Experience, Meta-Consciousness, and the Paradox of Introspection

JonathanW Schoole&r CharlesA . Schreiber Expe rienceM, eta-c onsc iousness, and theParadox of Introspection

Abstfact:I ntrospectionis p aftdoxical in thati t is simultaneousslyo compclling yet so elusive,This paradox emergesbecause ahhough expeicnce itselfis indis- putablc,o ur ability to explicitlyc haracterizee tpe encei s ofreni nadequate. Ultimatelyt,h ea ccurucyo f introspectiwr cportsd ?pendos n indiyi(lu.llsi' mper .fecta hility to takcs tock( i.e., to becometf ieta-consciou(st) theb expcrience. Althought herei s no idealy erdstickfora ssessinign trospectione,x aminatioho f thed egrcet o whichs eu-rcportss yrtethaticall.yo vaty with thc cnvironmental, behal)iouraal,n dphrsioloeiel concoftitantos fetperiencec anh elpt o establish the correspondcncbee tweenm eta"consciousneasnsd experienceW, ei llu:trute the viability( t,tuch an approachi n threed omainsi,m agery,m ind-yunderihg, and hcdonica pprcisaLi defining both the situationsin whichi ntrcsnections appeart o be accurdtea ndt hosei n whicht heys eemt o diverye.fromu nderlying experienceW. ec oncludew ith a aliscussioonf thc various.factors(i ncluding issueso f detectiont,r unsformationa,n ds ubstitutiont)h atm ayc ausem et1-con- sciousnest!o misreprerenet xperience.

Thep aradoxo fintrospections temsfr om thef actt hatp ersonael xperiencceo ne- spondsto that which we know bests ubjectivelyy, et leaste mpirically.S ubjec- tively speakingt,h erei s nothingw e know bettert han our own introspective experienceA. s James( 1890)o bserved'l ntrospectiveo bservationis what we havet o rely on first and foremosta nd always' (p.185).I ndeed,a s Descartes (1637)n otedl ong ago,n othings eemsto offer moreo ntologicacl ertaintyt han introspectiona,s n othingi s morei ncontrovertiblteh ano ne'sk nowledgeo f par- takingi n experiencelf.y ou cani nffospectt,h eny ou mayb ed reamingy, ou might bea braini n a vat,b ut theres eemsa bsolutelyn oq uestionb utt haty ou areh aving ane xperience. Allhoughs ubiectivelyin controvertibleit, is impossibleto directlya ssestsh e contentso fexperiencea, ndt husn od ecisivew ayt o empiricallyd eterminew hen

JonathanW . SchoolerD, epadmenol f PsychologyU, nrversitoy f BntishC otumbia2, .136W est l',4alVl,a ncouverB. C. CanadaV 6T 124.

Journalo ICon!.iousnesrS /edier,l l,No.7 8,2004,p p. j7 39 lli J.W SCHOOLI]R& C.A. SCHREIBER reportcd introspections accurately vs inaccuratcly characterizc underlying expcrience.T hc empiric elusivencsso f subjcctive experiencci s powerfully illustratedb y Dcnnett's( 199I) claim th.rtq ualiai tself is an illusion-D ennett's argumcntb uilds on the obscrvationt hat the f:ct thal wc believeo ursclvesb pos sessq ualia does not in itself provide evidencet hat wc necessarilyd o Zombies (philosophic.rlc onstructsw ho apPeara nd behavee xsctly like humansb ut who lacki nternalexpericocwe)o ulda lsob elievcandv ehementlay ssenthat(h cyp os- se..eLlr irid \uhtecli\c e\pericncc.D ennctrl unh(r rrguc\ lhrl becau'ci l i' impossiblcto fully pin down what any particulare xpcricnceis reallyl ;ke' the constructo f subjectivec xPeriencei s too vaSuc! o be meuningful (For example' whcn; ndividualsw e,rri nvcned! llasscs:rtradf.l cra while begint o navigalcs uc- cesstullyi n thc world,i s lhcir subjeclivee xpericnccre ve|tedo r do theys imply lcrrn to adiustt o an upsided own wodd?)G ivent hc infcasibilityo f citherd em onstrLr{intgh e existcnceo l subjcctivec xperienceo r charlcterizingw hrl i1 is actua'lyl ike,D enocttc oDcludcs'n, obodyi s c(rnscioL.t-s. we area ll Tombies'.' The strikingt hing aboutD cnnctts critiqueo f subjcclivce xpericnccis that Itom ane rnpiricrlp elspcctivhec is ahsoltrlclryi Sht Whcnr clyingo nt hc ruleso l evidenceu pon which scicncei s bascd( i.c. cmpiric l indcPendenrtc portable observalionsw)c sinrplyc annotk now thittw e arcc onsci{)uasl all Neverlhclcss. (andt his is whcrcw c divcrgcf ft)m Dcnn€tt)w c do. lt seemss elf'cvidentl o us (and wc cxDecll o nl{ny rcaders)th ill the exislcrrcco f subjcctivce xpcricncc' thouShe Dtirclye ludingt he sourceso l-cmpiricacl videnceu ponw hicha ll othcr knowlerJgics hLrscdn,c vcrlholcsrse muinsit n illdispulabltca cl whoscc ertuinlyis a( lcasl( nrp irrw ith,r n(l nr!,uablyc xceedsa, nylhiDgc lsct hatw e know( tbr simi- lar argunrontssc cC hitlrncrs1. 996;D cscilrtcsI,6 371S ellars,1 963) Civcn the Daradoxo f introspcction( ic , thri expcricncci s subjcotively \clf evidcnlh ute rnpiricl ly il)scruttlblci)t. m ights ccmt emplingt o simplyl lblln_ don any irltcrrptsir l cmpiricali nvcstignlionosl subicctivee xpcicnce lDdccd. thiss trrlegyc hrri|ctc.izctsh eb ulk0 1p sychologicl rcscxrcho l thc 1l|s1ceDtuly' Howcvcf.i 1iso ur viewt hlttb y conf(rntingt hcP iLrd oxo finlrospectiothl eildo n' \ c..llr rr.rkch .irJwJ).s l,ccril. :lll]. tlrrcci mf,'flinl (rrn\iij{rirrl' rn'e rncrScIr rrrn thc observationt hat expericncei s ai once subicctively sclf:evidcnt lrnd empiricallyi nscrutb lc- Epistemctogicallys peakinSt,h e paradoxo fintrospecliont clls us that therei s no way tha( wc will evcr be.rblc to empirically know subjectivcc xpericncci n the manncri n whichw e cmPiricallyk nowo ther$ ings.U nl;keo there lusivec oocefts (c.g.,d istrnt galaxics.t iDy pllnicles) whosec mPiricali nvcsti!iirtionc vadesl tnaly sis due 10l imitalions ofmeasuremenl,s ubjectivcc xperiencci s. asD ennctl s ilnal ysis iltu\lratcs, empirically nol) demonstrable-T h;s inscrulability mcans thrl cmpidcal investigaiionso f subjeclivce xPe{icncem us(n ccessaily bc groundcdi n humility, cogDizrntt h t any accounli s oPent o alternativci nteryrelatiors

Altcr duking thescellinrs.D cnncll irggcsts lhdt il {ould be rn acl ol desperatcin telleclu'ldLshon lP 106) Rcdcrs arc rhcrcl're duliiulll adv iscdt l) rc!'ew "$,ctu crooonu;coxt"l riDt'i vshrxich,r il,huc'o\eu irostsc.o(onntcsx t re m!.lc and fom theil own oPini(nra boul whcthe' wc hrle THF P \R AI)'I\ OF INTROSPI:CTION t,

Methodologicrllys pel*ing. thc paradoxo f inrrospectionil lustftrtesh or,, invesligatioonf subjective xpericncac lsoa fii)rdsa lool uniquct o o(herm odcs ofinquiry. Specifically, we can usc thc fac( that *,e havc experiencct o evaluatc (he modelso fcxpcrience that wc dcvclop. The seekingo f r concordxnceo fihc conclusionso f cmpiricali nvestigationws ith the firsl personp crspectiveosf those lteneratinga nd ev.rluatingt heoriesr eprescnlsa central elemento I phenomcnologicupls ychobgy( c.9.,V arela,1 996,b urs eeS chooler& Dougal, I999).A nd althoughp erhapsra rclyc xplicitlya cknowledgedin. all donltinso t psychology.e scarcherws'i ilingncssto rcceplt heoreticaclo DclusioDiss a llectcd by whethcrl hcy llnd suchc onclusionsin tfospcciivclyc ompclling.( X coursc. this incvitrbly mernst har somcs ubjectivityis introducedin lo the sciencco f introspcctionB.u t, ultera ll. isn'1t hult he point? Finally.l .om a thcorclicapl erspecriveth, cp rradoxo f introspectiohni ghtighls adislinctiont hrt hasb ccDit nplicitt hfoughoullh c foreSoingd iscussi0nn:a mcly, that bclwccnt he xctualc drlcnlso l an expcficncc( cxp€rientiflclo nsciousncss) ando ne s explicith clicfs boutr hecontcntosl -consciousncshse,r ei ntefchangc ably rclerredt o.rsm cla-consciousne(sSsc hoolcr2. {XX)2; 00211o)r mcta-arvarc rcss (ilck & Shallicc.200ll Schoolcr.2(X)l)t.i nrpiric.rllys pcakinBw. hcn wc sk participanllso int()spectr.l l Ihllrw c cang ameri s whal theyi rfcn rclil,con sciooso f (i.c-,w hal lhoy /r,Ii.,r'{t,h cy itroc xporiencin8)F. roots uchn rctil-con sciousr eporlsw c rrustt hen ttenrp1l oi nltr whiitt heya r.c:r ctuitllyc xpcficncing. lundi t is lhc possibililyo l dissociritionbsc twcsne xpcricutirlc onsciousncsusn d tnctiri ,,rr.,:i,'rrsI,.sth, rt p,.(\ rh..p r,,hl( r Al(houshl hc dislincli(Jnh clwccnc xporiontirlc onsciousnessn d rDctr-con sciousrrcsdso esn ('lc lirnin lc lhc pruirdrlox f irrl|\)spcclionit. d ()csh elpu \ tr)s cc how ll subieclivclyiD li)rmc(lcrnpiricls cicncco l inlrospectionr ightp n)cccd. On thco neh and.t hcd istinctioDw heDc onsidcrcdin lighto f thcl :rrrdoxo l iotft) speclioni.l lustrrtcsh ow sell-fepor(sw, llicll [cccss rily nrLrsbtc bAsedo r tncl consciousrp prrislls ol experiencec.l ln bc fl wcd. even il (hcy iLfeb irscdo expcrienccw. hish is ilself self cvidcn(.O n rh€o lhef hrud. ir suggcsts{h rr it' cnlpiricalobservatiornisJ gardinwgh ens ell-reportscoincidwei tho thcrpft)bable indicatorso f expericDcacr cc onsidefedin thec ontcxro l humilitya ndi nli)rmed li.st-personp crspcctivcsl,h eD it rrly be possiblc1 o scicntific.lllya dvancc princiflcdc onjecturelsrb outt hc n.iturco f expenence. In thc followinga nrlysis.w c futuhcrf lcsho ut the naturco f sucha n appro,tch drawingo Dr ecentc onsidcrrtiotso f how a distincri(rrb ctweeDe xpcricncca nd mela-arvarencscsa n help l(J resolves onrco f thc inherenld ifticuhics as$ciared with introspcction.Welhenillustratethcvalucof(hisapproachinthreedonrains whcrci olrospectiopnl aysa pirrticularlcyr uci l role:i rragcry,r nind-w andering,

