scholarly journals Distraction by deviant sounds: disgusting and neutral words capture attention to the same extent

2019 ◽  
Vol 84 (7) ◽  
pp. 1801-1814
Author(s):  
Fabrice B. R. Parmentier ◽  
Isabel Fraga ◽  
Alicia Leiva ◽  
Pilar Ferré
Keyword(s):  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Semantic Content ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Involuntary Attention ◽  
Individual Sensitivity ◽  
Bayesian Analyses ◽  
Categorization Task ◽  
Standard Tone ◽  
Task Irrelevant

Abstract Several studies have argued that words evoking negative emotions, such as disgust, grab attention more than neutral words, and leave traces in memory that are more persistent. However, these conclusions are typically based on tasks requiring participants to process the semantic content of these words in a voluntarily manner. We sought to compare the involuntary attention grabbing power of disgusting and neutral words using them as rare and unexpected auditory distractors in a cross-modal oddball task, and then probing the participants’ memory for these stimuli in a surprise recognition task. Frequentist and Bayesian analyses converged to show that, compared to a standard tone, disgusting and neutral auditory words produced significant but equivalent levels of distraction in a visual categorization task, that they elicited comparable levels of memory discriminability in the incidental recognition task, and that the participants’ individual sensitivity to disgust did not influence the results. Our results suggest that distraction by unexpected words is not modulated by their emotional valence, at least when these words are task-irrelevant and are temporally and perceptually decoupled from the target stimuli.

scholarly journals Positive Emotions Boost Enthusiastic Responsiveness to Capitalization Attempts. Dissecting Self-Report, Physiology, and Behavior

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukasz D. Kaczmarek ◽  
Todd B. Kashdan ◽  
Maciej Behnke ◽  
Martyna Dziekan ◽  
Ewelina Matuła ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Physiological Reactivity ◽  
Direct Effects ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Video Clips ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Positive And Negative Emotions

AbstractWhen individuals communicate enthusiasm for good events in their partners' lives, they contribute to a high-quality relationship; a phenomenon termed interpersonal capitalization. However, little is known when individuals are more ready to react enthusiastically to the partner's success. To address this gap, we examined whether positive and negative emotions boost or inhibit enthusiastic responses to partner's capitalization attempts (RCA). Participants (N = 224 individuals) responded to their partner's success. Before each capitalization attempt (operationalized as responses following the news that their partner won money in a game), we used video clips to elicit positive (primarily amusement) or negative (primarily anger) or neutral emotions in the responder. We recorded emotional valence, smiling intensity, verbal RCA, and physiological reactivity. We found indirect (but not direct) effects such that eliciting positive emotions boosted and negative emotions inhibited enthusiastic RCA (smiling intensity and enthusiastic verbal RCA). These effects were relatively small and mediated by emotional valence and smiling intensity but not physiological reactivity. The results offer novel evidence that positive emotions fuel the capitalization process.

scholarly journals Internet Users Engage More With Phatic Posts Than With Health Misinformation On Facebook

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manon Berriche ◽  
Sacha Altay
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Real World Data ◽  
Internet Users ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Evolution Dynamics

Social media like Facebook are harshly criticized for the propagation of health misinformation. Yet, little research has provided in-depth analysis of real-world data to measure the extent to which Internet users engage with it. This article examines 6.5 million interactions generated by 500 posts on an emblematic case of online health misinformation: the Facebook page Santé + Mag, which generates five times more interactions than the combination of the five best-established French media outlets. Based on the literature on cultural evolution, we tested whether the presence of cognitive factors of attraction, that tap into evolved cognitive preferences, such as information related to sexuality, social relations, threat, disgust or negative emotions, could explain the success of Santé + Mag’s posts. Drawing from media studies findings, we hypothesized that their popularity could be driven by Internet users’ desire to interact with their friends and family by sharing phatic posts (i.e. statements with no practical information fulfilling a social function such as “hello” or “sister, I love you”).We found that phatic posts were the strongest predictor of interactions, followed by posts with a positive emotional valence. While 50% of the posts were related to social relations, only 28% consisted of health misinformation. Despite its cognitive appeal, health misinformation was a negative predictor of interactions. Sexual contents negatively predicted interactions and other factors of attraction such as disgust, threat or negative emotions did not predict interactions. These results strengthen the idea that Facebook is first and foremost a social network used by people to foster their social relations, not to spread online misinformation. We encourage researchers working on misinformation to conduct finer-grained analysis of online contents and to adopt interdisciplinary approach to study the phatic dimension of communication, together with positive contents, to better understand the cultural evolution dynamics of social media.

scholarly journals Do Reward-Related Distractors Impair Cognitive Performance? Perhaps Not

