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Updated: May 24, 2026
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Measuring Attentional Biases for Threat in Children and Adults
Published on: October 19, 2014
Threatening pictures induce shortened time-to-contact estimates
Esther Brendel1, Patricia R DeLucia, Heiko Hecht
1Psychologisches Institut, Abteilung Allgemeine Experimentelle Psychologie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Wallstrasse 3, 55099 Mainz, Germany. ebrendel@uni-mainz.de
Attention, Perception & Psychophysics
|March 8, 2012
Summary
Estimating time-to-collision (TTC) is vital for survival. This study found that the emotional impact of approaching objects, like threatening images or angry faces, can alter TTC judgments, making them seem closer.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive psychology
- Neuroscience
- Animal behavior
Background:
- Accurate estimation of time-to-collision (TTC) is essential for mobile organisms to navigate and avoid threats.
- Traditional models of TTC estimation rely on optical variables, such as tau, and do not account for affective influences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether the affective value of approaching objects influences TTC judgments.
- To explore the role of cognitive and affective mechanisms in modulating TTC estimation and time perception.
Main Methods:
- Three experiments were conducted using visual stimuli presented on a screen.
- Participants estimated TTC for approaching objects, including threatening and neutral images from the International Affective Picture System, and faces with varying emotional expressions.
Main Results:
- Threatening images, especially those depicting a frontal attack, were perceived to collide earlier than neutral images.
- Time-to-collision was generally underestimated for angry facial expressions.
- Affective value significantly modulated TTC judgments, contrary to predictions based solely on optical variables.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive factors, specifically the affective value of stimuli, play a significant role in TTC estimation.
- Emotional perception can alter the subjective experience of time and proximity, impacting critical survival behaviors.
- These findings suggest that TTC estimation is not purely an optical process but is influenced by higher-level cognitive and emotional processing.
