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How might the brain make a brief glimpse conscious?

A brief glimpse can be processed without giving us the same ability to report and use it. The global neuronal workspace account proposes that wider availability of selected information matters for conscious access, an idea that can be tested against rival predictions.

5–7 min

Questions you could explore

  • What would a theory need to predict before a brain scan could count against it?
  • How does global-workspace theory distinguish local processing from information becoming broadly available?

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Psychology

Can an option nobody wants change what people choose?

Choosing between two offers can feel different when a third appears beside them. A decoy is less attractive than one option on the relevant features, but its presence does not reliably change every decision.

5–7 min
Psychology

When a question reshapes a memory

After a car crash or a crime, the way an investigator phrases a single question can change what a witness remembers seeing. Research on eyewitness reports separates what someone originally observed from information introduced afterward, making question wording a crucial part of the evidence problem.

3–7 min
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