Do emotional faces capture attention, and does this depend on awareness? Evidence from the visual probe paradigm

Hedger, N. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2733-1913, Garner, M. and Adams, W. J. (2019) Do emotional faces capture attention, and does this depend on awareness? Evidence from the visual probe paradigm. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory & Cognition, 45 (6). pp. 790-802. ISSN 0278-7393 doi: 10.1037/xhp0000640

Abstract/Summary

The visual probe (VP) paradigm provides evidence that emotional stimuli attract attention. Such effects have been reported even when stimuli are presented outside of awareness. These findings have shaped the idea that humans possess a processing pathway that detects evolutionarily significant signals independently of awareness. Here, we addressed 2 unresolved questions: First, if emotional stimuli attract attention, is this driven by their affective content, or by low-level image properties (e.g., luminance contrast)? Second, does attentional capture occur under conditions of genuine unawareness? We found that observers preferentially allocated attention to emotional faces under aware viewing conditions. However, this effect was best explained by low-level stimulus properties, rather than emotional content. When stimuli were presented outside of awareness (via continuous flash suppression or masking), we found no evidence that attention was directed toward emotional face stimuli. Finally, observer's awareness of the stimuli (assessed by d') predicted attentional cuing. Our data challenge existing literature: First, we cast doubt on the notion of preferential attention to emotional stimuli in the absence of awareness. Second, we question whether effects revealed by the VP paradigm genuinely reflect emotion-sensitive processes, instead suggesting they can be more parsimoniously explained by low-level variability between stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/87285
Identification Number/DOI	10.1037/xhp0000640
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	No Reading authors. Back catalogue items Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Department of Psychology
Publisher	American Psychological Association
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