lmplications of Dissoriations lJetwe€nE xpcricnc€ and Meta-Awarcncss for Introspection Sorneo l the eaflicsto bscrvationrse g rding the challcngeso f inrrospccrivcl) re'descfibingc xpcricnccc drne,n ot \ufPrisingly.f iorn Williltln lancs (I891)) 20 J,W. SCIIOOI-I]R& C.A. SCHRBII]ER who obscrvedth ar'(W e find oursclvcsin continuael rrora ncul ncerlrintys o soon asw c iuc calledo n to D1tmaen dc lassa ndn ot merelyf icl' (p. l9l). Jlmesc om parcda ttcrnptsl (Jr ellectively pin down flcctinS subjectivcc xperiencesk ) that ot seiziDg'. r spinningr cp to calchi ls motion,o r tfying lo lurn up the gasq uickly enought o seeh ow the darkncssl ooks (p. 244). Jamcsr ecognizedt hat thc chal lengeo f introspectivcfc -dcscriptionst emsi n pan from the limitltionso f lan !tuagen, otingt hai 'abscncco f speciavl ocabularyfo r subjectivefa clsh inde$ the studyo f all hutthc vcryc o,rrsestotfh em' (p. 195). As a conscqucncocf thcd ifficultieso f intfospcctiorne cognizedb y James.r Dd morcv chcmcnllyd ecriedh y Watson( l92l) ando lheIs.t hc usco f introspectivc cvidcncew ithin n instrern psychologyw ash rgely:rvoidcdt hrcughoumt uch of thc paslc en(ury.H o*'evcf.a n inrportaDbt reLrkrhrouginh the acceptancocf selirreporldatafi)llowcdl,lricssonlndSimon's(l980:1993)serninalworkdoc unientiDltth em anyc ondilionsu ndcrw hicht hink-aloudp rorocols(w herep anic- ipanlss ifiply statcw hatcvcrt horghlsc r(rssth eirm inda s( hcye ngagein a task) offtr valid dalat ha(c losclyc orfespondto bchaviourw ithoutn otablya flccling pcrtbrmanccl.'l ricssornn d Sirnonlu rlhcfa diculatcdth ec {nldirionusr dcr which think-aloudp rclocolsl rrel ikeiy to hc vrlid (c.g..i f they Lrrcd oncc ouctrrently withoul plrtisipaD{sa ttcnrptinSl o cxplitin the pfi)ccsscsu ndcrlying thcil lhoughlsa) Ddw hcr thcyt lfcl ikcly to bc irvlli(l or reacrivc(c .g..i f lhcyo rer etro- spcc(ivco r requilep arliciprnlsto nukc inlcrcmceL\ thouwl hy rhcyi rrcb chaving in a parliculrrw ry). Ericssona nd Sirnons considcr.ttioonl thc possihlcr cilclivilyo l think-aloud protocolsr.i rd lhcir drcuDrontrti()onj thc licqLrcncto rrcspondljnch(crt wccnt hc con{eDtosl iDdividuals('h inl llloLrdp rotocols nd trsk pcrtbrnlanccr,c presenls aDirnpo|1n t li)undirlionrp on whicht hc prcscnl nillysi\i s b.licd.I lowcver,i n theire Dlhu\iasfti o rcestuhlislhh c ! lidiry ofscll-repo|'ltcchniqucs,thcnyo r.r- hly dc crrphrsizcdl hc p{}\sibilityt h 1\,efballyf cpor'{i0go nc s rhoughrsc oukl forcc individurls to vcrb lly re-repfcscnitn hcrcntlyn on-verbrle xpcricnccs. Argultblyi.n sod oiDg,t heyo vedookc(lthcp ossibility( nLie vidcnccr)h ard isrof tions or omissionsc rn occur even when individualss irnply think rloud (Schoolcr.r.//.l,9 93tL ne&Schoolef.inpfess;thoughscchrics\on,2002ti)fa critiquco f thisp cNpeclive). Recertly,t hfee independenstc tso f invcsligatoho fllred conpclling argu ment\t br howd iscrcprncicbsc twceDth cc onlentso l expe|iencac ndi ndividuals' cxplicil awarcncsso f (hosec oDteDlcsa n leadt o difficulticsi D sclf rcpod datx (Jack& Shallice,2001:Jick & Rocpstorff,2002;L rmbie & Marccl.2002; Schoolcr2. 000;2 001;2 002b).A s Schooler( 2(X)2bo.)b servcd: If, as irgued. melac onsciousncsres quiresre -r epresenint !it hec ontentso fconsciousressth, en i1 litlows that rs with rrnyr ecoding prcccss.s olltc iofoflD.rtionm ay becoDrelo st of dist(ntedin the lfanslation(' p. 342).I u thc conlcx{o f inlefpfetingfa ilurcst Lr rccogrizc cmotionsL ambic alld Marccl sirnilrrly observed:' Somc oI (hc rep{rrlecda seso l '1ack(temolionexperiencc'...sccmtocxhibitthefeaturesol' u hato ur frurneworkw ouldd escribca s Iircko f al,rzrrcss ol firsto rdere motion phcoomcnolLrgy(' p. 249). Likcwisc J.rck rnd Shrllice pointed out that THli PARAI)OX Ol, IN I ROSPECII ON 2l

'inlrospeclivc rcports nray bc sccna s thc product oftwo factors:f irsily thc "raw data" ... ands ccordlyt hc conceptuaflr ameworko. r'1nodel".. .. The cxtcntt o whichs ubicctsa rcc onectd ependso n the v?rlidityo ftheir model'( p. 177). These rescarchcrsa lso ovcrlappcd rcgarding the metric by which djssocia tions belwecn cxpcricncc and nreta-consciousnesasr e ident;ficd, with cach enlphasizintgh ci mportancco fdissociationbse tweens elf-reponas ndo thcri ndi- rect indices.I ror cxamplc. bolh Lambjc and Marcel (2002) aod Schoolcr( 2000; 2002b) suggcslcd that discrcpancicsh etween fepresso.s'p hysiological responsetso slressa ndt hcirs clf-repoft(se .g..A sendorph& Schefcr,I 9il3)n ray beindicativeofrepressors'lackofrwarcncssofthcirownsubicctivcslalc.Siini larly, lack LrndS h.rllico( 2001)a rgucdt hat discrcpancicbsc twccnc hildrcD's self'repo.lsL rndt heir behaviouri n working on algcbrap roblcrlsl sicgler & Srcrn,l 99ll) indicatedth at children' lirckedi rwarcncsos[ theiro wn discovery andu sco fthe struteSy( p. lTti). The strikingo verlnpb etwcent hoset hrccl argclyi DdcpcndcDrnl alyscso l-(hc soufccso f intnrspectiver ft)rs uggest(sh att hc dis(inclionb clweeno xpolicnco andm cla-aw.rcncsiss Lrnid eaw hoset imeh rs cornc( Jack,2 (X)4)N. evertholoss. (hcrcr .c also sor c inpo[Lrnt dillerencesb clwecn( hoscr ppft)lchcs.l hough rrcogniring rhc v lLrco l idcrrtilyi'rgd issocitl{ionbse tlveens elFrep(n1asn d bchirvioLirirlnrcrsufcs,JackllndShalliccs(2(I)l)prirnrrysolutionli)rlcsr)l!ing discrcpilncicsin inl(rspccli{)ni nvolves 'rcplilcingo r rel-iningl he su\iocls' Inodcll i)ru ndcr\trndin8lhcior wn nrcnrrls trtes'( p. I78).W hilc wo concurw ilh .hck nd Shrlliccs rppl) ch lo thc cxlcntt hut\ {c recollnirc( nd ir)doedh irvc li)und)t hirto nhrnccdo xpcrlisci n dornainc n rllow v(rrhapl rotocolslh irll rc Inofc inli)rnri(ivcL rndle ssr cletivc (c.g.,M clchcr& Schoolcr.1 9961ir r prcss), rttcDrplsll fclining pi||ticiplnls introspcctivcrr rfilclsi n irr clloll 1oc nhrrrcc thcirr ccurlcy i\ rlso [ile wilh chllllcngcs(S choolcr2. 002 ). lr p rticulir. lhcfc is rlwrys thc fisk thrt lhc iolr(xlucliono l Dcwm cDtnul ndcrstandirSnsr .ty ltcf thc veryc xpcricrccl afliciplots area tteln iDgl oelucid,r(e. lnlnbie nnd Marccl s (2002)i rpproreht r) exploringd iscreprnciebs c(wecD phcnonrcnaclr nrsciousne\sn d rnc{a-consciousnelasf\8 clyf i)cu\cso r pittho logicrl crscsi n whichi ndividultls how. rua bsc cc ofrwrrcncsso fcxpcricnccd emoLionasll alcs'.I houghc onsidefrtiono l thci rnplicalionosf inlrospcclivcd illi cultiesii )r indi!idurlsw ilh palhologieis\ i portanlt,h ise mphasios verlooksth c c$es in which dissociLllionbsc twccnc onsciousnessD d nrel -consciousness nuy hc obse|vedw ilh norntl irldividurls. 'Ihe.rpprorchl akcn by Schooler( Schoolcr,20002; 0024,bS; choolcr.r 1l/.. 2003;S chooler& Schlcibcri.n press)a, nde xteDdedh ere,f ocuseso n dissocir tionsb etweenc oDsciousncrsnsd lne(iLc onsci{)usDetshsrl may be involvcdo ot ouly with fathologie l c sesb uta lsow ilh morce verydlye xilmflesI.n sod oiDg. il in(roduccsi rulnhero l methodologictsh tl are pafticulilrly]l uitedl i)r Llocu' rnenlingd issocia(ionins everydltyc ontextsio cludingu singc xpcricnces rmpling to catchp eoplee ngagimigo couscioust rtes( e.g.,u rind wrndering)b cforct hcy catcbt hcnselves(e .g..S choolcr.t. 1/..in pfess)..r ndi DvesLigtlintgh ei lnprcl of cncouragingm etr-consciousre llcclion Lrnp cdi)nnance( e-9.,W i1\oD& Schoolcr, 22 .t.w.s cHoor_r-r&R c.A. SCHREIBER l99l). Thisa pproacha lsoa rticulatcstw o distinctt ypeso fdissociationbse tween consciousnesasn d meta-consciousncstcsm: porald issociationisn which con- sciousnesosc cursin thc abscncco f mcta-consciousneasnsd, t r nslationd issociations in which meta-consciousnesmsi srepresentsu nderlyinge xperience. Finally,t hisa ppro.rcha,t leastase xplicatedh ere,g roundsd issociationbse tweeo consciolrsneassn dm ela-consciousnewsislh in the largerc ontexto f the paradox of introspection- Onec riticalc oncernr aisedb y the pararloxo f introspectioins thata lthoughit mays eemrc asonabletion terpredt i ssocia tionsb etweenb ehaviourarcl sponscasn d self-repona s evidenceo f expcrienccw ithout correspondinmg eta-awareness, becauswe ec annodt ircctlym casurex pcricnces,u cha conclusiomn ustb ev iewed with cautionT. his inescapablfca ct meansth atw e musta pproachth is topicw ith humility,e vero pen1 ()r lternativea ccountsA, t the samet ime,t herea rev arious strategietsh at we may be ubler c employi n determiningw hens elf-reportasr e morev s. iessl ikely to correspontdo underlyinge xperienceT.h esein clude: (l) Multiple convergenceTs.h e morea ll sourceso f evidencec onvergeo n the samec onclusiont,h e morec onl-idencwee canr easonablhya vei n thatc on' clusionT. husi f individuals'e lf-reporntso to nlyc orresponrcdt heirb chav- iours,b ut alsos ensiblyfl uctufiew ith changeisn the envircnmcnatn d consistcntmlya po ntoc hangeisn underlyinpgh ysiologicsatla tet,h enw c can becomei ncrcasinglyc oofidentt hat individuals'm eta-conscious appraisalosf their expericnccd o in fact corrcspondto its actualu ndcrlying content, (2) Multiplcd ivergenceCs.o nverselyw,h eni ndividuals'self:repooftosn sis- tentlyd ivcr8cfr cme nvironmentlalul ctuationbse, haviourrael sponseasn.d physiologicastl atcsw. e nust becomein creasingclyo ncernetdh utm eta- cons ci ous a ppraisalasr clailingt o adcquatlcy capturcu ndcrlyinScx pcricncc. (3) Reactivitoyl sell-reporIlf.e Dcouraginingd ividualtso introspccarb outth cir expcriencsey stematiclrlrlylt ers.a ndp articularlyif i1i mpairs,p erfonnance, theni t seemsrc asonabltco spcculateth att he intK)spectionnsr ayb et ailinB to dojustice! o lhe undcrlyingc xpcricnce. (4) Appeals!o introspectionw. hen dissociationbsc twecns elf-reporal ndo thcr possiblein diccso f experiencea reo bservedt,h erea rea lwayst wo possible accounts(:a ) thc sclf reportsm isrepresenteadc tuale xperienceso,r (b) the alternativem easureds o not actuallyc orrespondio experienceA, lthouBh resolutiono f this dilemmam ustb e a maltero f conjecluree, ducatedin tro' spectionsre gardingw hat sccmsm orec onsistenwt ith tlrst persone xperi- encem ayb e usefulf or adjudicatingb etweenth esea lrernatives. Int hef olhwingd iscussiown,c i llustratteh ev iabilityo fthea bovea pproacihn threcd omainsi:m agerym, ind-wanderinga,n dh edonica ppraisal.

