Dataset Information

Interactive influences of emotion and extraversion on visual attention.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Emotion has been shown to influence selective visual attention. However, studies in this field have revealed contradictory findings regarding the nature of this influence. One possible explanation for the variation in findings is that affective inter-individual differences impact both attention and emotion and may therefore moderate any influence of emotion on attention. The current work is a novel investigation of the effects of induced emotional states and the traits of extraversion and neuroticism on visual attention. This allowed a direct investigation of any impact of extraversion and neuroticism on the way in which emotion influences attention.

Methods

Participants were induced into positive, neutral, and negative emotional states before completing a change detection flicker task in which they were required to locate a change to a real-world scene as quickly and accurately as possible.

Results

Participants scoring higher in extraversion were more accurate but slower at detecting changes. Importantly, this was particularly evident when induced into a negative emotional state compared to a neutral emotional state. Neuroticism had no impact on attention.

Conclusions

The current study provides evidence that extraversion can moderate the influence of negative emotion upon visual attention and may help to explain some of the contradictory findings in this research area. When considered independently, increased trait levels of extraversion were associated with improved change detection. Individuals higher in extraversion appear better equipped to regulate negative emotion compared to individuals lower in extraversion, supporting research linking extraversion to affective reactivity and models of psychopathology.

SUBMITTER: Bendall RCA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8613417 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Multiple emotion regulation strategies have been identified and found to differ in their effectiveness at decreasing negative emotions. One reason for this might be that individual strategies are associated with differing levels of cognitive demand and require distinct patterns of visual attention to achieve their effects. In the current study, we tested this hypothesis in a sample of psychiatrically healthy participants (n = 25) who attempted to down-regulate negative emotion to photographs from the International Affective Picture System using cognitive reappraisal or distraction. Eye movements, pupil dilation, and subjective reports of negative emotionality were obtained for reappraisal, distraction, unpleasant passive viewing, and neutral passive viewing conditions. Behavioral results indicated that reappraisal and distraction successfully decreased self-reported negative affect relative to unpleasant passive viewing. Successful down regulation of negative affect was associated with different patterns of visual attention across regulation strategies. During reappraisal, there was an initial increase in dwell time to arousing scene regions and a subsequent shift away from these regions during later portions of the trial, whereas distraction was associated with reduced total dwell time to arousing interest areas throughout the entire stimulus presentation. Pupil dilation was greater for reappraisal than distraction or unpleasant passive viewing, suggesting that reappraisal may recruit more effortful cognitive control processes. Furthermore, greater decreases in self-reported negative emotion were associated with a lower proportion of dwell time within arousing areas of interest. These findings suggest that different emotion regulation strategies necessitate different patterns of visual attention to be effective and that individual differences in visual attention predict the extent to which individuals can successfully decrease negative emotion using reappraisal and distraction.