title: Disgust-specific modulation of early attention processes.
abstract: Although threatening images are known to attract and keep our attention, little is known about the existence of emotion-specific attention effects. In this study (N=46), characteristics of an anticipated, disgust-specific effect were investigated by means of a covert orienting paradigm incorporating pictures that were either disgust-evoking, fear-evoking, happiness-evoking or neutral. Attention adhesion to these pictures was measured by the time necessary to identify a peripheral target, presented 100, 200, 500, or 800 ms after picture onset. Main results showed that reaction times were delayed for targets following the disgust-evoking pictures by 100 and 200 ms, suggesting that only these pictures temporarily grabbed hold of participants' attention. These delays were similar for ignore- and attend-instructions, and they were not affected by the participants' anxiety levels or disgust sensitivity. The disgust-specific influence on early attention processes thus appeared very robust, occurring in the majority of participants and without contribution of voluntary- and strategic-attention processes. In contrast, a smaller and less reliable effect of all emotional (arousing) pictures was present in the form of delayed responding in the 100 ms cue-target interval. This effect was more transitory and apparent only in participants with relatively high state-anxiety scores. Practical and theoretical consequences of these findings are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Psychology Department, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic address: JC.van.Hooff@psy.vu.nl.
authors.forename: Johanna C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: van Hooff
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Psychology Department, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van Buuringen
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Psychology Department, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ihsane
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: El M'rabet
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Psychology Department, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Margot
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Gier
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Psychology Department, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Lilian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: van Zalingen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology*; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D003463:Cues; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Arousal; Attention engagement; Disgust; Emotion; Fear; Time-course of attention