The Perceptual Awareness Scale-recent controversies and debates

Morten Overgaard; Kristian Sandberg

doi:10.1093/nc/niab044

The Perceptual Awareness Scale-recent controversies and debates

Neurosci Conscious. 2021 Dec 15;2021(1):niab044. doi: 10.1093/nc/niab044. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Morten Overgaard¹, Kristian Sandberg²

Affiliations

¹ Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, Nørrebrogade 1A, Aarhus 8000, Denmark.
² Department of Clinical Medicine, Center for Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University, Universitetsbyen 3, Building 1710, Aarhus 8000, Denmark.

Abstract

Accurate insight into subjective experience is crucial for the science of consciousness. The Perceptual Awareness Scale (PAS) was created in 2004 as a method for obtaining precise introspective reports for participants in research projects, and since then, the scale has become increasingly popular. This does not mean, of course, that no critiques have been voiced. Here, we briefly recapitulate our main thoughts on the intended PAS usage and the findings of the first decade, and we update this with the latest empirical and theoretical developments. We focus specifically on findings with relevance to whether consciousness is gradual or all-or-none phenomenon, to what should be considered conscious/unconscious, and to whether PAS is preferable to alternative measures of awareness. We respond in detail to some recent, selected articles.

Keywords: PAS; consciousness; methodology; perception; subjective report; the Perceptual Awareness Scale.