The Strengths and Pitfalls of No-report Paradigms in Multistable Perception Research

Ambiguous, multistable stimuli can give rise to multiple perceptual interpretations. Bistable visual stimuli, in particular, have long been used to study neurological and cognitive processes. However, many experimental paradigms rely on self-report to assess subjective perceptual experiences, introducing potential issues such as low reliability and interferences of reporting into the processes under investigation. No-report paradigms serve as a method to work around these problems by decoding perceptual content based on physiological data. Here we discuss the strengths and pitfalls of no-report paradigms in the context of research using multistable perception. Focusing on experimental power related to decoding accuracy, we exemplify the current progress of decoding perceptual content using three major domains of physiological data (eye-tracking, M/EEG and fMRI). We find that the predictability of the percept varies significantly depending on the paradigm and stimulus type, showcasing both the potential and limitations of physiological inference in bistable perception research.