Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Association Areas of the Cortex01:21

Association Areas of the Cortex

7.7K
Association areas are regions of the cerebral cortex that do not have a specific sensory or motor function. Instead, they integrate and interpret information from various sources to enable higher cognitive processes such as memory, learning, and decision-making. Some key association areas include the following:
Prefrontal Association Area: This area is located in the frontal lobe and is involved in planning, decision-making, and moderating social behavior. It connects with primary motor areas,...
7.7K
Facial Feedback Hypothesis01:24

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

401
Charles Darwin proposed that facial expressions are an evolutionary adaptation for communication. He argued that these expressions are not influenced by culture but are universal across species. For example, a snarling expression with exposed teeth signals a threat in many animals, including humans. Darwin also suggested that displaying an emotion can intensify the feeling. Smiling, for example, could enhance one's sense of happiness. This idea laid the foundation for understanding the role...
401
Factors Affecting Perception01:25

Factors Affecting Perception

2.3K
Perception is influenced by perceptual set, context, motivation, and emotion. Perceptual set, or perceptual expectancy, refers to the tendency to perceive things in a particular way, influenced by previous experiences and expectations. This phenomenon affects the interpretation of stimuli, creating a set of mental tendencies and assumptions that impact sensory perceptions of sound, taste, touch, and sight.
An illustrative example of a perceptual set is the scenario where an airline pilot told...
2.3K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Attention modulated learning effect of facial emotion discrimination on the theta band neural oscillations.

Acta psychologica·2026
Same author

Mindfulness training enhances face working memory: evidence from the drift-diffusion model.

NPJ science of learning·2025
Same author

The sustained effect of 5-week EmotionCore mindfulness training on emotion regulation and emotional intelligence: heterogeneous benefits for depression and anxiety across subgroups.

Frontiers in psychiatry·2025
Same author

Asymmetric transfer between the learning of the complex stimulus.

Frontiers in neuroscience·2025
Same author

Deficits in emotional cognition among individuals with conduct disorder: theoretical perspectives.

Frontiers in psychiatry·2024
Same author

The mutual influences between working memory and empathy for pain: the role of social distance.

Social cognitive and affective neuroscience·2024

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 20, 2025

Measuring Attentional Biases for Threat in Children and Adults
08:25

Measuring Attentional Biases for Threat in Children and Adults

Published on: October 19, 2014

15.6K

How Does Fearful Emotion Affect Visual Attention?

Zhe Shang1, Yingying Wang2, Taiyong Bi3

  • 1Department of Human Resource Management, School of Government, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.

Frontiers in Psychology
|January 25, 2021
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Fearful faces enhance visual acuity, improving perception of potential threats. This emotional attention effect on vision occurs around 300 ms after stimulus onset.

Keywords:
attentionemotionfearful emotionperceptual facilitationvisual acuity

More Related Videos

Using the Threat Probability Task to Assess Anxiety and Fear During Uncertain and Certain Threat
11:18

Using the Threat Probability Task to Assess Anxiety and Fear During Uncertain and Certain Threat

Published on: September 12, 2014

15.5K
Central and Divided Visual Field Presentation of Emotional Images to Measure Hemispheric Differences in Motivated Attention
05:36

Central and Divided Visual Field Presentation of Emotional Images to Measure Hemispheric Differences in Motivated Attention

Published on: November 16, 2017

7.8K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Nov 20, 2025

Measuring Attentional Biases for Threat in Children and Adults
08:25

Measuring Attentional Biases for Threat in Children and Adults

Published on: October 19, 2014

15.6K
Using the Threat Probability Task to Assess Anxiety and Fear During Uncertain and Certain Threat
11:18

Using the Threat Probability Task to Assess Anxiety and Fear During Uncertain and Certain Threat

Published on: September 12, 2014

15.5K
Central and Divided Visual Field Presentation of Emotional Images to Measure Hemispheric Differences in Motivated Attention
05:36

Central and Divided Visual Field Presentation of Emotional Images to Measure Hemispheric Differences in Motivated Attention

Published on: November 16, 2017

7.8K

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Visual Perception

Background:

  • Threatening emotions are hypothesized to enhance sensory perception for adaptive responses.
  • Previous research suggests emotion influences attentional processes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effect of fearful emotion on basic visual acuity.
  • To determine the temporal dynamics of emotional influence on visual perception.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized an adapted Posner's spatial cueing task with fearful and neutral faces as cues.
  • Employed a Vernier discrimination task as the probe to measure visual acuity.
  • Varied stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) to examine the time course of the emotional attention effect.

Main Results:

  • Brief presentation of fearful faces significantly increased visual acuity at the cued location.
  • Facilitation of perceptual sensitivity was observed around 300 ms SOA.
  • The effect was specific to upright faces, as inverted faces did not yield improvements.

Conclusions:

  • Emotion, specifically fear, interacts with attention to modulate fundamental visual functions.
  • Fearful stimuli can enhance visual acuity, supporting theories of threat detection.
  • The timing of emotional stimuli is crucial for observing effects on visual perception.