Visual Irnagery For manyy carsp sychologistsq uabbleda boutw hat to makc of thc common introspectiotnh att hc visuali nragesin our'mind's eye' shares imilaritiesw ifh I Hh PARADOX OF ]NTROSPECTION 2l actual visu.rl expcricnccs. Some researchcrsa rgued that these introspections reflected rnaloguc rcpfesentati{}nslh al corrcs nrded to visual percepls (c.g.. Kosslyn,l 9tj0; Shcpafd& clDper, 1982).O thers,h oweveri,n sistedlh atv isual imagery w1|.n\ o diffcrcni from symbolic propositions,a nd thus its uniquc visual Uopertiesw ere illusory( e.9.,A nderson,1 978;P lyshyn.I 98l). Allhought bc debatew as hald fought.u ltim.rtely( hosca rguingf i)r the uniquenesosf visual imagcry caffied (he day as evidencedb y a rccent surveyo f psychologists (Rcisbefge r d1.,2002).A t the samet imc, howcver.t hesem ethodsh avc also rcvealedin lporlanld omainsin whichi ntrospcctionasb outi m{geryc anb c lnis- lcadingW. e reviewt hcscl wo sidesi n turn.

I,ridcnk Ji)r the ( hunti(itt ol innger\ illtrotpcctkrns A nu|nberofdiffcrcnpt aradigmhs rvc bccnu sedt odofilonslrallch cclosec offe sln)ndencbeo (wccnth e n tureo finlrospcctiveim gcly rcportsa ndi hc physical prope ieso l lhc imageds lirnulusa, sw ell rs theb chavioLrrannl d physiological rcsponse1s0 t hc imalie.S onleo f lhc first cviLiencelo r thc inagcry/pcfception linl camel iorn studicsd enronstrrtirrlgh c correspondcltcbcc lwccnt hc ln niptr lalion of visui|l irn:rgcsa nLip hysiciilp cfcepts1 0 which (hosci magcsc orre \po (lcd.F (n exrmplc,f cscircho n nronlllr otationi nvolvingr sscssnrcnotf thc nr:rtchh ctwcenlw l) objcctso. neo l which rusth en rentallyro llllcdi rro rdcrt ()b c corrprrrcdw i(hl hc rnhcr,r cvcLrlar vcryp rcciscr clrlionshiPb olwccnlh c rrn(ru!11 {rl tiDrci r lalcs ((' rlirkcr i.iudSnrcnutn dl hc urrr(nrro)lt Physicirrlo l li()ni l wonld reqLrifc1orliglnh e itcrns(Shcprrr&d Mclrlcr. l97l). Sir ilarly,t hclinrci l l.rkcs to scrnl rorlr( )ncl ocirli(nlr( )r r)olhcro n irv isLrl izcdnrrlPishighl)conclnlc(lwilh llrc rclunl dislllnccsh elwoorlrh oscl {lcrrlion(sK osslyn.l 9ll3) Behrvirturacl vi (lcrrecl( )rt hcc losce offesfondcuchcc lwceni nrlgcrya ndv isionc rtnreli rtn slutl ics( lcr {nrslirli|lgt hrl vi\uul xDdv cfhrl s(fltegicsP nxluccdd istinclp irttornos l rcllc(ionti rncs.rs\ocirilcrv(li (hv erilyinAlh c rclrlionshiPb clwccllp iclurcs( e !,..r r physicrl+rbo\,o physicil 'i)irndscnlcnccs(e.g.,1llLl'jl-LlSISABOVITtlli STAR)( Mrtcleolul / r//.. lt)7lt).Neurouogrilivcevidencelbrthcclosccorre\pon- dcnccb etwecnv isionr nd inaScryw xs pfovidcdh y the numeft)ust udicsd cm onsrrirtingth irl cnSrgingi n visurl inrlliery ctivatcsb rllin fegionsa ssocialcd wilh visioD( e.g..F amh.l 995r,b).

Et,idenct lbr luilurcv oJ ittlto\rtctions illrolring itt.ltgt'n Ahhoughi he gcncfrl inlft)spccliotnh ilt imageryi s likc visioni s norvs trolSly supporlcd.t heree rc also sitLrutionws hcrc intft)speclionsit bout ilniLgeryi tppcart o fail. Iior example.i n a lellcr imrging 1.lskK osslyn.C ave,P rovost,a Ddv on Clicfke( 1988)f oundt h lalthoughp articipaDlbsc lievethalte ttersa rci maged.rl1 rt oncc.t heir rcrcliont imesi ndicalcdt hat tncstali mrgesr re conslructcdin it piecerncalf lshior. Sirrilxrly. Clh.rmhcrsa nd Rcisbcrg (1992) lound thil llhoughp afticiprntsb clicvet hltlt hcir imagesa rc cquallyd ensea ll over,t hcir rbility to usc imrliefy to orrked etenllinationasb outc haractefisticosl ,r prcvi ously cncodedr cvcftible ligurc (duck/fabbit)d ependso n which palr ol the J.W. SCHOOLER& C.A. SCHREIBER imaget heyv ieweda sc orrespondintgo thef ace.T hisf indings uggesttsh atc on- trary to introspectioni,m agec larity variesa s a functiono f the directiono f attention(R eisberg1, 996)- Anothers ourceo f errori n imageryin ffospectionco mesfr om verbald escription.A substantiablo dyo f evi dencere veasl thatw heni ndividualsv erballyi ntro- spect(i.e.a, ttemptto describein greatd etail)c omplexn on_verbaiml agess ucha s the appearancoef a previouslys eenf ace,d isruptionc an ensueF- or example' Schoolear ndE ngstler-School(e1r9 90)f oundt hatp articipantws hod escribedin detailt he appearancoef a pleviouslys eenf acew erem arkedlyw orset hanc on- trolso n a subsequedret cognitionte st.A dditionals tudiesd emonstratetdh att his interferencete, rmed' verbalo vershadowingS',e nelalizetdo anothenr on_verbal stimulus( coloursb) ut not to a verbalizabloen e( a spokens tatementM). oreovel, the type of introspectionw asf ound to be critical.W hereasv erbald escription wasd isruptivev, isuali ntrospectio(ni .e.,j ust imaginingth e face)h adn o effect. since its originald emonstrationv,e rbalo vershadowinhga sb eenr eplicatedin numerousla boratoriesa, lbeit not always( for a meta_enalyssise eM eissner' 2002).l t has also beenl ound to genemlizeto otherv isual stimuli including non-verbaflo rms( Brandimontee r di., 1997),m aps( Fiorc& Schooler,2002), andt hea ppearancoef mushro oms( Melcher&S chooleri,n press)a, nda lsoother modalitiess ucha s audition,i ncludingb oth music( Housera t 4r., 2003)a nd voi.es( Pefiecte t a\.,2002),a sw ell ast aste( Melcher& Schooler1, 996).S uch disruptions uggesttsh atv erbali ntrospectiofna ilst o adequatelcya pturein effable experiencesb,r eakingth ema parti n a mannetrh atm akesit difficult to put back togethet( seeS choolere t al., 199'l,S chooler2, 002cf or additionalt heoretical discussionosf this effect)

Summarya nd caveats Examinaliono f the relationshipb etweenim agerya ndi ntrospectionil lustrates botht hes uccesseasn dt hel imitationso finlrospectionA. lthougho ncec alledi nto sedousq uestiont,h e converginge videnced emonstratintgh c ck)sec orrespon- denceb etweenim agesa nd externals timuli,b ehavioursa, nd brain activation havec onsislentlys upportedth e reality of this experienceD. espitcs uche vi- dencet,h ee mpiricali nscrutabilityo fexperiencele aveso pcnt he possibilityt hat the correspondencebse tweeni magerya nd perceptiono ccurb ecauseb oth are experienceedx clusivelys ymbolicallyW, hile sucha n accountc annotb e ruled out, it is herew hetet hep otentiaul psideo f theP aradoxo f introspcctionm ayb e usefuli n suggestinagn a ppeatlo readersf'i rst-persoenx perienceH ow plausible is it thaty our sensorye xperiencoef a reda pPleis purelys ymbolic?A nd if not' givent hes imilaritiesb etweeny oure xperiencoef an applea ndy our imageo f an applec, oulda ni mageo fan appleb ee xclusivelys ymbolic?W hilec learlyc ogni- zanto f the pitfallso f appealingto the intiospectiveo bservatjonosf thc reader' we neverthelesssu ggestth lrtt he confluenceo f behaviourapl,h ysiologicala, nd self-rcportd afa, when combinedw ith thc first-personp erspectlvem, akesa strongc asef br the realityo f imagery THE PARADOX OF INTROSPI1CI I ON 25

Whilc the pfesent rpproach illustrrlcs thc succcsscso f introspcction for revealingce d?rins peclso [ imagcryc xpcricnccsit. alsoh ighlightsit sd ifTiculties in otherf espectsS. pecificallyd, iscrcpancicbse tweenin dividualss' elf:repofted introspcctionsa nd their behaviourso n a varicty of measures; ndicatct hat intro- spcctiors are not alwry s xccur lc. Morco vcrt rcacti vc effectso f vcrbal i ntrospections suggest th.rt this is pa(icularly thc case when individuals attenrpt t() rranslalich cir non-verbailm agesil 1tow ords.l lowcvcr.o occa gail somch umil- ily is rcquiredi n interpretings uchi ndings. For cxamplc,i n charactcrizintgh e cffects of vefb?rl1yd escribinSr nclnory for p,cviously encountercdn on-verbtl stirnuli.lhcr c-dcscriptiopnr ocessrn ighln l(emativclyb c characlcrizcldrs s imply a descrip(iono f thc stinulus.J ck and Rocpslorfl( 2002b)p roposcs uch an accounitn rrguingt hatt hee rrorsi nducedb y vcrbnld cscripliona rc nol a consc- quenceo { intlospcclioDpc f sc.W hile thisi s clearlyl n issuel ir furthcrr cscarch. severrlsourceosf cvidcnccs uggcsttb t verbaldescriptioonl non verbal rcrno .iesd o indccdi uduccr cflectivcp rocessesin. cludiDg( 1 )r ccogDiliolnim c folbw- ing verbLrdl escriptionis incrcased( Brown & Lloyd-Jonos.2{)03)(,2 ) lacc rccognitionp erfornlancics bothl cssu ccuruleL rndb ngcl whcni ndividualsa pply rcflcclives tftrlegic(sl )unring & Stcn. 1994).L rnd( 3) tho disruptivcc llccls ol' pril)rv cftal dcscription rc a(lcnulltcdil individuLrlrsre li)fcedt o rnaksq uick rccogririoDdccisions(Schoolcr&FlnSsllcr-SclnxI9)l9e{r).) T. hus.t hee vidoDcc is highly suttSestivien indicrlinSt hrt anrlylic int|.()spoclivporo cessoisrl d!co(l by dc\cfibingn rcnl(r'iocs. lns ornclinrcdsi srupth olisticn on verb l rccognitioD pr(rccsscls{- s o.s lch evidcDcoiD (licrlcslh rl thcv crhuldoscripli(npr occ\sous ro roLd r)iD8 dcqutltc.iurtictoo thc nrcrx)ricst o whicht hcya fc dir(jclcd.

