Current status of the anger superiority hypothesis: A meta-analytic review of N2pc studies

Temporal dynamics of spatial attentional biases toward weight-related words among females with weight dissatisfaction

Attentional bias toward weight-related stimuli plays a crucial role in the development and maintenance of body image disturbances. However, the temporal dynamics of attentional biases responsible for the previously reported behavioral effects caused by the task-irrelevant but spatial-relevant weight-related stimuli presented in the peripheral visual field among females with high weight dissatisfaction (HWD) remain unclear. The present study combined the modified dot-probe task and event-related potentials to explore the temporal dynamics of spatial attentional biases toward weight-related words among females with HWD. The results showed significantly larger N2pc amplitudes were elicited by fat-related and thin-related words than neutral words only in the HWD group. Moreover, only fat-related words elicited a significant PD for the HWD group, and the PD amplitudes were larger in the HWD group than in the control group. These findings revealed that weight-related words initially captured spatial allocation among females with HWD, and then fat-related words were actively suppressed after the initial capturing.

Influence of flavor information on visual search: Attentional capture by and suppression of flavor-associated colors

Numerous studies have demonstrated the impact of flavor cues on visual search, yet the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. In this experiment, we used event-related potentials (ERPs) to examine whether, and if so, how flavor information could lead to attentional capture by, and suppression of, flavor-associated colors. The participants were asked to taste certain flavored beverages and subsequently complete a shape-based visual search task, while their neural activities were simultaneously recorded. The behavioral results revealed that the participants made slower responses when a distractor in the flavor-associated color (DFAC) was present, suggesting an attentional bias toward the flavor-associated color. The ERP results revealed that the N2pc was detected if the target and the DFAC were shown in the same visual field (e.g. both target and DFCA on the right side of the screen), when the pairings between flavor cues and target colors were incongruent. However, the N2pc was not observed if the target and the DFAC were shown in the opposite visual fields (e.g. target on the right and DFCA on the left side of the screen) for the incongruent color-flavor pairings. Moreover, the distractor positivity (Pd) was observed if the target and the DFAC were shown in the opposite visual field for the congruent color-flavor pairings. These results suggest that both attentional capture and suppression are involved in the influence of flavor information on visual search. Collectively, these findings provide initial electrophysiological evidence on the mechanisms of the crossmodal influence of flavor cues on visual search.

Beyond single paradigms, pipelines, and outcomes: Embracing multiverse analyses in psychophysiology

Psychophysiological research is an inherently complex undertaking due to the nature of the data, and its analysis is characterized by many decision points that shape the final dataset and a study's findings. These decisions create a "multiverse" of possible outcomes, and each decision from study conceptualization to statistical analysis can lead to different results and interpretations. This review describes the concept of multiverse analyses, a methodological approach designed to understand the impact of different decisions on the robustness of a study's findings and interpretation. The emphasis is on transparently showcasing different reasonable approaches for constructing a final dataset and on highlighting the influence of various decision points, from experimental design to data processing and outcome selection. For example, the choice of an experimental task can significantly impact event-related brain potential (ERP) scores or skin conductance responses (SCRs), and different tasks might elicit unique variances in each measure. This review underscores the importance of transparently embracing the flexibility inherent in psychophysiological research and the potential consequences of not understanding the fragility or robustness of experimental findings. By navigating the intricate terrain of the psychophysiological multiverse, this review serves as an introduction, helping researchers to make informed decisions, improve the collective understanding of psychophysiological findings, and push the boundaries of the field.

No influence of emotional expression on size underestimation of upright faces

Faces are a primary means of conveying social information between humans. One important factor modulating the perception of human faces is emotional expression. Face inversion also affects perception, including judgments of emotional expression, possibly through the disruption of configural processing. One intriguing inversion effect is an illusion whereby faces appear to be physically smaller when upright than when inverted. This illusion appears to be highly selective for faces. In this study, we investigated whether the emotional expression of a face (neutral, happy, afraid, and angry) modulates the magnitude of this size illusion. Results showed that for all four expressions, there was a clear bias for inverted stimuli to be judged as larger than upright ones. This demonstrates that there is no influence of emotional expression on the size underestimation of upright faces, a surprising result given that recognition of different emotional expressions is known to be affected unevenly by inversion. Results are discussed considering recent neuroimaging research which used population receptive field (pRF) mapping to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying face perception features and which may provide an explanation for how an upright face appears smaller than an inverted one. Elucidation of this effect would lead to a greater understanding of how humans communicate.

