An aptitude-based influence on nonconscious arithmetic

Abstract

Subliminal processing was for many years believed to only work for simple features belonging to our cognitive functions. Recent research has suggested that it should be theoretically possible to subliminally process complex features, such as arithmetic equations or semantically significant sentences. This experiment attempts to show that a persons personal skill-level at arithmetic (his or her 'arithmetic aptitude') determines how well this person performs arithmetic subliminally. We report the results of our subliminal arithmetic task done with continuous flash suppression, and compare these results with a simple task designed to test the level of aptitude of participants. The results do not show a significant correlation between subliminal reaction time and aptitude-level. We present multiple ways to improve upon this experiment, believing it does still hold potential.