Mind-waDderilg

InlrospcctioDs brrrl rrrindw rndofing posc ll uDiquc chrllc0Sc bccNuse nrindr ,,andefiDig\ dclincdp fcciselyb y its r/rr1r1. ol r corrcspondcncrcv ith ongoiugc x(crnille vents.C onscqucntlyt,h c now substrtrtil body ol rcscnrch dcvotedt o cxrminingm ind-w ndcrirg hasr oliedl argelyo n iDdividul s intro specliver epoflst o r$scssw heDi t is occurfirS( fbf fecentr eviewss ee( ;iarnbrr, lg95; Scho(tefz / rrl.,i n prcss;S milllwood? r r//.,2 003).I low muchc onfidence shouldw c hxvei n theserc ports?In facf.w henw ec xlrnincl hcc orrcspondcncoef rcpor(sL rfn ind wxnderingw itll cxtcrnale venlsl ikcly to pronpl i(. bchtvionrs likely to be induccdb y it. and physiologicarlc sponselsik ely to be associalcd wi(h it, we liDdg oodr ciNonst( )b elievcp rr(icipantsrv hent heyr epoftt hltll hcir inds hrve wrDderedo ff. Ncvefiheless.r ecenlr cscarcha lsos u€igeslt\h al p |tic- ipanlsc n rcSularlyla il to nolicct ha(t hcir mindsh avew anderedS. uchf ailurcs ag.rini lluslralct hc importancel br inlrosfcctivea nalyseso l dislinguishing betweenh avingr n cxpefieDc!ee $us kuowingt h t oDei s ht!ing it.

ll|idmLL lu the act:uru t-o l inttusPectiw rcPort: oJ nintl tL'tuulering Although rnind wanderin!!e pisodcsa rc by definili(nr urrelalcd 1(rt hc prinary (ask,i l is neverthelcspso ssihie1 {)v alidalc such fefofts by esltblishingr 26 J.W. SCHOOLER& C.A. SCHREIBER relationshipb etweent he natureo f the primary task and the likelihood of mind-wanderinrge portsN. ot surprisinglys, omet asksa rem orel ikely to prompt mind-wanderintgh ano thersF. or examplcm, ind-wanderinigs morel ikely when individualsa re involvedi n non-engagintga skss ucha s readinge asym aterial (Grodsky& Giamb.a,1 990-199| ) or workingo n well practicedta sks( Teasedale ?fd l., 1995)M. ind-wandednagl sof luctuateass a functiono f sttess(e .9.A, ntrobus et al,, l9(t1), the genderof the experimenter(Singer, 1988),and citcadian rhythm (Giambrae td l., 1988-1989)A. dditionael videnceo f thev alidityo f introspections of mind-wanderincgo mesf rom the findingt hat rePortedm ind-wanderinegp i_ sodesare as$ociatedwith decrementsin performanceon a variety of demanding tasksi ncludingg eneratingra ndoms equence(sT easdalet dl, 1995),m emory retrieva(l Smallwoode ra l.,2003)a ndr cadingc omprehensio(Sn choolesrt 41, in press).lntmspectirveep ortso f mind-wanderinagr ea lsos ubstantiatebdy evidence ofa correspondenbcet weens elf-reponosl mind-wsnderinagn dn eurocognitive changeas ssociatewdi th EEG( Cunninghamet al., 2000),g alvaoics kinr esponse, andh eartbea(tS msllwoode t al.,2cn4),

Evidencet hat introspectionms ayo verlookm ind'wanderinge pisodes Thec onsistenetn vironmentabl,e haviouraal,n dp hysiologicaclo nelateos fmind_ wanderings upport he validity of individuals'r eportsw hent hey indicatet hat their mindsw anderedo ff. But how confidentc anw e bet hat,w hent heyd o not make such reports,t heir minds necessarilyre mainedo n task?B pisodeso f mind-wanderincga na lsob e rematkablye lusive,a se vidcncedb y the frequency with whichv irtuallye veryonere portse pisodeos f mind-wanderindgu ringr eading despiteth c besto f intentionsa ndt he fact thatt heire yesc ontinuedto move acrossth e page.T he strikingt hing aboulc atchingo ne$elf'zoning-outd' uring readingis thath ado ner ealizedo ne'sm indh adw andcredo new ouldp resumably havee ithers toppedre adingo r stoppedd aydreamingT.h c factt hatt wo mutuolly incompatiblea ctivitiesc ontinues, tronglys uggestas l dcko fmcta_awarenetshsa l one'sm ind hasw andered. Schoole€r , al. (in press)r ecentlyr eporteda mind-wanderindgu ringr eading paradigmt hat was explicitly designedto illustratet he occurrenceo f initially unnoticedm ind-wanderinegp isodes(w hicht hey termed' zoning-out').I n this paradigmp, articipantrse add ull text on a computers creena ndi ndicatede very timetheyc aughtth emsevle sz onin8-outT. heyr vereth ena skedv ariousq uestions includingw hethert heyh adb e€na waret hatt hey hadb eenz oning-oupt rior to reportingit . [n a sgcondc ondition,p anicipantsw erea dditionallyp robedi nter- mittentlya nda skedt o indicateif they hadb eenz oning_ouatt thatm omentT. he resultsr evealedth atp articipants(:l ) frequentlyc aughtt hemselvezso ningo ut duringr eading(,2 ) weres till oftenc aughtz oningo ut by thep robesa, nd( 3) frc quentlyr eportedth att heyh adb ecnu nawareth att h€yh adb eenz oningo ut' par ticularlyw hent heyw erec aughtb y the probesT. hesef indingsd emonstratteh at individualsf requentlyla ck meta-consciousneosf sth e fact thatt heir mindsh ad wanderede.v enw hentheya rein a studyw hcret heya res pecificallyin structedto be vigilantlya ttendingto mind-wandering. TIII] PARADOXO F INTROSPEC]TION t7

Sumnery and ur?ats Thc cvidencclo r ther cnlityo f inlrospectivrce porlso f mind_waoderinagr es up porlcd by dlc convergcnceo f cvidencc lhat mind wandcring flLrctuatcsin pfc dictrblew aysw ith thc cnvi|()nmcn(is. prcdictivco I behavioura, ndc orrcsp;rds tounderlyingphysiologicalresponses.Ncve.thetcss,duetothecmpiicalltinac ccssiblen atureo f innere xpcricncew c tnusta gainm aintains om; humility in interpretings uchd ata.f or exarnplei,l is possiblet hat in{lividu.rlsr.c porrso f daydreaminge pisodcsa re rcrually retfospectiver cconstruc(ionsl.n deeds ucha n acco nt has been offered lbr drerurs where ii has becn suggcs(e{tih al Lifearn sta(esa ren ol thenrsclvesc onscious,b ut rnays irnplyb e rc(rospeclivelyp crceivcd as consciouss tirtesr l rhe iirle of awakening( Dennctl.l ggl). While such accountcsi rnnobt cc nlirelyr uledo llt,w e rgainw oulda ppeat]o ther cidcr,sf irs( peNon perspeclivesc.i vcn your own expcricncesw ith calchingy our |nind wandcring.h ow plausiblcd oesi t sccrnt hat your expcriencco l.thc daydfc:ltn coukl h ve bccr)a r illusiori.c onslructedo nly aflcr you caughti l,?W hen rtro b€haviourrrel.r vircnmenlala. ndp hysiotogicaelv jdcnccI or daydreaminegx pc nenccsi s considcrodk) gcthcrw ith wh l wc cxpectt o bol bc stronef irsl person rntrcspectionosl rher ca(lcr.r hc clse fbf lhc exFricllce oI nind_w nderingi s quilc slft)ng. Al(houlthth cc videnccs lr()n8lys Uggestihs alt heo ccunencoc l-mi xl_wrndcrinjl cxpeflencccsk )sclyc orrespon(lts(] indivi(lut|lr'scll-refortsr.h c cvidencc lsr) fcvoitlri ailurosi r) inrrospectivicrw trrencslsr.d ecd,t he findingt hati r)(livj(ju:rl\ lfcquonllyl .il lo rcfort rnindw an(leringcp iso(lcusn lil thcya rop r()bc(\ll |1nrgly srrSScsllsh t mi (l-witndcringo pis()dcsll lly colnDronlyl ril lo ontcr retil llw rcncssl.l crc loo. howcvcr.w e rnLrsbtc cognizllnol folhor pos\iblel ccoLrrrt\ ol lhis linding.s tcrnrDinl!i orDo uf incvitablyi ndirecta ccesst( )o thcfs (lifcct cxpcricDccI.l is possiblcl,i )re x nple,t hll ir is no h l indivi(lurtstr iitt o noticc lh ltheirn)iddsh vewll defedhurftr(hef(harlheytbrgorth.rtthego.rlodli.nrcS rsc ornpfchcnsionS.L rcha Dl ccouDtc rnnorb c ruledo ul eDtircly nd is rgulhly rnorep husiblet hrr lhc pr)ssihilirryh rt |lind-wxndc ngofjisodescouklbfoc tro_ spectivcr ecrntstrucrionNsc. vc.rhelcssrh. ism ay bc aDothcpr laccw herej l r)Lry beu sclirl1 0c onsullt her crdcr'sl irst pcrsonp erspecrivcL_n rrgincc rrchingy our miDdw xndciDg you whilc afer cadinga ni mporlandt ocuDtenHr.o w fhusible i\ it thaty ouc ouldh avcc xplicitlyk nownt haty rlurn rinchl adw andefedo ff, burt or gottenlh l theg oalofreldingi sr o undcrsran?dW c cxpect hatm anyr cadef\r vill \harco ur intuitionl hatx morei nrrospccriveclvo mpellingr ccoun(i s rhrt reaclcrs inlermittentlyfa il k) takcs tocko f wheret heirr nindsa rcc urfenllyr esiding.

Ilcdonic App|.aisal

Hcdonica pprrisal\( i.e..a ssessmeonft one'so wnp le$urc or prin) rcpresenytc l anotherd omaiDi n which rcse rchcrsa re neccssarilyrc lianro n iDdivi(luills. iulftrspectionAs.s Mycrso trservedt,l ydefi0ition,thefinaljudgcoIsomcot)c.s suhicctivew ell bcingi s whoncvcrl ivesi nsider hatf crson s skin.( Mycrs,2 (X){), p.57). Indeed.a s iD the o(hcr domainst hal wc hrve fevicwed.i ndivid rts. 28 J.W. SCHOOLER& C.A, SCHREIBER introsp€ctivere portsr egardingth eir hedonics tatesa rea lsoo ftenc loselyc ali- bratedw ith externalc vents,r elatedb ehavioursa, nd physiologicarl esponses. Howevert,h erea rea lsot imesi n whichh edonicr eportsb ecomeu rcoupledw ith suchi ndices,s uggestintgh ata lthoughin dividualsf' eelingso f happinesms ayb e unassailablet,h eir meta-conscioucsh atacterizationosf thesef eelings can sometimebse problematic.

Evidence.for the accuracJ of introspective hedonic rcports One critical sourceo f validationo f the authenticityo f hedonici ntrospections comesfr omt heo ftenc losec orrespondenbce tweenfl uctuationisn envifonmen- tal factorsa nd hedonicr eports.F or example,o nlinem tingso f noise-induced annoyanc(eS chreibear ndK ahneman,2000a)n dp ressure-inducpeadi n( Ariely, 1998)h aveb oth beenf oundt o be closea pproximationosf the currentp hysical intensityo f the stimulus.W ith respect o positivee xperiencesW, ilson and Schooler( l99l) foundt hat untraineds ubjectsr' atingso f how mucht heyl iked differents trawbenyja ms werec loselya lignedw ith the overallj am quality as assessebdy experts.A dmittedly,t herea re somes ituationsin which hedonic reportss ystematicalldyi vergef rom physicafll uctuationsH. owever,in manyo f thesec asesth ed ivergencbee tweenp sttern$o fphysicals timulations ndh edonio experiencaer es ystematiacn dm akep erfects enseF. orexampleK, ahneman? td l. (1993)o bservedth at temperature-induceddis comfon( i.e., cold-pressopra in) escalateodv ert hecourseo fa minuteevenw hilet hew atert emPetaturwea sc on- stant.H owevert,h isf indingi s not surprisingw heno ner ecognizetsh at,w hereas thet emperaturoef the coldw aterr emainedco nstantt,h et emperaturoef the sub- mergedh and'st issuec ontinuedto drop. ln additiont o minorjng fluctuationsin environmentalchangeinst,r ospective hedonicr eportsa lsor egularlyc orrcspoodto individualsb' ehavioursF.o rexam_ ple, therei s a closec orrespondencbee tweenth c pain ratingst hat individuals reportd uringa cold-pressotra ska ndt he likelihoodt hatt hey will removet heir armf rom the water( e.g.,K eogh& Herdenfeldt2, 002).S imilarly,i ndividuals' appraisalosf the positivenesosf objectsi s often,a lthoughn ot always( seed is- cussionb elow),h ighlyc orrclatedw ith theits ubsequencto nsumptivbee haviour. Not surprisinglyp, eoplea rem otel ikely to drink beverage(sw ilson etdl , 1984) andt akeh omep osters(W ilsone t dl., 1993)t hatt heyr atem orep ositivelyt hon thosetheyra tel essp ositivelyH. edonica ppraisasl a rea lsoo ftencloselyli nked$ a varietyo fphysiologicarl esponsesF.o re xamplef,l uctuationsin reportedp ain haveb eenf ound to closelyc orrespondto changesin systolicb lood pressure (Hilgard,1 969)a ndt o bew ell modeledb y latentv ariablesin volvinga combina- tion ofevokedp otentialp, upil dilation,n ndg alvanics kin respons(eD onaldson er z/., 2003).P hysiologicaml easuretsh atf luctuatet hroughoutth e sPectrumo f hedonice xperienceasr es omewhafte werb ut neverthelesssti ll exist For exam_ ple, whereasth e reportedu npleasantneosfsp hot{)si s associatewd ith increased startler eflexr esponset,h e reponcdp ositivenesosf picturesi s associatewd ith reduceds tanler eflex( Lange r dl., 1990). THE PAR^DOX OF INTROSPECT]ON