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorottya Rusz ◽  
Erik Bijleveld ◽  
Michiel A. J. Kompier
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Mental Arithmetic ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Arithmetic Task ◽  
Bayesian Analyses ◽  
Monetary Rewards ◽  
Mental Arithmetic Task ◽  
Task Irrelevant ◽  
Math Problems

Over a hundred prior studies show that reward-related distractors capture attention. It is less clear, however, whether and when reward-related distractors affect performance on tasks that require cognitive control. In this experiment, we examined whether reward-related distractors impair performance during a demanding arithmetic task. Participants (N = 81) solved math problems, while they were exposed to task-irrelevant stimuli that were previously associated with monetary rewards (vs. not). Although we found some evidence for reward learning in the training phase, results from the test phase showed no evidence that reward-related distractors harm cognitive performance. This null effect was invariant across different versions of our task. We examined the results further with Bayesian analyses, which showed positive evidence for the null. Altogether, the present study showed that reward-related distractors did not harm performance on a mental arithmetic task. When considered together with previous studies, the present study suggests that the negative impact of reward-related distractors on cognitive control is not as straightforward as it may seem, and that more research is needed to clarify the circumstances under which reward-related distractors harm cognitive control.

On separating processes of event categorization, task preparation, and mental rotation proper in a handedness recognition task

1999 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 399-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
JASMIN BAJRIČ ◽  
FRANK RÖSLER ◽  
MARTIN HEIL ◽  
ERWIN HENNIGHAUSEN
Keyword(s):  
Mental Rotation ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Categorization Task ◽  
Task Preparation

A preliminary typology of emotional connotations in morphological diminutives and augmentatives

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maïa Ponsonnet
Keyword(s):  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Regional Studies ◽  
Positive And Negative Emotions

Abstract This article presents a preliminary typology of emotional connotations in evaluative morphology, starting with diminutives and augmentatives. I inventory the emotional meanings and connotations found in a sample of nineteen languages for diminutives, and nine languages plus a few additional regional studies for augmentatives. Given the small size of the samples, this typology can only remain preliminary, but it does highlight a number of points. Across languages and continents, diminutives can express positive emotions such as compassion, love and admiration, as well as negative emotions such as contempt. The emotional connotations of augmentatives are more limited, but display a blend of positive and negative emotions including contempt and repulsion, admiration and respect, endearment and compassion. Diminutives and augmentatives do not contrast sharply with respect to emotional valence (positive or negative), but while diminutives are anchored in intimacy, the emotions conveyed by augmentatives more often relate to broader social contexts.

scholarly journals Contrasting Cortical Activity Associated with Category Memory and Recognition Memory

1998 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 420-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul J. Reber ◽  
Craig E.L. Stark ◽  
Larry R. Squire
Keyword(s):  
Recognition Memory ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Occipital Cortex ◽  
Fmri Data ◽  
Categorization Task ◽  
Neuroimaging Data ◽  
Familiar Stimuli

We collected functional neuroimaging data while volunteers performed similar categorization and recognition memory tasks. In the categorization task, volunteers first studied a series of 40 dot patterns that were distortions of a nonstudied prototype dot pattern. After a delay, while fMRI data were collected, they categorized 72 novel dot patterns according to whether or not they belonged to the previously studied category. In the recognition task, volunteers first studied five dot patterns eight times each. After a delay, while fMRI data were collected, they judged whether each of 72 dot patterns had been studied earlier. We found strikingly different patterns of brain activity in visual processing areas for the two tasks. During the categorization task, the familiar stimuli were associated with decreased activity in posterior occipital cortex, whereas during the recognition task, the familiar stimuli were associated with increased activity in this area. The findings indicate that these two types of memory have contrasting effects on early visual processing and reinforce the view that declarative and nondeclarative memory operate independently.

Relating Individual Differences in Trait-Anxiety to Memory Functioning in Young Children

2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lavinia Cheie ◽  
Laura Visu-Petra
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Visual Recognition ◽  
Cognitive Biases ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Verbal Recall ◽  
Memory Functioning ◽  
High Anxious ◽  
Delayed Recognition ◽  
Task Irrelevant ◽  
Dynamic Interplay

There is extensive evidence indicating cognitive biases at several stages of information processing in high-anxious children. Little research, however, has investigated a potential memory bias toward negative information in high-anxious young children. We studied immediate and delayed verbal recall as well as delayed visual recognition in a sample of high-trait-anxious (HA) and low-trait-anxious (LA) preschoolers (N = 76, mean age = 65 months), using stimuli containing task-irrelevant emotional valence (positive, negative, neutral). The findings revealed that, compared to their LA counterparts, HA preschoolers displayed (1) a tendency to be less accurate in the immediate verbal recall task, (2) poorer recall of negative words in the immediate condition and poorer recall of neutral words in the delayed condition, (3) impaired delayed recognition of identities with happy facial expressions and a tendency to better recognize identities expressing anger. Results are discussed considering the dynamic interplay between personality, emotion and cognitive factors during early development.

