Abstract
<p>Although we constantly make and inhibit movements, it remains unresolved if we are consciously aware of the underlying decisions. Such investigations are confounded by the possibility that self-reports of these decisions may be retrospectively inferred from the movement. Instead, questions regarding conscious awareness may be better addressed during response inhibition where there is no overt movement. Here, using the anticipatory response inhibition task, we tested if participants could report the time when they decided to stop, and if it was distinct from the time when they perceived the stop signal. In study 1, following stop trials, participants reported when they decided to stop. The reported decision time preceded stop signal reaction time (SSRT), an estimate of the time taken to stop, by ~93ms and was positively correlated with SSRT. This suggested that participants could reliably report this decision. In study 2, participants reported when they perceived the stop signal. Perception time preceded SSRT by ~163ms and was positively correlated with SSRT. Thus, despite no difference in SSRT, the difference between perception time and decision time from SSRT were distinct suggesting that the two timings are separable mental events. In study 3, participants either reported the decision time or perception time. We replicated that the two timings were distinct despite no difference in SSRT - perception time and decision time preceded SSRT by ~138ms and ~57ms, respectively. This suggests that the decision to stop is a consciously accessible mental event which is distinct from the perception of the stop signal.</p>