Emotionally charged stimuli have been reported as efficient distractors during visual search (e.g., Eastwood, Smilek, Merikle, 2001; Hansen & Hansen, 1988; Öhman, 2002; Öhman, Flykt, & Esteves, 2001; Öhman & Soares, 1993). The extensiveness and specificity of the influence of such distractions for attention and performance beyond the context of their presentation were currently investigated. Of interest was whether prior experiences of distraction from such stimuli influence spatial attention during a subsequent visual event. General and location-specific bases of such effects and the role of memory in modulating these were investigated. Over a series of trials, participants performed a target localization task during a prime event involving exposure to an emotionally charged distractor, or only neutral distractors. Subsequently, performance at the same task was measured when only neutral distractors were presented during a probe event. During each event, one of four shapes had to be identified and responded to as a target. Distractor images were presented within each shape outline. Whether or not the shapes were the same or different across the prime and probe event of a trial was manipulated as a test of the role of memory in modulating effects across the events of a trial. Earlier findings of immediate impairments to attention based in exposure to emotionally charged stimuli were replicated. The current study also revealed the occurrence of robust performance impairments during the probe event subsequent to the disruption of attention during the prime event. Evidence was limited in suggesting that the impairments depended on which location the emotional stimulus occupied during the prime event. Strong evidence, however, was observed for global impairments on attention across visual events, conditional on task demands being similar during both. An account of the findings which incorporates memory was suggested, whereby retrieval processes engaged during the probe event support access to the interaction history with emotionally charged stimuli during the prime event. Consistent experience with emotional stimuli requiring no response produced a prominent cognitive refraction period at the time of the probe event, requiring that attention be re-centered to the task. Less consistent experiences produced a briefer refractory period.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:MANITOBA/oai:mspace.lib.umanitoba.ca:1993/23993 |
| Date | 08 September 2014 |
| Creators | Labossière, Danielle I. |
| Contributors | Leboe-McGowan, Jason (Psychology), Mondor, Todd (Psychology) Jamieson, Randall (Psychology) Smith, Stephen (Psychology) Hare, James (Biological Sciences) Arnell, Karen (Psychology, Brock University) |
| Source Sets | University of Manitoba Canada |
| Detected Language | English |
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