?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Consciousness%2C+Causality+and+Complementarity&rft.creator=Velmans%2C+Max&rft.subject=Behavioral+Neuroscience&rft.subject=Cognitive+Psychology&rft.subject=Neuroendocrinology&rft.description=Abstract+of+1991+target+article%3A+Investigations+of+the+function+of+consciousness+in+human+information+processing+have+focused+mainly+on+two+questions%3A+(1)+where+does+consciousness+enter+into+the+information+processing+sequence+and+(2)+how+does+conscious+processing+differ+from+preconscious+and+unconscious+processing.+Input+analysis+is+thought+to+be+initially+%22preconscious%2C%22+%22pre-attentive%2C%22+fast%2C+involuntary%2C+and+automatic.+This+is+followed+by+%22conscious%2C%22+%22focal-attentive%22+analysis+which+is+relatively+slow%2C+voluntary%2C+and+flexible.+It+is+thought+that+simple%2C+familiar+stimuli+can+be+identified+preconsciously%2C+but+conscious+processing+is+needed+to+identify+complex%2C+novel+stimuli.+Conscious+processing+has+also+been+thought+to+be+necessary+for+choice%2C+learning+and+memory%2C+and+the+organization+of+complex%2C+novel+responses%2C+particularly+those+requiring+planning%2C+reflection%2C+or+creativity.+The+present+target+article+reviews+evidence+that+consciousness+performs+none+of+these+functions.+Consciousness+nearly+always+results+from+focal-attentive+processing+(as+a+form+of+output)+but+does+not+itself+enter+into+this+or+any+other+form+of+human+information+processing.+This+suggests+that+the+term+%22conscious+process%22+needs+re-examination.+Consciousness+appears+to+be+necessary+in+a+variety+of+tasks+because+they+require+focal-attentive+processing%3B+if+consciousness+is+absent%2C+focal-attentive+processing+is+absent.+From+a+first-person+perspective%2C+however%2C+conscious+states+are+causally+effective.+First-person+accounts+are+complementary+to+third-person+accounts.+Although+they+can+be+translated+into+third-person+accounts%2C+they+cannot+be+reduced+to+them.&rft.publisher=Cambridge+University+Press&rft.date=1993&rft.type=Journal+(Paginated)&rft.type=PeerReviewed&rft.format=text%2Fhtml&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F595%2F1%2F199802005.html&rft.identifier=++Velmans%2C+Max++(1993)+Consciousness%2C+Causality+and+Complementarity.++%5BJournal+(Paginated)%5D+++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F595%2F