Emotional content overrides spatial attention

The effect of brief auditory non-vocal emotional cues on visual spatial attention

Seeing and Perceiving ◽

10.1163/187847612x646802 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 25 (0) ◽

pp. 59

Author(s):

Neil R. Harrison ◽

Simon Davies

Keyword(s):

Spatial Attention ◽

Emotional Content ◽

Validity Effect ◽

Emotional Stimuli ◽

Cue Validity ◽

Visual Spatial Attention ◽

Visual Spatial ◽

Auditory Cue ◽

Visual Targets ◽

The Right

It is well established that emotional stimuli can modulate selective spatial attention within the same modality. Recent research has shown that the emotional content of a stimulus in one modality can modify spatial attention in a separate modality (Brosch et al., 2008). So far, this effect has been shown only for emotional stimuli consisting of prosody cues, and it remains unclear how non-vocal emotional auditory cues affect visual spatial attention. The current experiment used a modified spatial cueing design to assess the effects of brief (1000 ms) non-vocal emotional (positive, negative, or neutral) auditory stimuli on visual spatial attention. Participants were required to indicate whether a visual (non-emotional) target appeared either in the left or the right visual field, after hearing a spatially non-predictive peripheral auditory cue. The auditory cue could be on the same side as the visual target (‘valid’ trial) or on the opposite side (‘invalid’ trial). Overall participants were faster to respond to visual targets that appeared on the same side as the auditory cue. Importantly, the magnitude of the cue validity effect (RT to invalid minus RT to valid cue) differed according to the emotional content of the auditory stimulus, but only for visual targets appearing in the right hemifield. Here, for non-vocal auditory signals, the cue validity effect was reduced for negative cues compared to neutral and positive stimuli, showing an opposite pattern to experiments that have reported an enhanced cue validity effect for emotional prosody stimuli (e.g., Brosch et al., 2008).

Download Full-text

Interactions Between Exogenous Auditory and Visual Spatial Attention

The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A ◽

10.1080/027249800390691 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 53 (1) ◽

pp. 105-130 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Michel Schmitt ◽

Albert Postma ◽

Edward De Haan

Keyword(s):

Spatial Attention ◽

Visual Spatial Attention ◽

Visual Spatial

Download Full-text

Viewing music videos: Emotion and viewer interpretation

Zeitschrift für Medienpsychologie ◽

10.1026//1617-6383.14.2.69 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 69-79 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Joan M. Preston ◽

Michael Eden

Keyword(s):

University Students ◽

Emotional Content ◽

Music Videos ◽

Music Video ◽

Mediating Factors ◽

Comparative Media

Abstract. Music video (MV) content is frequently measured using researcher descriptions. This study examines subjective or viewers’ notions of sex and violence. 168 university students watched 9 mainstream MVs. Incidence counts of sex and violence involve more mediating factors than ratings. High incidents are associated with older viewers, higher scores for Expressivity, lower scores for Instrumentality, and with video orders beginning with high sex and violence. Ratings of sex and violence are associated with older viewers and lower scores for Instrumentality. For sex MVs, inexperienced viewers reported higher incidents and ratings. Because MVs tend to be sexier but less violent than TV and film, viewers may also use comparative media standards to evaluate emotional content MVs.

Download Full-text

Visual Spatial Attention in Migraine Sufferers in Postictal and Interictal Phases: An Event-Related Potential Study

Journal of Psychophysiology ◽

10.1027//0269-8803.15.1.22 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 22-34 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

D.H. de Koning ◽

J.C. Woestenburg ◽

M. Elton

Keyword(s):

Cerebral Cortex ◽

Visual Attention ◽

Migraine Attack ◽

Spatial Attention ◽

Event Related Potential ◽

Significant Enhancement ◽

Pathophysiological Mechanism ◽

Attention Task ◽

Visual Spatial Attention ◽

Visual Spatial

Migraineurs with and without aura (MWAs and MWOAs) as well as controls were measured twice with an interval of 7 days. The first session of recordings and tests for migraineurs was held about 7 hours after a migraine attack. We hypothesized that electrophysiological changes in the posterior cerebral cortex related to visual spatial attention are influenced by the level of arousal in migraineurs with aura, and that this varies over the course of time. ERPs related to the active visual attention task manifested significant differences between controls and both types of migraine sufferers for the N200, suggesting a common pathophysiological mechanism for migraineurs. Furthermore, migraineurs without aura (MWOAs) showed a significant enhancement for the N200 at the second session, indicating the relevance of time of measurement within migraine studies. Finally, migraineurs with aura (MWAs) showed significantly enhanced P240 and P300 components at central and parietal cortical sites compared to MWOAs and controls, which seemed to be maintained over both sessions and could be indicative of increased noradrenergic activity in MWAs.

Download Full-text