Table 2.
Frequent claims about properties of a direct measure M, the assumptions about the criterion content CM implied by those claims, and possible counterarguments against those claims
| Claim: | Assumptions about criterion content implied by the claim: | Test to counter the claim: |
|---|---|---|
| "M is a valid measure of awareness" | Weak assumption: qc ∈ CM | Difficult to counter even for obviously misspecified tasks |
| "M is an exclusive measure of awareness" | Strong assumption: CM = {qc} | Show that M is sensitive to parameters other than the critical stimulus |
| "Only class S of subjective tasks can measure awareness" | Very strong assumption: For all measures N ∉ S, qc ∉ CN | Construct objective analogs to the subjective tasks (often possible) |
| "Only class O of objective tasks can measure awareness" | Very strong assumption: For all measures N ∉ O, qc ∉ CN | Construct subjective analogs to the objective tasks (usually possible) |
| "Only M can measure awareness" | Prohibitive assumption: For all measures N ≠ M, qc ∉ CN | Show that measures other than M can ask for the critical feature |
| "M is an exhaustively valid measure of awareness" | Strong assumption: CM includes all theoretically relevant cues | Show that M fails to respond to some theoretically relevant cue that another measure can respond to |
| "M is an exhaustively reliable measure of awareness" | Prohibitive assumption: M is an exhaustive integrator of all theoretically relevant cues | Show that M can fail to respond strictly monotonically to a change in the critical feature |