Er idul cc./br .lai lures ol ll.don ic i nI ro spec ti ons Althoughi ndividualsh' €donicr cpoftsa rco ftcnv alidatcdb y theirc onvergence wilh othcr mcasurcs.t hcrc arc sLlmcs itualions in which these very sanrem er- surcs suggcstp olclltial failurcs o[ introspection-F or example, the correspon- dcncc bc[vccn rcporlcd pain and changssi n lhe physicrl inteDsityo f aversive slimuli is markedly reducedw hen individualsa re exposedt o suggcstions, incluclingh ypnosiso r phcebos,t h l leadt hemt o believet hatt heys houldn ot bc experienciDdgi scomlbr( e.9.,M illing & Dreen.2 (X)3)S. imilarly,w hcrcasW il- sona ndS choole(f I991) observeda closec onespondencbcc twccni ndividLrals' repoftedli king of ja|nsa nd iam quality,a s determincdb y cxpcrls,t hisc orrelr (ion wasf cduccdi o non-significancwch cn participantas nalyscdw hy theyG lt thc way lhcy did ib{}Lrl1h c.ialns. In adLliliou(o orlinc nlcasurcsr. n umbcrofsludicsh avel i) nd thati nlrospec- (ivc roportso l lhc rclrospccli!cg lobrl hcdonicv rhrc ol episodesll il to firlly reflec(w hnl wilsa cluallye xper'iencemLol rnen(b y rnonent( evenw hent he epi- sodei sb rielr nd thei nlrospectioonc cursir nmediatelayl lert hee xp€rienceen ds). I-ogically.t he tot l plensure( or discomli)rt)d erivedf ()m nn cpisodcs hould rcflccll hc sLrmo f thc hcdonicv rlucso f thc nnrnlcntsth rt compris c lhc cxpcricncc,t hati s.t hc inlcgrrlo f plcasurc(o r pain)o vcft inc. Kahncman.l (//.( 1997) li)rmirlilcdlh isf finciplc rs r nofmalivc{ hcoryo fcxpcricnccdU tilily.h ul slu(lic\ ol lhe rohlir)nshipb clwocnp rtlcfrrso l-rrx)mcnlarcyx pcricncca Ddr clrospcclivo ovulurlionso 1-episodchsI lvcc onsislcntlyfo undt hatc hoiccsl Dd introspcctivc glohul. jrdgrnonls(l o r)(nc ollli)nnr o {his trinciplc. Spccilicrlly,t his rcsoruclr liD(lsl hirti ndividuirlsr clf{)spcctivoev rlurtionso vcremphrsirclh c plclsLrfc(' f disco|lrl(nI1lr t hccl)i\(xlc'sr ]r)stc xtlc[]c r )nen( ancir titsending. lhc pcrk cDdr ule'.O thcf rnomcIts.a ndo ilcn lhc cpisodc'sd urationh. avcl illlc cilccl on glob l hodonicl l\sessDrcntsA.l though thc pctk clld rulc rnay not cntircly exhilLrslht e inllucnces() ng lotralh cdonicc vrilutlionsl,h c issignrncnol l grcllcr weightt o lho perk nd endr nornenthsa sb ee foundf or evaluationosl plcasant arrdu nplcrsat vidcos( Ffc(lfick\on& Kilhne|niLn1,9 93)t,h ed iscomfi)rot fnrod ic l pft)ccdurc(sR cdcl cicr & Krhrcnrrn, I996). lahotutoryp rin indLrccbdy pfessufe1 0t he liDgef( Ariely, 1998)c, hronica rthritisp ainc xpcricnccdo vcr thc coursc of scvcrald rys (Slone ?t dl., 2l)ll'), and noise-inducedrn noylnce (Schrcibc&r Kahncman,2000A; riely & LoeweDstein,2(X)0;Schfeiber.2(J{)l). Whenc ornbined$ ith subicctsb cinelii tilc influencedh y thed urationo f ane xpe- ricncc.t hi s plttem ol evalulrtionb y peaka nde ndc anl cadt o inlr{'spectivejudg mcntsa ndc hoiccst h t dcvixtef f(rn any r tioDll or objeclive ccounlo l wh 1 wase xperienccldK Nhrrerna?n/ r//-.1 993). A scconds oufceo fevidenceli rr lLrilureosl hccloniicn trospcclioncso mcsf ro studicsr cvcalioSd iscrepanciebse tweenh edonica ppraisalrsD d relatedb ehtv iours.A vrricly of !rriablcsh x\ heenf i)und1 0c onlrihuteto snchd issocirlions. One soufceo l suchd iscrepincicsis analysin8th e feasonf or hcdonice xperi cnccs.F Lrrc xlmple,W ilv)n .r al. (1991)f oundt hat$ 4rcni ndividualsa nalyscd why theyf cll thc wayi hcyd id.rboulv ariousa rlp osle$.t heyw eret Ircreli kely( o selectp ostersth ltlt heyu ltirtatclyd id rot put up on lheirw allst hant heyw efet o :10 .I.W.S CIIOOLER& CA, SI]HREIBER

makc such choiccsw heDt hey did not analyset heir feelings.D iscrcptrncies betwccn bohavioufa nd inlrcspectioD. rhouta ffcc( can lso result ffom sublirni nally prcscntedr f}-ectivcs timuli. For ex.unple,S trahanr r.rl. (2(X)2)f ound lh.rl indivjdualsw ho wcrcs ublimin lly presentcwd ilh sadl xcesw eren o morcl ikely than conlrol subjects 1o repoft reduced mood. Nevertheless,t hcy wcrc tnore likely to cngaSei D stratcgissl har xre ffsociatcd with mood repaif,s uchr s choos iIp lo ii.ter r,' ut,lifii t rrthrr llun ctjt) rnu\r.. A third sourceo f cvidenceo f tnilurcso f hcdonici n(()spccrionc omesl ionr investigalionosl discrcpanciebse tweenh cdonicr cportsa ndp hysiologicaml ea- surcs.llilg rd ( 1969)observetdh atw hcrcash ypnosisa ttenuatctdh cpain ssociatcdw ilh keepingo Dcs nn in cold watcr.i t did not attenuatch angesin blood prcssLrrthc rl rrc lypicallyh ighlyc orrclatcdw ith prin in lhist ask.l herea re. rlso ccrtaind istinclp opulationos l individualsw ho consislcn(lsyh owd issociariLrn\ bo(weenp hysiologicarl cspoDscis[ ld al]ectivc irrlrospcctirJnFso. f examplc, whcn showns lrc\slll vidcosi r(lividuillsi dentificda s'rcplcssors'r €portl css strossth anc (nrlrosl ubjcclsw. horcrrt heirp hysiologicarlc sponse(rc .8..g alvaDic rkiDr csp()nscs)u ggesht iShcrl cvolso l stress(A scndorp&t Schercrl,9 fil). Sirn, ilrrly, Adrrrnsd ul.llt)96) lin rll thnt horrr{}phobcwsh o rvcres howDc xplicil tturvicso l intlividualsc |glging in hornrrscxuracl ts roporlcdr n abscncco l sex uirl )usrl,w hilc physicrllye vidoncingc oosidcrablicr rousaal s rrrcilsurcbdy ponrlelu nrcsccucoA.s l unlcistiidr r. r1(. 1998)o bscrvot,h i s hltcr lirdillg raises thc parrdoxicl qucstiolro l hov docss ornc0lleD unLtSIco lccl scxuilllyt urncd oll whc|lh iso r hof bodyi s oxhibitir)!i.srl forrgp osiriver fl)usrl't AgriD,r hed is linctionb ctwecne xpcricntjrcl onsciousncsasn dI neta-consoiousuctsltsy o llar a potcnlirl i|n\\'vcr.A ccordingly.i DdividLulsn tily cxpcricncct he afi)usl bur. bcc useo l thcifs trongr notiv lion,l irilr ob ecorncIn cl -awareo l thirlc xpcricDcc. lndccd, s rvill trcu rguedi n lhc llnrl secliont.h c dislircrionb etwecnc orscious- nessa nd inclir-oonsciousncDsrsi ryi LccoL!tlbl r rhe vafiou\ sirulltiLrnins which individuillsi utr(rspectiordriss connecttio nl lhc cnvinrrrntentlbl,c haviourailr, nd physiologicrli ndiccs.

Sumnrrtr\ui nd .:uyeats As in thc olher domainsr eviewed,t hcrc.tppearsto bc compellinge mpirical cvidcncel br both the succcsscrsn d lailureso f hcdonici DtrospectionOs.n the positives ide.t hc consistenntl anncrin whichh edonic. rppraisalms apo lrloe nvi- ronrnenlalf luctu.rtionsb. chaviouralr e\ponscs,a Dd physiologicaln reasufes helps( o rcassureu st hrl rhesere portsd o have,rf bundationin experienceA.t thc samcl rlie, we musta lsor ernainw ary of thep ossibili{yo f ahenrtive accounrs_ For cxarryrle,i t sccrnsp lausiblc tha( ar leiNr somc of (hesec o|reslondcncesr re no1d ue to flucl ationsi n individualr'c xpcrieDcepse r sc. bul rrrher in thcir belieflx\ boLrllh e expcricrrcesID. all likclihood,i Ddividualhs rve rheoriesa bout whenh cdonics t ress houldb eb erteforworscrh arw oulda lsob eexpecretdo cor fespolld1 ()r eportcdI luctuatiolsi u hedonicv alcncc( e.g..i ndividualsp resumably believe tha( changesi n the lempenrurc oI exlremely cokl water should cc'respondt o changesin prir). Neverthclcssw. e againw oulcla ppealt o ths THE PARADOX OF INTROSPECTION 3L reader'sf irsGpersonp erspectivea s one additionals ourceo f cvidence1 {]c on sider.D oesi t seemp lausiblet h.rt,w hen individualsr eportc xcruciatingp ain resultingfi om keepingt heir arms ubmergedin cold waterf or extcndcdp criods of time,t his simplyr eflectst heirt heorya boutw hatt heyt hink theya ref eeling? While it mayn ot be possibleto ruleo ut sucha n accountg, ivent he vividnesso f thee xperiencoef pain, wee xpecth er eademr ayf ind sucha ccountism plausible, at lcasil n manyc ases, Whilc certainc rrorsi n hcdonicr cportss ecmu ntenablew, e arguet hato thers sccmm orc likcly. Cascsi n which individuals'h cdonicr eportss ystematicrlly diversef rom all otherm easurersa ises eriousd oubts. rbouth e accuracyo f thei ntrospectionasn, ds uggesdt issocirtionbse {weene xperiencaen dm eta- consciousnesHs.e ret u) somec autioni n interpretrtionis necessarya,s w c can reverb ec ertaini fdiscrepanciebse tweens elf-reportasn do therpotentiailn dica torso fcmotionr cflccta n unconsciouesm olion( Bcrridgc& Winkielman2, 003) or a failurcf or anc motionalc xpericnccto cnterm cta-awarcncsNse, verlheless. whcn wc apply our own firsl-pcrsonp crspeclivcin consideringl,b r example, rcprcssorsf' ailurc lo acknowlcdgca ny fcclings of arousal,w e agreew ith Lambica ndM arcc(l 2002i)n concludinlgh at' it isi mplausibtleh at,lb rs omeone || hoi se xhibitinegm otionablo dys tateasD db ehavioutrh, at hereis " nothingit is like"t o bea ndb ehavein suchu way'( p.2 50).

Why Do lntrosp€ctionsS ometimesl' ail?

