknowledged as well. Maybe

conscious perception utilizes all parts of consciousness including the subconscious and

unconscious, which include working with new and old environments along with memories and

habits, to generate the self. The last (2008) study used a common-sense view of consciousness

which is not very resourceful to what we are trying to determine as we realize that consciousness

has various parts. The 2016 study involving artificial intelligence I think showed great evidence

for why attention and consciousness differ. Emotions, which are a part of consciousness, cannot

easily be programmed into machines, unlike attention. I think this study and the 2010 study

discussed in the lecture best show how attention and consciousness have a double dissociation.

Visually imagined, it looks to me like attention and consciousness are overlapping rectangles,

where, let us say that 70% of the area is overlapping. 20% of the area is exclusively attention

while 10% is exclusively consciousness or something like that. It can also be imagined as the

antennae on a cricket, where the antennae are what initially receive the stimuli (attention) and the

cricket (consciousness) then processes it.

References

Burton, C. (2021, March 26). Lecture 9: Consciousness and Attention. Lecture presented at

Lecture 9 in University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga.

attention dissociation. Consciousness and Cognition: An International Journal, 45, 210-

225. http://dx.doi.org.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/10.1016/j.concog.2016.08.011

Koch, C. and Tsuchiya, N., (2007). Attention and consciousness: two distinct brain processes.

[online] Www-sciencedirect-com.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca. Available at:

<https://www-sciencedirect-com.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/science/article/pii/

S1364661306003032> [Accessed 7 April 2021].

Mole, C. (2008). Attention and consciousness. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 15(4), 86-104.

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Paller, K. & Suzuki, S. (2021). Consciousness. In R. Biswas-Diener & E. Diener (Eds), Noba

textbook series: Psychology. Champaign, IL: DEF publishers. Retrieved from

http://noba.to/5ydq3tgk

Pitts, M. A., Lutsyshyna, L. A., & Hillyard, S. A. (2018, May 21). The relationship between

attention and consciousness: an expanded taxonomy and implications for ‘no-report’

paradigms. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rstb.2017.0348.