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Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments
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Published on: January 23, 2017

Positive affect increases the breadth of attentional selection.

G Rowe1, J B Hirsh, A K Anderson

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 3G3.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|December 22, 2006
PubMed
Summary

Positive affect broadens attentional scope, enhancing semantic access while impairing visual selective attention. This suggests positive mood states fundamentally alter how individuals process information by reducing inhibitory control.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Affective Science

Background:

  • Positive affect is theorized to broaden cognitive scope.
  • Understanding how positive mood influences attentional processes is crucial for cognitive science.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of positive affect on attentional filter scope.
  • To examine effects across both semantic and visuospatial cognitive domains.

Main Methods:

  • Assessed semantic search using the remote associates task.
  • Measured visual selective attention with the Eriksen flanker task.
  • Induced positive mood states to observe cognitive changes.

Main Results:

  • Positive affect improved performance on the remote associates task, indicating broader semantic access.
  • Positive affect impaired performance on the Eriksen flanker task, suggesting broader visuospatial attention.
  • Enhanced semantic access correlated with impaired visual attention under positive mood.

Conclusions:

  • Positive mood states broaden attentional scope in both conceptual and visuospatial domains.
  • Reduced inhibitory control is a key mechanism underlying these attentional shifts.
  • Findings demonstrate a fundamental change in attentional allocation during positive affect.