Study title

Data and code for Malejka et al. (2021), "Correlation analysis to investigate unconscious mental processes". The present project focused on a particular domain of this literature, implicit learning. Studies conducted in this area try to determine whether we are able to detect regularities in our environment without awareness of those regularities. Finding evidence of awareness in these domains is important because it suggests that some degree of control may be available as well. In the present project we propose new methods for the study of unconscious learning. Many of the problems that we have detected in our previous research can be ameliorated by employing cutting-edge statistical analysis, including Bayesian and meta-analytic methods and model fitting. However, the validity of these approaches in the domain of implicit cognition remains untested.A consensus among researchers is that much of our behaviour is based on rather automatic processes we are barely aware of and over which we have little control. Research suggests that exposure to subtle cues can have dramatic effects on our decisions. For instance, asking people to provide the last 2 digits of their social security number biases how much they are willing to pay for products and commodities. Similarly, according to some researchers, people are more likely to be impolite and disrespectful if they have been exposed to words related to rudeness while solving anagrams. Another line of research suggests that we take many of our (important) decisions when distracted and thinking about other things and that this 'unconscious thought' process actually improves the quality of our decisions. These studies pertain to a larger area of research usually called 'implicit cognition', which explores how unconscious mechanisms contribute to cognitive processes including perception, learning, memory, and decision making. This area of research has attracted a great deal of attention from the media and features...