[Jp1 ot hisp ointo urp rimaryS onhl s heento persu{dteh er cadctrh atb yc onsid- c.ingh owi rrtrospcctiocnos- vuyw itho thcri ndicesit is possibltco makca rca- sonilbloa pproximatioonf whclli n(fospcctioanrsc t rustworthayn dw hcnl hcy shouldh ev iewedw ilh somes kepticismIt.€ riodicallwy,e havea lsos ugllested thatt hcd istinotiobne tweecno nsciousDernsdsm etFconsciousnnersrsy h elp( ) conccptLrllltihze sed issocirtionHs.o rveverw. e hrve lareieldy elayedd iscus- sionso f lhcm echanismthsa tn lry lcrdt ()f Irilureosf introspcctirvccp ortsI.n this \ectioDw el urnl t}lhi\ issuc. Theb asici deau nderlyi[gth ed isLinctiobnc twcenc onsciousDeasnsd m e1- consciousncis si mplyt hati ndividurlos tienh avee xperiencewsit houtn eces sarilye xplicitly inrrospccfinga boutt hcm.A s a consequencicn trospcctionca n fail lbr two veryg enerarl easonsF. irst,i ntrospcctionm ayn ot bei nvoked.S uch introspcctivfea iluresa rew hatS choole(r2 {X)2br)e lers1 oa s' temporadl issoc;a- tions' in which cxpcricncco ccursi n the absenceo f meta-awarenesPse, ople's lailure1 ()n oticet hal theya rez oningo ut durinBr eadingis a goode xamplco fr tcmporadli ssociation. Second,in trospcctionc an fail becausei,n their atteDptt o characterizaen expeliencien.d ivicluamlsa yd istoritt -T hem aiorityo f thei ntrospectidviet Ticul- !ics descrihedin this reviewc an be characlcrizcda s lranslationd issociations' bctwccnc onsciousnesasn d nretir-consciousneSsosm. eo f the sourceso f these lranslationd issociationnsr ay resultf iom processeass sociatewd ilh .1cr?.Jior, tr unI l br n rati dr. 'JntsJu b s t i tuti on . 32 J.W. SCHOOLER& C.A. SCHREIBER

Detection Althoughm anye xperienceisn life ares aliento, thersa rem ores ubtlel fan expe- riencei s very subtlet heni t mayb e difficult to noticei ts defininge lementsP ut anothewr ay,t he 'siSnal',w hichi ntrospectiomn ustd etecta ndi nterpreti,s weak or ambiguousT. his may explainw hy individualsc an fail to noticeh ow they build their mentali mages( Kosslyne t dr,, 1998)o r that an imagei s missinga minor detail( Chambers& Reisberg1, 992).S imilarly,t he severasl tudiesth al useds ubliminapl rese0tatioonf negatives timulitoi nduced issociationbse lween hedonici ntrospectionasn d behaviourm ay haveb eens uccessfibrle oauseth eir manipulationsw erc so subtlet hat participantsfa iled to exPlicitlyn oticet he affectivec hange( e.g.,S l jahane t al.,2OO2\l'n deed,w hena hedonice xperience is sufficientlys ubtle,a ttemptsto 'look' for the positivee lementso fthe experi_ encem aya ctuallyin terferew ith oura bilityt o extracth oseelemen(tsS chooler€t a/..2003).

Transfomarions Althoughs omei ntrospectivtea sksa ppeatro bea ccomplishewdi th relativelyli F tle di$tortionin the presenceo f an adequatesi gnal,o thersr cquirei ntervening operationfsb r whicht he systemis ill-equippedB otht he analysiso f perceptual wholesin to componenfte atures(a sw hens ubjectsp rovided etailedd escriPlions ofa faceo r a flavour)a ndt hes ynthesiosf a seto f momentso fexperiencein to an episode(a sr equiredfo t Slobalh edonice valuationsa) ree xamPles. Onei mportanst outceo ftranslationd issociationsst emsfi om thei nherennt on- verbalizabilityo f manye xperienceslf. an experienceis holistico ndi neffable, then attemplsa t decompo:'inagn dt runslalin8th at experienccin to wordsm 3y distoni t in systcmaticw ays.T hism ayb ea t leaspt arto fthe reasonw hy desctib' ing visuali magesc ani rnpairl aterp erformancteh atr elieso n thosei mages(e g., Schoole&r Engstler-schoole1r,9 90).Itm aya lsoe xplainw hy,w heni ndividuals atlempt o analysev erbaltyt heb asiso f affectivee xperiencetsh ata rci nherently non-verba(le .g.,t he reasonfo r liking a painting),t heyc an genelatea ppraisals thatf ail to corresponedi therw ith the physicaql ualitieso f thes timulus( Wilson & Schooler1, 991)o r with participantss'u bsequenbte haviourtso wardsth es timulus (Wilson et al,, 1993\.I n all of thesec ases,in dividualsa re requiredt o decomposneo n-verbahl olistice xperienceisn to words.T hisd ecompositiopnr o- cessm ay both lead to the generationo f specifici naPpropriatceo ntent( e.9.' Schooler& Engstler-schoole1r,9 90;M eissner€ t al, 2001)a nd/orc ausein di- vidualst o adoptf eatural/analyticparlo cessinsgt ylest hata rei nadequatfeo rdeal- ing with holisticn on-verbael xperience(sF allshore& Schooler1, 995;S chooler et dl.. 1997:S chooler2. 002c). Justa s antlysiso f experientiawl holesc an introduces ystematicd istortions into introspectivrec portss, ot ooc ans ynthesiosf momentst hatcomprise xperi- encesth ate xlendo ver titne.w hen individualsa ttemptt o takes tocko f experi- encest hat occurredin the past,t hey are,o f course,v ulncrableto the various cognitived istortionsa ssociatedw ith recollectionW. hed a judgmentr equires IHI'- PARADOXO F INTROSPECTION l3 aggrcgatingm any momentso f cxlcricnce. however,t he potentiltl lbr distortion incrcasesF.o r exumple,a lthoughm emoryI imitatioDms y introducee rrori n(o retfospectivjeu dgmentso f ihc intensityo f r pa i!ular momen(o f noiscc xpo surc.f orming thisjudgrnenti s, ncvcrthclcss,a 1afl essc omplex constructiont han judging the 'total amounl of noisc' to wh;ch one was exposed over sone extcndcdt ime period.l n the casco f hcdonicju dgmentsd, ue to an iDabilityt o conpulet hc intcgraol fmomentso fpain/plcasurocv crtimc,p eoplef bcuso nt he mos(s alicnta spcctso fthe expefienc(ep rimarily,t hep eaka ndt hee nd)a Ddg ive lit(le wcight io thc renr.rininge lements( c.g.,s onretimeesv en neglectingth e experience'dsu ralion).

Inlr{}spcc(iomn ay sometimesg o wry bccauscth c intbnnationa ccesseids not the recnldo f irctuael xpefienceI.n stctldo f rclricvingt he memoryo l conscious experienccp,c oplem ay instendb ringb clicfst o nreta-awarcnewssit hou(. e liz ingt h ( (hec ontcDtosf rnctir-consciousnmesasy d ivcrgcs uhstantiallfyr( nnw hat w s experienccidn consci{)usnesEsx.p ecllrncicasn dm olivations:rracm onst he ibrccsi DvolvodiD lhisl ypc of ell.(rr. Irirsr.w hcn individualsh rvc stronSc xpectrtionsir boulc onsciousc xpcricncc rhcy nray llcccsst he expcc(ationrr thcr thrn {he ilcluulo xporicnccS. uch irn irccrnrnnt rry. rt lels( partirlly.c xphin the impLrcot l hyProsi\ and plrrcchos (ltilga(1.1 978).A ccordinltlyi,l individualsS eorinelyb elievel hirl( hoys houl(l rr(nb c lcclingp rin,t hcrlt hcyr nayb cl cssl ikclyl r)n olicei l. A silnilrfl ypco l suh- slilLrtir)mn lly undcdict hc lr0nslNlir)cnr forsn ssociirlowd ilh molivrttionl.J Ddcr ccrtirinc ircurnslirnccisn.d ividurlsI n.tyb e motiv lcd lo i8norcl hcir subicclivo ltrl|rc,r hcrcby.i rvoidinSh rving tr) cxplicitly dcIll wilh ils inrPlicati(n\.A n unwillingncstso acknowlcdgcth circ xpoficncltjo lhcrnselvcms ttyc xPlllinw hy (lcfive ho ophobcslr il to nolicet he rousatl hrl thsy fftnn vi€\' iDgh orix)scxuril irclsr nd why rcprcssori\r il 10r cpoi thc strc\\ theye xpefierrcwe hilc vicwinS (listLrfhingrn ovics.I n crch ol lhljscc ascs.i ndividlral\'n n)livatil)nt o avoid aclnorvlcdgingu nacceplablccx lcriencesIn a) ciruscth cmt o iSnorct hosee xpe- rieDcesa nd rcplacet hem wilh nlorc ircceptb le tccounls( scc also Schoolef. 2{)01).T he dislinctionh etweenc onscioLlsnesasn d mela-consciousnctshsu s olli$ rn altemativeth rcsholdlb r deliningl ltc avoidmcct ttrihLtted() rcpres' \ion.A ccordinglyf,t rlherth anb anningth oughtsa ndl bclingsf o thc unconsci()us. nr(nivationp rocessems ay prevcnti ndividualsl iom noting thc occurrenceo l' rhoLrghtsil nd feelings thilt actually do comc to mind. The coDlentso i mcta coDsciousncssi,n ruch cascs.m ny correspondt o prcfcrrcd helief-.sm lher than rctualexpcncncc.

lmplications lbr Mef hodology In xddiliort o itst heorelicavl aluc,t hc identificl ion ofspccificc onditionsu nder whicht ransletiond issocirrtionasrc p a(iculady tp( 11o) ccura lsoo fftrs method- ologicali mplicltionsr egardingte chDiquefso r maximiTingin trospectivacc cu fxcv.T he trrnslationd issoci:ltiolriNs sociatewd ilh norvcrbaliTableex perierlccs J.W SCHOOLER& C. . SCHREIBT,R

