Emotion based attentional priority for storage in visual short-term memory
Authors
Simione, LucaCalabrese, Lucia
Belardinelli, Marta Olivetti
MARUCCI, Francesco Saverio

RAFFONE, Antonino

Maratos, Frances A.

Affiliation
University of DerbyIssue Date
2014-05-01
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A plethora of research demonstrates that the processing of emotional faces is prioritised over non-emotive stimuli when cognitive resources are limited (this is known as ‘emotional superiority’). However, there is debate as to whether competition for processing resources results in emotional superiority per se, or more specifically, threat superiority. Therefore, to investigate prioritisation of emotional stimuli for storage in visual short-term memory (VSTM), we devised an original VSTM report procedure using schematic (angry, happy, neutral) faces in which processing competition was manipulated. In Experiment 1, display exposure time was manipulated to create competition between stimuli. Participants (n = 20) had to recall a probed stimulus from a set size of four under high (150 ms array exposure duration) and low (400 ms array exposure duration) perceptual processing competition. For the high competition condition (i.e. 150 ms exposure), results revealed an emotional superiority effect per se. In Experiment 2 (n = 20), we increased competition by manipulating set size (three versus five stimuli), whilst maintaining a constrained array exposure duration of 150 ms. Here, for the five-stimulus set size (i.e. maximal competition) only threat superiority emerged. These findings demonstrate attentional prioritisation for storage in VSTM for emotional faces. We argue that task demands modulated the availability of processing resources and consequently the relative magnitude of the emotional/threat superiority effect, with only threatening stimuli prioritised for storage in VSTM under more demanding processing conditions. Our results are discussed in light of models and theories of visual selection, and not only combine the two strands of research (i.e. visual selection and emotion), but highlight a critical factor in the processing of emotional stimuli is availability of processing resources, which is further constrained by task demands.Citation
Simione, L, Calabrese, L, Marucci, F, Belardinelli, M, Raffone, A, & Maratos, F n.d., 'Emotion Based Attentional Priority for Storage in Visual Short-Term Memory', Plos One, 9, 5Publisher
PLOSJournal
PLoS ONEDOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0095261Additional Links
http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0095261Type
ArticleLanguage
enISSN
1932-6203ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1371/journal.pone.0095261
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