Can we dissociate hypervigilance to social threats from altered perceptual decision-making processes in lonely individuals? An exploration with Drift Diffusion Modeling and event-related potentials

It has been hypothesized that lonely individuals demonstrate hypervigilance toward social threats. However, recent studies have raised doubts about the reliability of tasks commonly used to measure attentional biases toward threats. Two alternative approaches have been suggested to overcome the limitations of traditional analysis of attentional bias. First, the neurophysiological indicators of orienting to threats were shown to have superior psychometric characteristics compared to overt measures of behavioral performance. The second approach involves utilizing computational modeling to isolate latent components corresponding to specific cognitive mechanisms from observable data. To test the usefulness of these approaches in loneliness research, we analyzed behavioral and electroencephalographic (EEG) data from 26 lonely and 26 non-lonely participants who performed a dot-probe task using a computational modeling approach. We applied the Drift Diffusion Model (DDM) and extracted N2pc-an event-related potential that serves as an indicator of spatial attention. No evidence for social threat hypervigilance has been found in DDM parameters nor in N2pc characteristics in the current study. However, we did observe decreased drift rate and increased variability in drift rate between trials within the lonely group, indicating reduced efficiency in perceptual decision-making among lonely individuals. These effects were not detected using standard behavioral measures used in the dot-probe paradigm. Given that DDM indicators were sensitive to differences in perceptual discrimination between the two groups, even when no overt differences were found in standard behavioral measures, it may be postulated that computational approaches offer a more comprehensive understanding of cognitive processes.

Spatial attentional biases toward height-related words in young males with physical stature dissatisfaction

By recording event-related potentials (ERPs) during a dot-probe task, the present study examined the neural dynamics of attentional bias toward height-related words among height dissatisfied males. Sixty male participants screened by Negative Physical Self Scale-Stature Concerns subscale (NPS-S) were assigned into a high height dissatisfaction (HHD) group and a low height dissatisfaction (LHD) group. The results showed that tall-related versus neutral words elicited larger N2pc for both HHD and LHD groups, whereas short-related versus neutral words elicited larger N2pc only for the HHD group. Additionally, an evident Pd was elicited by tall-related words for the HHD group, but not for the LHD group. Taken together, these findings revealed attentional biases toward height-related information for HHD individuals on a neural level. Specifically, HHD individuals showed an enhanced spatial attention oriented toward both tall-related and short-related words, and then, the allocated attention to the tall-related words was terminated by an active suppression mechanism.

The effects of emotional films and subtitle types on eye movement patterns

BACKGROUND

In Taiwan, the use of subtitle is common in TV programs and movies. However, studies on subtitles mostly focus on foreign language learning and film subtitle translation. Few studies address how subtitle types and emotion-laden films affect the viewers' eye movement patterns.

PURPOSE

We aim to examine how the emotion type of film (happy, sad, angry, fear, or neutral) and subtitle type (meaningful subtitle, no subtitle, or meaningless subtitle) affect the dwell times and fixation counts in the subtitle area.

METHODS

This study is a 5 (emotion type of film) × 3 (subtitle type) between-participants design. There were 15 participants per condition, resulting in a total of 225 participants. After watching a film, participants filled out a self-reported questionnaire regarding this film.

RESULTS

The subtitled films have more fixation counts and dwell time for the meaningful subtitle compared to meaningless subtitle and no subtitle. The dwell time was longer on the subtitle area for the sad film than the neutral and happy films. Also, the dwell time was longer on the subtitle area for the fear film than the happy film. There were more fixation counts on the subtitle area for the sad film than the angry and happy films.