sultgestt hat fcscarchcrse ithcr {a) lbcus on morc verbalizablee xperienccs( e.g.. logicrl problems olving.E ricsson& Simon.| 980; 1984;1 993.)(,b ) rrainp afli;i- pants k) dcscribc rheir cxperienccs rrorc efl-ecrively( Jack & Shallice, 2001; Melcher & Schooler, in press), (c) rcach people mindlulness practiccs (e.g. Brown & Ryan,2001), to enablc them to becomem orc consiste;tly attunedt _o thcir expcriences,( d) force quick rcsponsest hat minimize vcrbal rcflcction (Schoolcr & Engstlef-Schootcr,1 990),o r (e) offer pcrcepruallyg ()undcd non- vcrbal fcsponsco ptiors that adequatelyc apture the breadtho f the experiencc (c.9., Barroshuk, 2000). Thc rr nslation disrociations associatccwl ith jntrospecling about subtle expcriencess uSgeslt hat rcsc.rcherss hould be espc cially wary of such inrrospectionsa nd/orf ind ways to increaset hc salicnceo fihc critic l dimensionsT. hc lrrrslarioDd issociationass sociutewd ilh expcctrncics suggeslth at fcsearchcrssh ouldr ttcnpt to idcntifyi ndividualse. xpcctancieasn Ll assessth e dcgre€r o which fluctralionsi n expectancym cdiatei llrospeclive reports.'Thep roblcnlsw ith jntrospcctions basedo n tetnporasl ynrhcsiPs ()in( o the nccdl i)f nlethodsto assislp eoplew ith moref ully irrcorporatintge l;icvable inti)rnrationir (o thcirg lobalh edonice valualionsF.i nally,r ltot ranslatiodni sso, crirt()nsr csultinltf iun nrotiv lion shouldb c evaluatcdb y dctertniniugw hclher individualsp ossesIs luolivittionto ignorco r Inisreprescrthite irc xpcrioncca, nd ll so, rese rchersD tuslc xalnincw hethcrd illcrc[ocs in this rnoiivutiora ltcr self--rcportIsn. irll cilses0. s illustrittedio the prccedings octionsc,o nl.idcncier r introspectioncsa nb eg ainedw hcnt hcy re li)und1 ()s ystcmaticalloyo ,vilryw ilh expcnencc,b eha!iours,a nd/0rp hysiologiorlr csponscsO. n lhc olhcr hand, conccnri s w rrtnledw hcr thcsci ndepcndenin( dicesb cgint o divergcl iom thc introspccrionrso whicht hcy shouldo lherwrscc ofrcsponU. Of course.lhcli cl rhil( . wc canc onccptualizvea rioLjlslr ilur€so f irjtrospccri(nr in tennso l dissocidioDsb clweenc onsciousnesasn u mclil_consclousncdsose s Dotr neant hilrt hisa pp|oirchm usrD ecessariclyx plaina ll suchf ailuresI.n srrrnc cascsf ajlurc-osf i lrospccrionn lly simplyr ellccrp articipruttsu.n willitgnesslo be tbrlhcollliDgF. ore xrr]rpler.c pressorrsn ightk now thcya rc: rrouscdiu L sinr- ply.beu nwilljngl o adulili t. Forluniltclyt,h cfca res ornete chniquefso r exploring suchp ossibiliricsF.o re xamplei,n dividualsh aves orne( albciti npcrfcct)i ortrril over thcir fiLciael xpression(sE km.rn,l 99l). If rcpressordsi (l know thcy werc {rcusecl, fhcy would bc expcc{cd to try () cont()l their lacial erfrcssirnrs ol arousul,s ornethingt hcy havc not becn obscrved! o do (Ascndofpi & Schcrer, 1983)M. oreovcr,t herca rev ariouss calesth alc n hclpt o idenrilyt hats ubscor i individurls who may bc moderalingt heir responsesfo r self:presenrational reusons(e .9.,P larr & Dcvine,1 9913). Evcni f individualsa rcn ord cliberatclym islcadingrc searchcrrsh, cirf ui1urcro accuriLtelryn trospecatb outp sychoJogiccarl enrsd oesn otn ccessariliym ply rhat thosee vcntsw cree xpcrienccdin thca bsenc1e) fm crr_a wi enessA. D;thc;;ossi bility is th.rt thc psychologicale vcnr nevcr crossedt he bouDdary{ Jfc oos;ious ness.f or exan c. Iterfidge & Winkielrnan (2003) arguer harl he occurrencc( )1. behavioufael l]ectsr Jfc trotiooalm anipulatiou(se .g.,c hangcsin cousumprive behrviour follo$,iD8s ubtiminallyp rcsenredsr d faces)i n ihe abscnceo i any THI] PARADOX OI- INTROSPI'CTION t5 self rcported changcs in eDr(nion implicate nonconscjous' (i.e., not expcri enccd)c motions.W hilc the notion that cmotionsc an go entirely .unlelt' is (from our rcspectivef irst-pcrsonp enpectives) somewhatd illicult to conceive,i t can nol be conceptuallyr uled out. Tt is cxtremely difficult 1(rd istinguishb etwecna D internal event that is expe.ienced,b ul not explicitly noticed, as opposedt o one thati s not expericncead1 a ll. At a minimum,t hed istinctionb ctweenc onscious- nessa nd nrcta conscklusncssp rovides an altcrnative to the standardv icw that non-reponedpsychologicalcvcntsmustbenon-conscious.Ultimately,however, discriminating belween whethcr somethingw as experienccdb ut not mcta con- scrousv. crsLlnso t expe.icoccda ( all, will rcquiret he idcntificati r of metrsufes thatc ani lluminateth ec xpcricntitlq ualityo f ane vent.I n thisr egardi,t is worth brieflyc onsideringh ow Sperling's( I960)p arrinlr eporrp arrdign cnhancedo uf knowledge of thc cxperience of bricfly presentcdi mages. There was a time when,d espitci nlrospecliontso thc contrary,t hc cxperimentadl xtds uggcslcd tha( individualsw cre only consciouso l fbur to fivc itenrsi n a briefly flashcd rrray, ff this is all peoplew crc ablet o report( c.g.,M orton. l94l). Howcvcr, usingt hep artialr eportp arndigm(i n whichp articipantws crcc ucdt o repo|t.iusal portiono f a previouslyp fcscntcdv isurl.rrray)S perliDgfo undt hxt peoplca clu rlly cxpcricncedth e lull arruy,l s evidcnccdb y the irct lhat they wcrc ablet o rcporta ll ol thec ucds cclione vent houShlh cy did nork Dow: t1thct imc thLttth c arrayw .lsv isiblc,w hichp o(ion of ir thcy wcrel ioin8t o havet o rcporl. The pft)ccdurcu scd by Schoolcr4 r a/. (in prcss)t o explored iscrepuncics hctweens ell'caugbLn d pft)be,caughctp isodeso f zo ing{)ut during ro dinS rnirya lso hold pfolllisel i)r rcvc:tlillge xperienocas ssociatcdw ith olhorwisc non'rcportcdp sychologic:ctvl cnts.A s with Ihcp nrli l repoflp nradigmp. criodic probiDgo i expericnccn ablcdp rliciptntsr o noticljb ricflyc xperienccdcv cnts (rniDd-wn derinSc pisodcsb) eli)ret hcy wcrc li)rgottcnA. nd like thc cornplri- sonso l fhc fill vs. partialr cporrp roccdurcsc,o mparisonso f sclf-caughvt s. pr)be crughl cogDilivee veolsr cvcult he degreet o which expcricnccsc an bc ovorlookcdil thcy re Dotp romptlyr cpo(ed.I n principlet his proccdurec ould bc rpplied1 0r evc.llo thcrr crnporadl issociarionosf mcla rwarenessin cludillg hilures 1on oticcu nwanledth oueiht(sW cgncr,1 994)o r cmoti{macl xpcdcnces (Lane, 2000) where expericnccsm ay flil to cross the thresholdo f Dreta,

Allhough () dalc,n o equiv lent proccdureh as beend cvelopedt( ) vrlid.rte lrlLnsli|liodni ssocialioDsu.l lilnatelyi t sccmsl ikely dlar conceptuallyrc laled nlanipulalionnsl ight be dcvclopcdO. n the assumptioDth rt individualsc annot rcport episodic mcmorics for statest hat wcrc nol experienccda t some levcl. il may he possiblc to find retrospectivec vidence f()r situations iD which mcla awarcnesisn itially rnisreprcscnersx perienceF.o r cxanple,i f inclividualws ere alerled to the tact that lhcy rnighr hlve been sublininally cxposed 1()e ithcr neg.rliveo r positivcf accsc rna pd(n occasion,a nd/oriflhey reccivcds omer ypc of mindfulncsst raining( e-9.B fo$ n & Ryan,2003),r hey mighl reveala reirospcc(ive scnsiti!ity to changesi n thcir affcctive statet hat thcy did nor notice at thc rinre. BvideDcet hat individuals wcre caplble of retrospcctivelya cccssingo rherwise .1.w.S CIIO(n.ER& C.A SCIIRLTBER

unrcporteds liles would pfovide onc potential way of docutnenting( hlt non rcportedp sycholo gicale ven tsw ere.n svc(heless.c xperienccda t sdne lcvel. Givcn the difficultyo I distinguishingb qweenp sychologicaclv cnrst harf til to rcach meta awarencssf rom those that ncver makc il iDto consciousncssw, e might rcasonablyw ondcr how inlport t ihis questionr eally is. llowevcr, here agrin is a situalionw hcrc the paradoxo f introspectionb ccomesc ritic.ll_F .om lhe third person perspectiveo f empiricrl scicnce,w hat mattefs is whitt is firelsur_ ?rblc.a nd to ihe degrcc lhat expcriencei tscll defics lnelsufentcnt. its rclcvance mrghts eemm oot_H owcverf,r om Iimt-pcrlonp erspcctiveex pcriencies cvery_ thjng. By analogy.f roln the pcrspectivco f the succcsso f lr surgsry,i t lnay makc littlc dilfefencew hcthcrt he patjcnlw asr ctlllyu nconsciouosr simplyu liablek ) reporl/remembcthr c cxpeficnccH. owcvcr,j rnn lhc perspccliveo f thc pnlieDi. thisd itlercDcem atlcrsc onsidc.ablylt husd cspiror hei nhcrsntd iffjculryi n dis tinguishingb etwccnp sychologicaclv cn(sr harf ail 10c fosst ller hrcsholdo fcon sciousnesvsc fsusn tcta-consciousncasdsv. rnccso Dt hisi ssuew ill bc criticulf or rcvealinSth c naturco l cxfcrienccb oth1 {)s cicnceir ndr o ourselvcs.

A ck n( ) v ,I k I !:. t,k ,n ! .\ 'fhc writin8o l thisr rlicle wllss Lrpponcbdy a Srtlrrrro rhc lirsr irurhort .rornth c OIiicc ol ttdrrclti(m,ir ndh y an Individurl N lion l Rescr ch ServiccA wIId Brtlnlcdto thc socon(al ulhorh y the Nltionrl Insriluloo l Mcrrrrll {callh.

l{elcrenrcs

drrr\, ll ll. $rlAht. l,.W & t..hr. BA 1l9rr6). k hrrjr)rh$ir n\v{.txrcds ith troDrrs.rtrrl 1.. \ta.r.t,t.t,,.,t ;.lri |1. ,r, r \' .1.1, Il? ,1,-. Ar""',rr..,., . /..,..,...., ,. ld,i/l1.115.f li :,1(r l7 (lIr{)8).( inrbiii'l! Air.lr. l) er|t|.feeir!cr.rtnr, thecii.tr,n duftri,D.i ntcnstrcyl rnrrc\r l u,hu\nnnt)u^x,'Mtkit'. liiii:ilj"ll'"'-'* "'\'"rrv'r'i'cv.Lr!x''trr\',J',,,'t,,t Ariel!. D (i & l.oewcr(.!r. 11000).W hcr (id.s.lrhrIjn rn.rlcfi n rulrrnefrd nit( tecisi(ndru km!t.. .tul,rr1.lt:\rrrii"rrLn l)\tjr,r,(| a;,,.nrl. t29, pp 5l)8 lt. \',,,..1.\ . r'.r, t( A\rrr.,tt ' ,r., \, ,.,t,.r.,r ,f.1 ,"raf..t..-\t.....r 1,r,1 nr'f',rJJ,t.,.ir-rr,, t1,,r1t.,,11..n. flrl.l.\ /r. r.,/,i.. Jt t1,.d\- ,. A.n.l.rtl.r! tt.,1,....n..,,,.1r.. ,,.D ..r.,|.r., ^\.1'1,.11< \rvr(ri,,{,,,\.1\ 1r;.'1\krj J'lr p'i.'...'i "qt'. .. \.,,.,tt.ir.l ,...b.t ,r../.,rr,l /i J ,lL ,,r'/..,.r,rJd "1 45 t.|a t,,r r, rldrlosl k. L M. t2oaJar)I\.y ch.0hr-si.rt rdvrncesx rrrcs lud! ofgeneri. vrrjdi.n D lxnc.. tnzft,. l:1. p ll)5 .Fr.rdnn.iciirNc lirmeitr.', lt F. t)l c, K. & S,rnmcr}. i.t . (lrt)8). me.h!Divn\n mlc nrtiricrll .tnd rtrs\ rn m..rrrn !)ciil pstchol.g!: Rer.t .n ldmrlt.i. Froic.riinr.{ lj\ph..njcnt. undoiDi.i (rhln)n. n'rtiuldr)n xnd deni rl , /.,u\tul .l t'rrtuuh r,66, pt \)at \21 B'. erridgc, p KC. & Wmkr lDijr, (2ll0.l) . Whxt ii I n uncoms.t.t\r e noriM I ft.he cxr. n]r unc.ns.i qi \ ''\ltie ).( ormhh anl I:ht rr,,.l?, Do |jt 2tl Brndrnonr.. M A.. S.lunc..l W. & Cix66tndp, . {lgglt. A enuxrtn!r crbrl ovcrhidowina lhroulh (1rr\lr vl$al .e\ ..r,,ut ol Lrytirunlt I,t,\hoh[\ ttuni ( M!,ary tt t (..!;nn,Li3. pp 915 .lL .Vc,brl |n.xr, C & l-byLl r.ies, T.t {20011, ovcrhato$nr! .i dtrnliplci d.c rtrd car r..rjrnrlion: EIJc.r\ or lnhii \ersn r.ross tdtsorl vcrbxrd .a.flpridi\.. A rlr,l/ t:t,prdr p\.tt.t;!;. i, ll,.qn.KW <txn.R.M {201):l)..Thhcc nciilsothrtn!p Es.nt:M jn(]ltrtncs\!idr lsr ol. ii f\ycho ,,'l{- l,' t,\,.t,- J . .,. tJ r , , . . {t,l. '.' -t',...,4.t t.. ,, tlr./tod,./r,.rr..,,.,, r,.,r , , , , / / . ., , \. r \ . r o.r,, l THE PARADOX OF INTROSPECTIUN 31

Chamb.(. D. & ReisbergD. ( 1992). What an imaged epiclsd epcndso n whara n inagc m$ns. , Co,l"i tjrP P\t"

Ekman,P . (1991).7c1lingri .r: Clr.s to D.c.it 1nt h. Md*etpla.c, Politi.r, atul MattiaR. (Ncw f.tk: W.W. Notun and Co.l. Frit\ con, K.A. {2rn2' . Inwrrdr o focedurel brel'rrtinEr crl-alcrpR,iun.'l non-rcrb.'te\peIcr.(e $ilhourre(l.vry Inrerprerinrth c! crh,lo\erhJ,l!,*rnEe ll

Fallshoe,M . & SchoolcrJ, .w. (r995), vcrhal vulnerabili(yo t perc.pt@la xpenise, Journut. t t:rp(i nl.fltal ,\y(:tunqy: L ning, M.n.ry, and Cosnition,2l, pp. ltotl 23. F dh. M.J. (1995r), Cutrenti ssuesin ncnmpsycholosyo l imagcg cnc|llion ,,{a!ralsy.r,r,/jnr, t3.

