Unconscious Response Training

Press SPACE whenever you see a blue square. Train until your responses become automatic, then pay attention to how the experience changes.

Your target:
Blue Square — Press SPACE when you see it
Phase 1: Learning
Phase 2: Speed
Phase 3: Automatic
PAUSED (press P to resume)
0
Trials
--%
Hit Rate
0
False Alarms
--
Avg Reaction (ms)
--
Fastest (ms)
300ms
800ms
2000ms
Press SPACE when you see a blue square  |  Press P to pause

Reaction Time History (blue square trials only)

The Experiment

This demonstrates that conscious awareness isn't necessary for behavioral responses. At first, you'll consciously see the blue square, recognize it, then decide to press space.

With practice, the response becomes automatic. You'll find yourself pressing the key before you're consciously aware of what you saw. Your finger "knows" before "you" do.

Training Phases

Phases advance automatically as you complete trials. Just keep going!

Phase 1 (Learning): Shapes appear for 300ms. Get comfortable with the task. (20 trials)
Phase 2 (Speed): Duration drops to 150ms. You must respond faster. (20 more trials)
Phase 3 (Automatic): Duration at 80ms. Conscious recognition becomes difficult — but your trained response persists.

What to Notice

Pay attention to the feeling of your responses. Early on, there's a clear sequence: see → recognize → decide → press. Later, it becomes: press → "wait, what did I just see?"