Allan Hobson’s Building Blocks of Consciousness

(Allan Hobson; Consciousness, 16)

Component

Definition

Level

Input sources

Sensation

Reception of input data

1

Perception

Representation of input data

1

Attention

Selection of input data

1

Emotion

Feelings about representations

1

Instinct

Innate propensities to act

Elaborative processing

Memory

Retrieval of stored representations

2

Thought

Reflection upon representations

2

Language

Symbolization of representations

2

Intention

Representations of goals

2

Orientation

Representations of time, place, and persons

2

Learning

Automatic recording of experience

1

Output actions

Volition

Decisions to act

2

Movement

Motor acts and behaviors

1