Attentional capture for emotional words and images: The importance of valence and arousal.

<p>Conceptual metaphor theory suggests that to mentally represent abstract concepts we use metaphorical associations to map them onto more concrete constructs (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980; 1999). Using a choice reaction time (CRT) task, Meier and Robinson (2004) found that positively valenced words primed attention to higher areas in vertical space, while negatively valenced words primed attention to lower areas in vertical space, consistent with the good is up/bad is down conceptual metaphor. Meier and Robinson (2004; 2005) suggest this provides evidence that emotional words create an automatic and obligatory metaphor-congruent shift in spatial attention, driven by a Valence x Position interaction. However, other research shows that the arousal level, not just the valence of emotional words can affect reaction time (Robinson, Storbeck, Meier & Kirkeby, 2004). This means concluding that valence alone is driving the shift in attention is premature. Furthermore, Brookshire, Irvy and Casasanto (2010) dispute Meier and Robinson’s claim that the relationship between affect and metaphor is automatic, instead suggesting that affect-metaphor associations are optional and only accessed under certain contextual conditions. The purpose of this thesis was therefore two-fold. First, it aimed to explore whether valence, arousal, or an interaction between the two was responsible for driving the metaphor-consistent shift in spatial attention observed by Meier and Robinson (2004). Second, it aimed to progress the discussion about when affective stimuli, in the form of emotional words, automatically activate the good is up/bad is down conceptual metaphor. Three CRT experiments were conducted in which (a) emotional stimulus words were differentiated by arousal level as well as valence and (b) the evaluation of stimulus words’ affective tone (pleasant/unpleasant) was manipulated. A Valence x Position interaction in relation to the good is up but not bad is down conceptual metaphor was found when the valence of priming words was evaluated, suggesting valence, rather than arousal or a combination of both, is driving the affect-metaphor relationship. No evidence for the automatic activation of affect-metaphor associations was found when the word’s affective tone was not evaluated. These findings suggest that while driven by valence, affect-metaphor associations are not fully automatic and occur only under certain contextual conditions. The implications for our understanding of how emotion impacts spatial attention are discussed, suggesting metaphors enrich, rather than monopolise our mental representation of abstract, affective concepts.</p>

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The Effect of Valence and Arousal on Spatial Attention

10.26686/wgtn.17004886 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Polly M. Schaverien

Keyword(s):

Reaction Time ◽

Spatial Attention ◽

Conceptual Metaphor ◽

Arousal Level ◽

Abstract Concepts ◽

Emotional Words ◽

Affective Tone ◽

Affective Stimuli ◽

Valence And Arousal ◽

The Relationship

<p>Conceptual metaphor theory suggests that to mentally represent abstract concepts we use metaphorical associations to map them onto more concrete constructs (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980; 1999). Using a choice reaction time (CRT) task, Meier and Robinson (2004) found that positively valenced words primed attention to higher areas in vertical space, while negatively valenced words primed attention to lower areas in vertical space, consistent with the good is up/bad is down conceptual metaphor. Meier and Robinson (2004; 2005) suggest this provides evidence that emotional words create an automatic and obligatory metaphor-congruent shift in spatial attention, driven by a Valence x Position interaction. However, other research shows that the arousal level, not just the valence of emotional words can affect reaction time (Robinson, Storbeck, Meier & Kirkeby, 2004). This means concluding that valence alone is driving the shift in attention is premature. Furthermore, Brookshire, Irvy and Casasanto (2010) dispute Meier and Robinson’s claim that the relationship between affect and metaphor is automatic, instead suggesting that affect-metaphor associations are optional and only accessed under certain contextual conditions. The purpose of this thesis was therefore two-fold. First, it aimed to explore whether valence, arousal, or an interaction between the two was responsible for driving the metaphor-consistent shift in spatial attention observed by Meier and Robinson (2004). Second, it aimed to progress the discussion about when affective stimuli, in the form of emotional words, automatically activate the good is up/bad is down conceptual metaphor. Three CRT experiments were conducted in which (a) emotional stimulus words were differentiated by arousal level as well as valence and (b) the evaluation of stimulus words’ affective tone (pleasant/unpleasant) was manipulated. A Valence x Position interaction in relation to the good is up but not bad is down conceptual metaphor was found when the valence of priming words was evaluated, suggesting valence, rather than arousal or a combination of both, is driving the affect-metaphor relationship. No evidence for the automatic activation of affect-metaphor associations was found when the word’s affective tone was not evaluated. These findings suggest that while driven by valence, affect-metaphor associations are not fully automatic and occur only under certain contextual conditions. The implications for our understanding of how emotion impacts spatial attention are discussed, suggesting metaphors enrich, rather than monopolise our mental representation of abstract, affective concepts.</p>

