A Test of Prinz’s Air Theory: Is Attention Sufficient for Conscious Emotion?

Jesse Prinz proposes that attended intermediate‐level representations (AIRs) are sufficient for conscious awareness. He extends this claim to emotion, arguing that attention is the mechanism that separates conscious from unconscious emotions. Prior studies call this entailment into question. However, they do not directly address the intermediate‐level requirement, and thus cannot decisively refute the AIR theory of consciousness. This thesis tests that theory by manipulating participants’ attention to different features of subliminally processed words while recording both behavioral and electroencephalogram (EEG) data. Both measures suggest that subliminally processed stimuli are attended according to participants’ conscious intention to complete a task. In addition, the EEG data demonstrate that intermediate‐level neural activity was modulated by the subliminal stimuli. Thus, these results suggest that AIRs are not sufficient for conscious emotion. This finding undermines Prinz’s AIR theory, and its account of the distinction between conscious and unconscious emotion. Michael Owren for their support and advice throughout the course of this study. Dr. Scarantino, Dr. Nahmias, and Dr. Owren provided extensive feedback on the latter drafts of this thesis. It is greatly improved, thanks to their suggestions. The theoretical questions, literature review, study design and implementation (including acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of EEG and behavioral measures) were carried out under the direction of Dr. Frishkoff, to whom I am deeply grateful for guiding me through my first foray into neuroimaging research. The experiment presented in the thesis would not have been possible without her dedication to the project. I would also like to thank Amanda Clevinger, for their help with data collection and data management, as well as Theresa Maglio and Annie Grapek for their assistance in preparing stimulus materials. Finally, I am grateful for the support and encouragement of this work provided by my friends and family, including vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1 33 Table 2 34 Table 3 68 Table 4 69 viii LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1 31 FIGURE 2a and 2b 41 FIGURE 2c and 2d 42 FIGURE 3 70 FIGURE 4a and 4b 75 FIGURE 4c and 4d 76 FIGURE 5 77 1 1 INTRODUCTION The relationship between attention, awareness, and emotion is a complex topic that interests both philosophers and psychologists (Clore et al. Winkielman et al., 2005). In this context, the existence of unconscious emotions has been particularly controversial (Prinz, 2011).