How consciously and unconsciously perceived reward information influence performance

Prof. Henk Aarts (Utrecht University)

26 novembre 2013, 16h, Uni-Mail M5193

The question of how human performance can be improved through rewards is a recurrent topic of interest in psychology and neuroscience. Traditional approaches to this topic have focused mainly on consciously communicated rewards. Recently, a new, and largely neuro-scientifically inspired perspective has emerged to examine the role of conscious awareness of reward information in effective reward pursuit. This presentation discussed research employing a newly developed (monetary) reward presentation paradigm that allows a systematic investigation of potential similarities and differences in how consciously and unconsciously perceived rewards impact performance.