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Maternal Perception of Infants’ Expressions of Emotion

Journal of Psychophysiology ◽

10.1027/0269-8803/a000008 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 24 (3) ◽

pp. 173-185 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Martin Krippl ◽

Stephanie Ast-Scheitenberger ◽

Ina Bovenschen ◽

Gottfried Spangler

Keyword(s):

Response Pattern ◽

Electrodermal Activity ◽

Startle Amplitude ◽

Caregiving System ◽

Parental Caregiving ◽

Opponent Process ◽

Opponent Process Theory ◽

Valence And Arousal ◽

Methodological Considerations

In light of Lang’s differentiation of the aversive and the approach system – and assumptions stemming from attachment theory – this study investigates the role of the approach or caregiving system for processing infant emotional stimuli by comparing IAPS pictures, infant pictures, and videos. IAPS pictures, infant pictures, and infant videos of positive, neutral, or negative content were presented to 69 mothers, accompanied by randomized startle probes. The assessment of emotional responses included subjective ratings of valence and arousal, corrugator activity, the startle amplitude, and electrodermal activity. In line with Lang’s original conception, the typical startle response pattern was found for IAPS pictures, whereas no startle modulation was observed for infant pictures. Moreover, the startle amplitudes during negative video scenes depicting crying infants were reduced. The results are discussed with respect to several theoretical and methodological considerations, including Lang’s theory, emotion regulation, opponent process theory, and the parental caregiving system.

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Emotions Under the Skin

Journal of Psychophysiology ◽

10.1027/0269-8803/a000147 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 29 (4) ◽

pp. 161-170 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Catarina Silva ◽

Ana Cláudia Ferreira ◽

Isabel Soares ◽

Francisco Esteves

Keyword(s):

Attachment Style ◽

Attachment Styles ◽

The Other ◽

Regulatory Function ◽

Physiological Reactivity ◽

Emotional Stimuli ◽

Skin Conductance Responses ◽

Lower Accuracy ◽

Emotional Pictures ◽

Valence And Arousal

Abstract. The present study examined physiological reactivity to emotional stimuli as a function of attachment style. Skin conductance responses (SCRs) and heart rate (HR) changes were simultaneously recorded while participants engaged in a visual attentional task. The task included positive, neutral, and negative emotional pictures, and required the identification of a target (neutral picture rotated 90° to the left or right), among a stream of pictures in which an emotional distracter (positive or negative) was presented. Participants additionally rated each of the emotional distracters for valence and arousal. Behavioral results on the attentional task showed that positive pictures facilitated overall target detection for all participants, compared to negative and neutral pictures, and that anxiously attached participants had significantly lower accuracy scores, relative to the other groups. Affective ratings indicated that positive pictures were rated as being more pleasant than negative ones, although no differences were found in HR changes to picture valence. In contrast, negative pictures were evaluated as being highly arousing. Consistent with this, negative pictures elicited larger SCRs in both insecure anxious and avoidant groups, especially for the anxious while the secure group showed SCRs unaffected by stimuli’s arousal. Present results show that individuals with different attachment styles reveal distinct patterns of attentional bias, appraisal, and physiological reactivity toward emotionally arousing stimuli. These findings further highlight the regulatory function of the attachment system.

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Individual Differences and Hemispheric Asymmetry While Processing Emotional Words

Journal of Individual Differences ◽

10.1027/1614-0001/a000137 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 35 (3) ◽

pp. 137-143 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lindsay M. Niccolai ◽

Thomas Holtgraves

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Hemispheric Asymmetry ◽

Past Research ◽

Decision Task ◽

Depression And Anxiety ◽

Hemispheric Differences ◽

Affective Valence ◽

Emotional Words ◽

Emotion Words ◽

The Right

This research examined differences in the perception of emotion words as a function of individual differences in subclinical levels of depression and anxiety. Participants completed measures of depression and anxiety and performed a lexical decision task for words varying in affective valence (but equated for arousal) that were presented briefly to the right or left visual field. Participants with a lower level of depression demonstrated hemispheric asymmetry with a bias toward words presented to the left hemisphere, but participants with a higher level of depression displayed no hemispheric differences. Participants with a lower level of depression also demonstrated a bias toward positive words, a pattern that did not occur for participants with a higher level of depression. A similar pattern occurred for anxiety. Overall, this study demonstrates how variability in levels of depression and anxiety can influence the perception of emotion words, with patterns that are consistent with past research.

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