PSY 0816 Chapter Notes - Chapter 9: University Of Manchester, Bereitschaftspotential
7 May 2016
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Describe the methods and results of libet"s study of the role of conscious will in voluntary action. On average rp started 550 msec (+ or 150 msec) before the action and w only 200 msec before. On some trials the subjects said they had been thinking about the action and some time in advance, or replanning it. The conscious decision to act occurred approximately 350 msec after beginning of rp. Conscious control can be exerted before the final motor outflow to select or control volitional outcome. The volitional process, initiated unconsciously, can either be consciously permitted to proceed consummation in the motor act or be consciously vetoed. The idea then, that unconscious brain events start the process of a voluntary act but then just before it is actually carried out, consciousness may either say yes or no the action either goes ahead or not. Explain the implications of libet"s study for the concept of free will.
