Abstract
IntroductionEmotion has been shown to influence selective visual attention. However, studies in this field have revealed contradictory findings regarding the nature of this influence. One possible explanation for the variation in findings is that affective inter‐individual differences impact both attention and emotion and may therefore moderate any influence of emotion on attention. The current work is a novel investigation of the effects of induced emotional states and the traits of extraversion and neuroticism on visual attention. This allowed a direct investigation of any impact of extraversion and neuroticism on the way in which emotion influences attention.MethodsParticipants were induced into positive, neutral, and negative emotional states before completing a change detection flicker task in which they were required to locate a change to a real‐world scene as quickly and accurately as possible.ResultsParticipants scoring higher in extraversion were more accurate but slower at detecting changes. Importantly, this was particularly evident when induced into a negative emotional state compared to a neutral emotional state. Neuroticism had no impact on attention.ConclusionsThe current study provides evidence that extraversion can moderate the influence of negative emotion upon visual attention and may help to explain some of the contradictory findings in this research area. When considered independently, increased trait levels of extraversion were associated with improved change detection. Individuals higher in extraversion appear better equipped to regulate negative emotion compared to individuals lower in extraversion, supporting research linking extraversion to affective reactivity and models of psychopathology.
Highlights
Emotion has been shown to influence selective visual attention
The aim of the study was to investigate whether extraversion and neuroticism moderate the effect of emotion on visual attention
The present study is a first attempt to explore this, and the traits of extraversion and neuroticism were selected as a focus given their relationship to emotional reactivity and to performance in the change detection flicker task
Summary
Emotion has been shown to influence selective visual attention. studies in this field have revealed contradictory findings regarding the nature of this influence. The current work is a novel investigation of the effects of induced emotional states and the traits of extraversion and neuroticism on visual attention This allowed a direct investigation of any impact of extraversion and neuroticism on the way in which emotion influences attention. Results: Participants scoring higher in extraversion were more accurate but slower at detecting changes This was evident when induced into a negative emotional state compared to a neutral emotional state. Conclusions: The current study provides evidence that extraversion can moderate the influence of negative emotion upon visual attention and may help to explain some of the contradictory findings in this research area. Priority is given to the most relevant areas or objects This "biasing" of attentional resources, known as selective visual attention, is subject to a range of influences and is dependent upon top-down and bottom-up processing (Schneider & Shiffrin, 1977). The PFC has been shown to play a crucial role in the switching of top-down attention allocation (Rossi et al, 2009)
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