F&rh. M J. (1995b). r'hc ncuel b{seso l menl.l imu8cry', in M.S. C{zznigd (Ed ), 7}? (ntnrn? N?!&ei?rc?J(CanrhridSc,M Ar MII I'rc$). Fi.rc, S.M . & SchoolerJ. W. (2002), II.wd you sel heroI rom rhcrcI vcfirl oveBhadowjn8o r sprri r l mcntalf dch , A/t,lif./ (:atr itir ! ?D.halosr,16,9p.E91-910, FEdrickson,B .L & Kahncmrn.r ) ( I993), 'Durulion ncSlcoti n rcmsnecrivcc ldudtidrs of al l.c rive cpi\olcr' . ,humul of Paryonalitya ad Social hy.habtr,65. pO.4 5-55, qiubra, L.M. (1995). A hbo(nny mcthod lbr invcstiS{tingj nflucnceso n swirohinS.rc, iin, r) tlsk-untl0led im{gc!, {nil $otqht,tunk i tv( \! thtl Catnlion.4, 00. l -21. Ciambrul,. .M , RoscnbcryE,. ll.,K {sper.S . Ycc,w . & snck,l).A.( 1988 89). A ciradnrnl hy(hn in thc licqucncyo fsnonldncoDrsN k{lnrcluEd imaScNli d rlrortglt\s. tnaNinatioft,C qtnition,u nttl t.r enutrr,a ,p p.3 07-12 Crcdsky,A . & Cidhbft, L M. (lr1)(!)l). 'Thc orsiitorcy rcros visilMoc lnd ,cadingl $ts 01 iftii !idualdiffcrcnccsi i thco.curen.c oftdsk{rnrclarcda ndt.sk{cldled im{gcsu nddrouShli,/ ,Lr!t& tbn, Cbkniti.n, an.lh,rioMlrv. 10,t p 19-52. llilguld, E.R. (1969). lhii 11x prrlle li'r psy.hobgy and phyrliali!! , A,ktiaa plrthrl.ri\t,21, DD l0l-13. HilSxd, Elt. (19?ll), 'Colcn puiD in hynnolic xnnlgesir:I ls rculity !s tcsrcdb y rhs red slmulurd

Ko$lyn. S.|\,1(. 1 980).1 ,r,!" d"l,'!ti,l (Crmbridge.M A: Ilrwd linivcsiry l)ress). Kosslyr. S M. ( l98l). Cft,rrr in nt( Min.l ! Mthinr (New \ork: W W Norron). J-W. SCHO{ & CA. SCHREIBER t8 'LER

\'4 scur!r'r'l Kr$l\n.\M .-.( (.8.t'rnr'D \ &\'i Cr('rf \ lo6b' :i'"1.1'i;".i:.'l;'., in,r'r,ce n(e , , ,ilil'i';',; l:i ;'; l,;;'jl '^..,''c,,e..,.ro ^' |hcr'' .;: iiTl);;i,i ;:ill:i";:ii'iil;.,'l:Ji';'"1;.'::."r{B.,DeL JneiNl xJ'cr '" "' .):tili;;i i''j;,";l l;:":ll lil;l;iiil: 'iirlll'i'*., r",.*", ." *'"e.,o"-n , ,-#:[]il;lli:i:fiiii:!'i:li"d"u,u * t'o,uru. -.,'n".a,,en,,nb'rnr hesranrePrer)n'ncx' J'l,heqsN,. N(.r e78)"tndividurrdirrcirncrnhceve csr ir'|c'lriosnedn "iai:.:"lii"il.:',4:#]i ":i:;*ill'l;*:;:*;;l;r',9::{l;ltil;lul.tliiiSiif,'l'ilill;,i,1;Klli;l:l'",. ,ii1l:11i1:J ;"ij;l''il";i.':'l!.?il':.,',,,,.,,,eir,,ucn',,,,e,r{\h.prnrc.c.in\e,bJl nveFl'xd"{.n! Mn u htdI rrrtu+ lu pp l-'' \6 "*tll;x**:;l;: i:lr:ff:lT:[i T,) ffi#;i;:';:'j".fi l:i,'J;i;::i ":x:11.ff lcrbrro vcl *tr.t*,,.* (inrrcss)r,' crceplulnrrd c onccprtcrx3pr erthnce 'riarrch ' "J,'iu3l!.Xi .iliJiil,'.flilill;ffi1,liliil'li'iil"'o-,,'*. "-*' '* -,o,u'* "illi'":llt-J';::ll"jl'lliiifil ,hs0, ,no r, pue,rnsnli..4,r"i.d, "liill,:"iil'ijl1i;fil'{r",i"ifii1'"i'i1i;?.';n,i,i, ' l'i,l4;i /"J1/,,{(,rN.} crwhv cNnr,i ,,,,^*,,, *,3., ^r. 'i:l:";illll;',i,'ilii'ti,i,i:;,T;i,1.v'ncr]h;d*r, ,, ,,",t;li! ]ili:iillli.'i.cil! (:.M( 2002). ovc,rhudowiniiv so icrec costri(irAr ', lnrl ".rir. ,,,j"i-i^"Jl"l,lii;llillriill:ill.;"".".,. ,.,".,,,n,{,\r,,{1,,,,cn.rc,,nJJr{n*f,d ,,,i;::;irli',(,","li'iiiii;lll:1i'J;i'lii;lf;\f1lil":q-l,i.(/,,\,.*./ k"/..,, , *.|:i,ilJl:l'i,il'!",:;",,)' ..,')n,u6n,),.,: rl,ll;.,,i:l:lli:l;:;:1,.'.illlJl Rcdl litrrcd ndr o(ruslcoLivcevdLurliooii l lwo min X,r,i{.lli*:l'

-"ll,tiiljli:lir;i*mrilslltijtTlilt;i';lr,iffi,,H)l'jl:.il,,ll;i;;;,Y;1,'#'i'll;liij;l,1atiu h Ltcntutth dkctvt N.v Yddr oxlordu nivqllv(Pr.),iLr *"i:iJli tnr ,"q,""rt.,, .t-u Lt u,ug*y,.r.h" ,l;ll''Jilil:il"f;.1,,*,,iiilli.';Y"Ui-'.l;: r,r,,rii.,r,.i,q,i,i*ir.r,r,,,i /rj. 17,p P.l 1t (,0. ';;;,,r.ii.ri'ji"*, s.r ,...,.j .ir ''",u. ' \7 AJJr.!!. \'i l. \.:.nr. .r t '1\L1Fn'\' lu ' ' -{' r' ltlrrfr iri'\'1..lW r,)ur'1. Dr*ntcrnC rrc"urk^ 'Jbhc -l ..fji,'.'ll'i? [6i::lTii;.111,i,.J:ti:i"i:';fi.:'l," vi,hin,rcsp.c,ion: ,.es*nse,o rrcrxnd ' ,"Ll'''".'l1'l;i'"d;'i;i l,ii1{i.""iiiL.."'i"1;.i';,i..'".l, .nsbe,{.cn coiscbusncss nnd 7)?,4 i, c,tnrt!.t tr.r,6, tir'is$ci,, lil]^ri", dNtac onsciotr*esi, p.,."*i"e ,r,;t.. Schoolerl.,W (101)2c)V. erbaol veAhldowngp &) i,,q,r..p,tut" "lfll;lffi'Jrij#3'i}l"Trfrit-i!i:ul;r*;ul;iii.*::r::rli:,;i,:r'.Yr};; ."l\illliliii'"'i'J;"",..,rsee), r'hesvn,hiosisot\ubjerlivcdnd.xFontrturrpp'|orhcstoin'iu o,! su!medo cs: somc ,.ilili";.'1'lilt{"'i{i; 13;iliiii.il'{1'rLii,lT;l;. "lershldown,s \',b',di,'-.,.N'-: ,';::.l;;l :i"'if"i,i,'i.';,""i;;lll'Jii'i'',;J'';''1 "1i"i""" no.i v.rrn,rr,.ir', t"t t'. J'I1r'rt4 &/M'r''J'rs"Drce' CAr Aca'.d'r.,n"r;i:.' ,I'r;c. s) s n llrook!, K (1991), ThouShtsb 'v'nd wordsrw lcD lanEurgco veNh& S-,",t*,s,.il"..rt.i gr, wr'.,,. ro,.r,'-li*,.;" . r,2ttinkntdl P\rr holarv: t;oetul 122 ll 166 8:l THE PARADOXO F INIROSPECTION 39

E.D. & tlalpem D ! (in pre$), Zoni ng oul durnrg Evn bncc lor dr SchoolcrJ. .w.. Rci.hlc. 'cadins: sociationsb ctscen e$cricnce and ncla conscroustrcs. sin D.T l-cvin (Ed), ftintl'! d"d S"trs VisuulM &lcornition inAdults dn./ alild., (Camb.id.!eM A: MIT Fress)' Schools.J .W.& lchrciber,C .A (in pre$), loknowornottoknow:Consciousnesdse la ('ns''ioon$s cbus nc-, ino nrotivtirn , iI t'org,". t.r., wittlu'"., K R. and von Hifl)cl, w. (EIls) and N.i Cxns(bus Matiwtbn (New vork: Canbrnlgc UniveAilv l'rcss) s.nrrroer( \ (2uul Pre,ihr.r'er.rrn'p..rr'cPlnh"lheuUlnuhd menr uihir'frnpleJ'd'rcf (onrrpurrrre'rnr'ulcre' ! Arr.mevorlfr'drller(nrir:nErheelli,r. iJrr'rion cmpUrlll +srron Jn I Jnpublishedi ssenrlion. sdrclb{. C.A. & KahncmanD, . (2000). DerenniDanrosl rher cmcmb€redu rililv of aversivcs ounds Jormat of E p?rinental Prr. hobsr: ( hh. ral, 129,p | 2142. Sclla6. W. ir963)..t i.,.., P! t..Ption atul R.alb ll ontlon:R oudcdc& Kesin l'aul) sheprrd, R.fl. & coop... LA. \t\82). M.nkLl thnsc! atuL7 ,?ir Tidnrli'rtzrDtrr (cdrbridSc, MA shepdl- R.N. & Mevlcr, J (t9?1). Menlrl rolalbn oi thrcc_dimcnsionaolh jccls-,J in'tu!. l7l' siJilcr.i.s. & srcrn,E . (1998), conscious3 ndu ncois.iouss rfulesvd hco!cries:A mi'roscn€ricd nal Joulnal of Everih.nlal A41. nr| 127 pl 177-91 isis , isamplins sl,iLer. J.1..( 198i). o^n!(lhooinlos Ba!:o nsciounrcs dtrl cnNrbnrl expcficnce:l ntrlislnns lor li alih . in M.r. Homwirz (E,l. ), tirrtAbno"i.j aML( i{irn r (chi.r8o. l L: Univcnirv of chrcrso sn[llw;od, J.M.. Bdfuclia, s.F., L.!wc. M & obrrsrwin. M (200:]). Trsl utrrclatcdlh oughtw hil( cncodin! inlbrnrlttun . (iJnr.k,6n(i anrl Cot