Fearful, but not angry, expressions diffuse attention to peripheral targets in an attentional blink paradigm

Bibliographic Data

ID17764666
AuthorsJames M Taylor (Dartmouth College, corresponding author), Paul J Whalen (Dartmouth Hospital)
Year2014
Volume14
Issue3
Pages462-468
Publication date2014-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueEmotion (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1528-3542 • E-ISSN: 1931-1516
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1037/a0036034
PMID24708498
PMCIDPMC4286700
OpenAlexW2325063434
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited13

We previously demonstrated that fearful facial expressions implicitly facilitate memory for contextual events whereas angry facial expressions do not. The current study sought to more directly address the implicit effect of fearful expressions on attention for contextual events within a classic attentional paradigm (i.e., the attentional blink) in which memory is tested on a trial-by-trial basis, thereby providing subjects with a clear, explicit attentional strategy. Neutral faces of a single gender were presented via rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) while bordered by four gray pound signs. Participants were told to watch for a gender change within the sequence (T1). It is critical to note that the T1 face displayed a neutral, fearful, or angry expression. Subjects were then told to detect a color change (i.e., gray to green; T2) at one of the four peripheral pound sign locations appearing after T1. This T2 color change could appear at one of six temporal positions. Complementing previous attentional blink paradigms, participants were told to respond via button press immediately when a T2 target was detected. We found that, compared with the neutral T1 faces, fearful faces significantly increased target detection ability at four of the six temporal locations (all ps < .05) whereas angry expressions did not. The results of this study demonstrate that fearful facial expressions can uniquely and implicitly enhance environmental monitoring above and beyond explicit attentional effects related to task instructions

Attentional bias · Attentional blink · Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Facial expression · Rapid serial visual presentation · Communication · Face Recognition and Perception · Memory and Neural Mechanisms · Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies · Neuroscience · Psychology

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