Origins and source of emotion as factors that modulate the scope of attention
Origins and source of emotion as factors that modulate the scope of attention

Summary/Abstract: The processes of visual attention and stimulus detection are a key stage of perception. In the presented studies we tested the role of the genesis (automatic vs. reflective) and source (internal vs. external stimuli) of emotions in the detection of new stimuli (close to or distant from the fixation point). We expected (1) a narrowing of the field of attention in the case of automatic emotion elicitation or internal sources of emotion; (2) an extension of attention field in the case of reflective processes or external sources of emotion. In Study 1 (N = 90) we used explicit presentation of sentences eliciting emotions. In Study 2 (N = 60) we used degraded presentation (32 ms + masking) of words charged with affect. The hypotheses were partly confirmed by the data collected. We found that in the case of eliciting emotions with automatic origin or internal source detection times were significantly shorter for stimuli occurring close to the fixation point. In the case of reflective emotion eliciting condition and external emotion source, no significant differences were observed in reaction times between stimuli close to and distant from the fixation point.

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