Effects of Subliminal Affective Priming on Helping Behavior Using the Foot-in-the-Door Technique

2012 ◽  
Vol 111 (3) ◽  
pp. 669-686 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inès Skandrani-Marzouki ◽  
Yousri Marzouki ◽  
Robert-Vincent Joule
Keyword(s):  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Helping Behavior ◽  
Affective Priming ◽  
Cognitive Resources ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Initial Request ◽  
Priming Condition ◽  
Compliant Behavior

Two experiments examined the effect of subliminal affective priming on compliance using the foot-in-the-door (FITD) paradigm. Prior to the target request, participants were exposed to subliminal emotional expressions. FITD (presence vs absence of initial request) was crossed with Priming (positive, negative, neutral, and absence of prime-blank screen) in a between-subjects design. 180 students volunteered as participants ( M = 22 years). 20 participants (10 females) were assigned to each of eight experimental conditions plus the control condition that neither involved the initial request nor the priming experiment. Participants were asked to judge whether target sentences were relevant or not for road safety instruction. In Experiment 1, emotional valence of prime stimuli affected both endorsement rate and time devoted to the target request but not participants' attitude. Affective priming effects did not interact significantly with the FITD effect. In Experiment 2, in 180 more students, the attitude measure was replaced by an implicit recognition task. Results showed that regardless of priming condition, in the absence of FITD, participants recognized target sentences better than in the presence of FITD. Conversely, in the presence of the FITD, participants recognized more accurately previously seen sentences that were primed by positive emotions relative to other priming conditions. The latter result suggests that the presence of the FITD involves a significant amount of cognitive resources so that only stimuli emotionally relevant to the task's goal (i.e., positive) tend to be processed. Together, these results could explain how, contrary to helping behavior, compliant behavior that has no direct association with the prime stimuli was not easily influenced by the affective subliminal priming.

scholarly journals The Effect of Task-Irrelevant Emotional Valence on Limited Attentional Resources During Deception: An ERPs Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Liang ◽  
Qian-Nan Ruan ◽  
Ke-Ke Fu ◽  
Yu-Hsin Chen ◽  
Wen-Jing Yan
Keyword(s):  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Deception Detection ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Emotional Information ◽  
Attentional Resources ◽  
Emotional Processes ◽  
Dyadic Process ◽  
Task Irrelevant

Deception is a complex and cognitively draining dyadic process that simultaneously involves cognitive and emotional processes, both of which demand/capture attentional resources. However, few studies have investigated the allocation of attentional resources between cognitive and emotional processes during deception. The current study presented facial expressions of different valences to 36 participants. While an electroencephalogram was recording, they were asked to make either truthful or deceptive gender judgments according to preceding cues. The results showed that deceptive responses induced smaller P300 amplitudes than did truthful responses. Task-irrelevant negative emotional information (TiN) elicited larger P300 amplitudes than did task-irrelevant positive emotional information (TiP). Furthermore, the results showed that TiN elicited larger LPP amplitudes than did TiP in deceptive responses, but not in truthful ones. The results suggested that attentional resources were directed away to deception-related cognitive processes and TiN, but not TiP, was consistently able to compete for and obtain attentional resources during deception. The results indicated that TiN could disrupt with deception and may facilitate deception detection.

scholarly journals Effects of Emotion and Emotional Valence on the Neural Correlates of Episodic Memory Search and Elaboration

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 825-839 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaclyn Hennessey Ford ◽  
John A. Morris ◽  
Elizabeth A. Kensinger
Keyword(s):  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Phase Retrieval ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Memory Search ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Study Phase ◽  
Positive Events ◽  
Medial Pfc

Successful retrieval of an event includes an initial search phase in which the information is accessed and a subsequent elaboration phase in which an individual expands on event details. Traditionally, functional neuroimaging studies examining episodic memory retrieval either have not made a distinction between these two phases or have focused on the initial search process. The current study used an extended retrieval trial to compare the neural correlates of search and elaboration and to examine the effects of emotion on each phase. Before scanning, participants encoded positive, negative, and neutral images paired with neutral titles. After a 30-min delay, participants engaged in a scanned recognition task in which they viewed the neutral titles and indicated whether the title had been presented with an image during the study phase. Retrieval was divided into an initial memory search and a subsequent 5-sec elaboration phase. The current study identified neural differences between the search and elaboration phases, with search being associated with widespread bilateral activations across the entire cortex and elaboration primarily being associated with increased activity in the medial pFC. The emotionality of the retrieval target was more influential during search relative to elaboration. However, valence influenced when the effect of emotion was greatest, with search engaging many more regions for positive events than negative ones, but elaboration engaging the dorsomedial pFC more for negative events than positive events.

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