CONCLUSIONS

The subtitle meaning is critical in directing overt attention. Also, overt attention directed to the subtitle area is affected by the different emotion types of films.

Violated Expectations for Spatial and Feature Attributes of Visual Trajectories Modulate Event-Related Potential Amplitudes across the Visual Processing Hierarchy

During visual perception the brain must combine its predictions about what is to be perceived with incoming relevant information. The present study investigated how this process interacts with attention by using event-related potentials that index these cognitive mechanisms. Specifically, this study focused on examining how the amplitudes of the N170, N2pc, and N300 would be modulated by violations of expectations for spatial and featural attributes of visual stimuli. Participants viewed a series of shape stimuli in which a salient shape moved across a set of circular locations so that the trajectory of the shape implied the final position and shape of the stimulus. The final salient stimuli occurred in one of four possible outcomes: predictable position and shape, predictable position but unpredictable shape, unpredictable position but predictable shape, and unpredictable position and shape. The N170 was enhanced by unpredictable positions and shapes, whereas the N300 was enlarged only by unpredictable positions. The N2pc was not modulated by violations of expectation for shapes or positions. Additionally, it was observed post-hoc that the P1pc amplitude was increased by unpredictable shapes. These findings revealed that incorrect prediction increases neural activity. Furthermore, they suggest that prediction and attention interact differently in different stages of visual perception, depending on the type of attention being engaged: The N170 indexes initial prediction error signalling irrespective of the type of information (spatial or featural) in which error occurs, followed by the N300 as a marker of prediction updating involving reorientation of spatial attention.

EXPRESS: Testing links between pain-related biases in visual attention and recognition memory: An eye-tracking study based on an impending pain paradigm

Although separate lines of research have evaluated pain-related biases in attention or memory, laboratory studies examining links between attention and memory for pain-related information have received little consideration. In this eye-tracking experiment, we assessed relations between pain-related attention biases (ABs) and recognition memory biases (MBs) among 122 pain-free adults randomly assigned to impending pain (n = 59) versus impending touch (n = 63) conditions wherein offsets of trials that included pain images were followed by subsequent possibly painful and non-painful somatosensory stimulation, respectively. Gaze biases of participants were assessed during presentations of pain-neutral (P-N) and happy-neutral (H-N) face image pairs within these conditions. Subsequently, condition differences in recognition accuracy for previously-viewed versus novel pained and happy face images were examined. Overall gaze durations were significantly longer for pain (versus neutral) faces that signaled impending pain than impending non-painful touch, particularly among the less resilient in the former condition. Impending pain cohorts also exhibited comparatively better recognition accuracy for both pained and happy face images. Finally, longer gaze durations on pain faces that signaled potential pain, but not potential touch, were related to more accurate recognition of previously-viewed pain faces. In sum, pain cues that signal potential personal discomfort maintain visual attention more fully and are subsequently recognized more accuracy than are pain cues that signal non-painful touch stimulation.

Attentional demand induced by visual crowding modulates the anger superiority effect

Previous research on emotional bias in face perception has shown inconsistent findings, proposing either angry or happy faces to be detected more efficiently. A recent study showed that the anger superiority effect (ASE), which showed in the high attentional demand condition, vanished in the low attentional demand condition. The authors thus proposed an attentional demands modulation hypothesis to interpret the inconsistent findings. The present study tested this hypothesis in a visual crowding task in which participants were instructed to determine whether the target face was happy or angry. Attentional demands were manipulated by changing the strength of crowding, including presenting stimuli in different configurations (Experiment 1), and setting different target-flanker separations and presenting stimuli in different eccentricities (Experiment 2). Experiment 1 showed an ASE when the stimulus configuration incurred a high attentional demand. Intriguingly, the ASE became weaker and then disappeared as the attentional demand became lower. Experiment 2 replicated this finding and showed that the ASE decreased as the target-flanker separation became larger. Together, these results suggest that the emergence and magnitude of ASE is modulated by attentional demands, which supports the attentional demands modulation hypothesis.