Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

High negative valence does not protect emotional event-related potentials from spatial inattention and perceptual load

High negative valence does not protect emotional event-related potentials from spatial... Previous research suggests that intense, emotional pictures at fixation elicit an early posterior negativity (EPN) and a late positive potential (LPP) despite manipulations of spatial inattention and perceptual load. However, if high emotional intensity protects against such manipulations, then these manipulations should reduce emotional effects on EPN and LPP more strongly for medium than for intense emotional pictures. To test this prediction, pictures that were high negative, medium negative, or neutral were shown at fixation, and a small letter string was superimposed on the picture center. When participants attended the pictures, there were clear emotional effects on EPN and LPP. When participants attended the letter string, the emotional effects on LPP decreased; this decrease was smaller for medium than for high negative pictures. Thus, opposite of predictions, spatial inattention reduced the emotional effects more strongly for high than for medium negative pictures. As a manipulation of perceptual load, participants performed the letter task with one, three, or six relevant letters. Irrespective of load, EPN and LPP were similar for high and medium negative pictures. Our findings suggest that high negative valence does not protect EPN and LPP more strongly from effects of spatial inattention and perceptual load than does medium negative valence. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Cognitive, Affective, & Behaviorial Neuroscience Springer Journals

High negative valence does not protect emotional event-related potentials from spatial inattention and perceptual load

Loading next page...
 
/lp/springer-journals/high-negative-valence-does-not-protect-emotional-event-related-DGRvWkGHRo

References (40)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2011 by Psychonomic Society, Inc.
Subject
Psychology; Neurosciences; Cognitive Psychology
ISSN
1530-7026
eISSN
1531-135X
DOI
10.3758/s13415-011-0072-8
pmid
22095306
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Previous research suggests that intense, emotional pictures at fixation elicit an early posterior negativity (EPN) and a late positive potential (LPP) despite manipulations of spatial inattention and perceptual load. However, if high emotional intensity protects against such manipulations, then these manipulations should reduce emotional effects on EPN and LPP more strongly for medium than for intense emotional pictures. To test this prediction, pictures that were high negative, medium negative, or neutral were shown at fixation, and a small letter string was superimposed on the picture center. When participants attended the pictures, there were clear emotional effects on EPN and LPP. When participants attended the letter string, the emotional effects on LPP decreased; this decrease was smaller for medium than for high negative pictures. Thus, opposite of predictions, spatial inattention reduced the emotional effects more strongly for high than for medium negative pictures. As a manipulation of perceptual load, participants performed the letter task with one, three, or six relevant letters. Irrespective of load, EPN and LPP were similar for high and medium negative pictures. Our findings suggest that high negative valence does not protect EPN and LPP more strongly from effects of spatial inattention and perceptual load than does medium negative valence.

Journal

Cognitive, Affective, & Behaviorial NeuroscienceSpringer Journals

Published: Nov 18, 2011

There are no references for this article.