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

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Working memory modulates the anger superiority effect in central and peripheral visual fields.

Xiang Li¹, Zhen Lin¹, Yufei Chen¹

¹School of Psychology, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, People's Republic of China.

Cognition & Emotion

|December 24, 2022

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

The anger superiority effect (ASE), where angry faces are detected faster, can be eliminated by manipulating working memory (WM). Strengthening top-down WM control overrides the ASE, showing its influence across visual fields.

Keywords:

Anger superiority effect attention peripheral visual field working memory

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Neuroscience
Visual Perception

Background:

The anger superiority effect (ASE) demonstrates faster detection of angry faces among distractors.
Previous research suggests emotional stimuli capture attention, but the role of cognitive control is less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if top-down working memory (WM) manipulation can alter the ASE.
To examine this effect in both central and peripheral visual fields.

Main Methods:

Participants performed a visual search task involving faces with different expressions while holding a color in working memory.
Trial types varied based on the color-to-face match (target-matching, distractor-matching, non-matching).
The experiment was conducted in central vision and adapted for peripheral crowding conditions.

Main Results:

The ASE was present when the likelihood of target-matching trials was low.
Increasing the probability of target-matching trials (strengthening top-down WM) eliminated the ASE in target-matching conditions.
Similar effects were observed in the peripheral crowding task, suggesting robustness across visual fields.

Conclusions:

The anger superiority effect is significantly modulated by top-down working memory control.
Cognitive control mechanisms can override automatic emotional stimulus processing, irrespective of visual field location.