What is the simultaneous processing of information at both conscious and unconscious levels called?

The simultaneous processing of information at both conscious and unconscious levels is referred to as dual processing. This concept highlights how our cognitive systems can handle multiple types of information at once, one of which we may be aware of (conscious) and the other we may not be fully aware of (unconscious).

Dual processing is essential in understanding various psychological phenomena, such as decision-making, where some intuitions or responses may arise without conscious thought, while others require deliberate, conscious reasoning. This framework helps to explain how people can react to stimuli quickly without cognitive deliberation, while at the same time being able to engage in more complex problem-solving tasks that require greater mental effort.

Parallel processing, while related, typically refers to the way our brains handle different types of tasks simultaneously but does not specifically emphasize the conscious-unconscious duality. Integrated processing is not a widely recognized term for this phenomenon, and multitasking, though it involves handling multiple tasks at once, does not inherently include the distinction between conscious and unconscious levels of processing. Thus, dual processing is the most accurate term for describing this cognitive ability.