Your Smile Caught My Eye: Why Do Emotional Things Catch and Hold Our Attention?

Abstract

You know how you can feel how hot or cold a room is when you enter it? Well, most people can just as easily judge the “emotional temperature” of a room, too. You probably do that in many situations, like with a single glance at a movie on TV. Things that evoke either positive or negative feelings tend to catch our attention, like a spider on the wall that you automatically look at. In fact, it is easier to spot a spider than a fly because it is scarier (to most people)! This happens because evolution sharpened our senses to quickly detect how pleasant (or unpleasant) and intense (or dull) a situation is. Our brains are tuned to pick out emotionally important information in the environment and process it quickly. Understanding this process may help you to understand your emotions and “gut feelings” and maybe even to overcome your fears!