DISTINGUISHING UNCONSCIOUS FROM CONSCIOUS COGNITION - REASONABLE ASSUMPTIONS AND REPLICABLE FINDINGS - REPLY TO MERIKLE AND REINGOLD (1998)AND DOSHER (1998)

S. C. Draine and A. G. Greenwald (1998) demonstrated replicable uncons cious semantic priming by combining a response window procedure, which increases priming effects by requiring rapid responding, and a regres sion analysis in which the regression intercept is a marker for uncons cious cognition. The commentaries by B. A. Dosher (1998) and by P. M. Merikle and E. M. Reingold (1998) raise two questions about conclusion s based on these methods: (a) Did Draine and Greenwald (1998) demonstr ate an indirect effect (subliminal priming) in the absence of a direct effect (i.e., visibility of the subliminal priming words)? and (b) Di d Draine and Greenwald (1998) demonstrate dissociation of conscious fr om unconscious cognition? The first question has reassuring responses that are reviewed here. The second question is answered by pointing ou t that although Draine and Greenwald (1998) did not claim to have esta blished such dissociation, they provided data that advance the plausib ility of that conclusion.