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Age differences in emotion-induced blindness: Positivity effects in early attention
Briana L Kennedy1, Ringo Huang1, Mara Mather1
1Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California.
Emotion (Washington, D.C.)
|August 13, 2019
Summary
Older adults show a positivity effect, prioritizing positive over negative information early in visual attention. This bias, which relies on cognitive control, is reduced under working memory load.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience of Aging
- Human Information Processing
Background:
- Older adults exhibit a positivity effect, favoring positive over negative information in attention and memory.
- The precise stage of cognitive processing and influence on concurrent stimuli remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the early attentional stage of the positivity effect in older adults.
- To determine how working memory load affects this bias.
Main Methods:
- Four experiments using rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) tasks.
- Examined emotion-induced blindness (EIB) with emotional vs. neutral distractors.
- Manipulated working memory load in older adults.
Main Results:
- Both age groups showed EIB, but older adults exhibited an early attentional positivity bias.
- Older adults' bias towards positive, but not negative, stimuli decreased with working memory load.
Conclusions:
- A selective bias for positive information emerges early in visual processing for older adults.
- This positivity bias is dependent on cognitive control resources and working memory capacity.
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