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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Central and Divided Visual Field Presentation of Emotional Images to Measure Hemispheric Differences in Motivated Attention
Published on: November 16, 2017
The effect of happiness and sadness on alerting, orienting, and executive attention
Anne M Finucane1, Martha C Whiteman, Mick J Power
1University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK. a.finucane@sms.ed.ac.uk
Objective:
According to the attention network approach, attention is best understood in terms of three functionally and neuroanatomically distinct networks-alerting, orienting, and executive attention. An important question is whether the experience of emotion differentially influences the efficiency of these networks.
Method:
This study examines 180 participants were randomly assigned to a happy, sad, or control condition and undertook a modified version of the Attention Network Test.
Results:
The results showed no effect of happiness or sadness on alerting, orienting, or executive attention. However, sad participants showed reduced intrinsic alertness.
Conclusion:
This suggests that sadness reduces general alertness rather than impairing the efficiency of specific attention networks.
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