Beyond attentional bias: a perceptual bias in a dot-probe task.
Previous dot-probe studies indicate that threat-related face cues induce a bias in spatial attention. Independently of spatial attention, a recent psychophysical study suggests that a bilateral fearful face cue improves low spatial-frequency perception (LSF) and impairs high spatial-frequency perception (HSF). Here, we combine these separate lines of research within a single dot-probe paradigm. We found that a bilateral fearful face cue, compared with a bilateral neutral face cue, speeded up responses to LSF targets and slowed down responses to HSF targets. This finding is important, as it shows that emotional cues in dot-probe tasks not only bias where information is preferentially processed (i.e., an attentional bias in spatial location), but also bias what type of information is preferentially processed (i.e., a perceptual bias in spatial frequency).
Department of Psychology, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. bocanegra@fsw.eur.nl
Bruno R
BR
Bocanegra
Jorg
J
Huijding
René
R
Zeelenberg
D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D003463:Cues; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005149:Facial Expression; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012938:Social Perception; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult