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Age-group differences in facets of positive and negative affect.

2011-10-27T14:10:21Z

Author Names: Ready, R. E,Vaidya, J. G,Watson, D,Latzman, R. D,Koffel, E. A,Clark, L. A

Database Source: PsycINFO <March Week 2 2011 to October Week 4 2011>

Journal Title: Aging & Mental Health

Article Title: Age-group differences in facets of positive and negative affect.

Year: 2011

Issue: 6

Volume: 15

Abstract: Objectives: The higher order structure of Positive Affect (PA) and Negative Affect (NA) is comparable in self-report affect data from younger and older adults. The current study advances this work by comparing the factor structure of facets of PA and NA in older and younger adults using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Method: Older (N = 203; M age = 73.5 years, range 65-92) and younger (N = 349; M age = 19.1 years, range 18-30) adults completed the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule-Expanded Form (PANAS-X) (Watson, D., & Clark, L.A. (1999). Manual for the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule--Expanded Form. Iowa City, IA: The University of Iowa), which measures General PA and NA as well as three facets of PA (Joviality, Self-Assurance, and Attentiveness) and four facets of NA (Fear, Sadness, Guilt, and Hostility). Results: Item-level exploratory factor analyses of the facet scales revealed structures that were similar in older and younger adults; however, older adult solutions were more diffuse and diverged more from the PANAS-X scale structure. The facet of Sadness exhibited the largest age-group difference, relating more to guilt and anxiety in older than younger adults. Conclusion: Older adults may discriminate less amongst specific affect terms or may experience greater affective heterogeneity. Further, Sadness may manifest in age-specific ways. The construct variance of Sadness, and how this issue might be related to the assessment of depression in older adults, is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)

Visual attention modulates brain activation to angry voices.

2011-10-27T14:10:21Z

Author Names: Mothes-Lasch, Martin,Mentzel, Hans-Joachim,Miltner, Wolfgang H. R,Straube, Thomas

Database Source: PsycINFO <March Week 2 2011 to October Week 4 2011>

Journal Title: The Journal of Neuroscience

Article Title: Visual attention modulates brain activation to angry voices.

Year: 2011

Issue: 26

Volume: 31

Abstract: In accordance with influential models proposing prioritized processing of threat, previous studies have shown automatic brain responses to angry prosody in the amygdala and the auditory cortex under auditory distraction conditions. However, it is unknown whether the automatic processing of angry prosody is also observed during cross-modal distraction. The current fMRI study investigated brain responses to angry versus neutral prosodic stimuli during visual distraction. During scanning, participants were exposed to angry or neutral prosodic stimuli while visual symbols were displayed simultaneously. By means of task requirements, participants either attended to the voices or to the visual stimuli. While the auditory task revealed pronounced activation in the auditory cortex and amygdala to angry versus neutral prosody, this effect was absent during the visual task. Thus, our results show a limitation of the automaticity of the activation of the amygdala and auditory cortex to angry prosody. The activation of these areas to threat-related voices depends on modality-specific attention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)

Sensory-specific associations stored in the lateral amygdala allow for selective alteration of fear memories.

2011-10-27T14:10:21Z

Author Names: Diaz-Mataix, Lorenzo,Debiec, Jacek,LeDoux, Joseph E,Doyere, Valerie

Database Source: PsycINFO <March Week 2 2011 to October Week 4 2011>

Journal Title: The Journal of Neuroscience

Article Title: Sensory-specific associations stored in the lateral amygdala allow for selective alteration of fear memories.

Year: 2011

Issue: 26

Volume: 31

Abstract: Consolidated long-term fear memories become labile and can be disrupted after being reactivated by the presentation of the unconditioned stimulus (US). Whether this is due to an alteration of the conditioned stimulus (CS) representation in the lateral amygdala (LA) is not known. Here, we show in rats that fear memory reactivation through presentation of the aversive US, like CS presentation, triggers a process which, when disrupted, results in a selective depotentiation of CS-evoked neural responses in the LA in correlation with a selective suppression of CS-elicited fear memory. Thus, an aversive US triggers the reconsolidation of its associated predictor representation in LA. This new finding suggests that sensory-specific associations are stored in the lateral amygdala, allowing for their selective alteration by either element of the association. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)

The measurement of life satisfaction and happiness in old-old age.

2011-10-27T14:10:21Z

Author Names: Bishop, Alex J,Martin, Peter

Database Source: PsycINFO <March Week 2 2011 to October Week 4 2011>

Journal Title:

Article Title: The measurement of life satisfaction and happiness in old-old age.

Year: 2011

Issue:

Volume:

Abstract: (from the chapter) Happiness and satisfaction with life has emerged as a renewed topic of interest among gerontological investigators. However, the conceptualization of life satisfaction and happiness in advanced later life can present challenges relative to selection of proper measurement instrumentation. This chapter addresses the conceptualization and measurement of life satisfaction and happiness in very old age in three key ways. First, the conceptualization of subjective well-being is addressed in reference to the oldest old. Second, psychometric properties pertaining to past and current use of classical (e.g., Life Satisfaction Index-A), second-generation (e.g., Satisfaction with Life Scale), and domain-specific (e.g., Retirement Satisfaction Index) measures of subjective well-being within old and very old populations is addressed. Third, future directions for the advancement of measurement of subjective well-being in old-old populations are highlighted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)

Perceptual grouping, not emotion, accounts for search asymmetries with schematic faces.

2011-10-27T14:10:21Z

Author Names: Becker, Stefanie I,Horstmann, Gernot,Remington, Roger W

Database Source: PsycINFO <March Week 2 2011 to October Week 4 2011>

Journal Title: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance

Article Title: Perceptual grouping, not emotion, accounts for search asymmetries with schematic faces.

Year: 2011

Issue:

Volume:

Abstract: [Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported online in Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance on Oct 24 2011 (see record 2011-24372-001). Figure 2 contains errors] Several different explanations have been proposed to account for the search asymmetry (SA) for angry schematic faces (i.e., the fact that an angry face target among friendly faces can be found faster than vice versa). The present study critically tested the perceptual grouping account, (a) that the SA is not due to emotional factors, but to perceptual differences that render angry faces more salient than friendly faces, and (b) that the SA is mainly attributable to differences in distractor grouping, with angry faces being more difficult to group than friendly faces. In visual search for angry and friendly faces, the number of distractors visible during each fixation was systematically manipulated using the gaze-contingent window technique. The results showed that the SA emerged only when multiple distractors were visible during a fixation, supporting the grouping account. To distinguish between emotional and perceptual factors in the SA, we altered the perceptual properties of the faces (dented-chin face) so that the friendly face became more salient. In line with the perceptual account, the SA was reversed for these faces, showing faster search for a friendly face target. These results indicate that the SA reflects feature-level perceptual grouping, not emotional valence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)

Amygdala and heart rate variability responses from listening to emotionally intense parts of a story.

2011-10-20T14:27:01Z

Author Names: Wallentin, Mikkel,Nielsen, Andreas Hojlund,Vuust, Peter,Dohn, Anders,Roepstorff, Andreas,Lund, Torben Ellegaard

Database Source: PsycINFO <March Week 2 2011 to October Week 3 2011>

Journal Title: NeuroImage

Article Title: Amygdala and heart rate variability responses from listening to emotionally intense parts of a story.

Year: 2011

Issue: 3

Volume: 58

Abstract: Emotions are often understood in relation to conditioned responses. Narrative emotions, however, cannot be reduced to a simple associative relationship between emotion words and their experienced counterparts. Intensity in stories may arise without any overt emotion depicting words and vice versa. In this fMRI study we investigated BOLD responses to naturally fluctuating emotions evoked by listening to a story. The emotional intensity profile of the text was found through a rating study. The validity of this profile was supported by heart rate variability (HRV) data showing a significant correspondence across participants between intensity ratings and HRV measurements obtained during fMRI. With this ecologically valid stimulus we found that narrative intensity was accompanied by activation in temporal cortices, medial geniculate nuclei in the thalamus and amygdala, brain regions that are all part of the system for processing conditioned emotional responses to auditory stimuli. These findings suggest that this system also underpins narrative emotions in spite of their complex nature. Traditional language regions and premotor cortices were also activated during intense parts of the story whereas orbitofrontal cortex was found linked to emotion with positive valence, regardless of level of intensity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)

Performing music can induce greater modulation of emotion-related psychophysiological responses than listening to music.

2011-10-20T14:26:44Z

Author Names: Nakahara H,Furuya S,Masuko T,Francis PR,Kinoshita H

Database Source: Ovid MEDLINE(R) In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations <October 19, 2011>

Journal Title: International Journal of Psychophysiology

Article Title: Performing music can induce greater modulation of emotion-related psychophysiological responses than listening to music.

Year: 2011

Issue: 3

Volume: 81

Abstract: The present study investigated the differential effects of music-induced emotion on heart rate (HR) and its variability (HRV) while playing music on the piano and listening to a recording of the same piece of music. Sixteen pianists were monitored during tasks involving emotional piano performance, non-emotional piano performance, emotional perception, and non-emotional perception. It was found that emotional induction during both perception and performance modulated HR and HRV, and that such modulations were significantly greater during musical performance than during perception. The results confirmed that musical performance was far more effective in modulating emotion-related autonomic nerve activity than musical perception in musicians. The findings suggest the presence of a neural network of reward-emotion-associated autonomic nerve activity for musical performance that is independent of a neural network for musical perception. Copyright Copyright 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Garden walking and art therapy for depression in older adults: a pilot study.

2011-10-27T14:10:07Z

Author Names: McCaffrey R,Liehr P,Gregersen T,Nishioka R

Database Source: Ovid MEDLINE(R) In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations <October 26, 2011>

Journal Title: Research in Gerontological Nursing

Article Title: Garden walking and art therapy for depression in older adults: a pilot study.

Year: 2011

Issue: 4

Volume: 4

Abstract: The purpose of this pilot study was to compare garden walking (either alone or guided) with art therapy in older adults with depression. Depression was measured using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and stories of sadness/joy. Prior to the intervention, 47% of participants had depression scores in the severe range and 53% in the mild range. At the end of the intervention, none of the participants had scores in the severe range, 89% had scores in the mild range, and 11% had scores in the normal range. Results of the GDS data using repeated measures analysis of variance indicated significant decreases in depression for all three groups from pretest to posttest. All participants, regardless of group assignment, had a lower percentage of negative-emotion word use and a higher percentage of positive-emotion word use over time. This study provides evidence for nurses wishing to guide older adults in safe, easy, and inexpensive ways to reduce depression. Copyright 2011, SLACK Incorporated.

Emotion colors time perception unconsciously.

2011-10-27T14:10:07Z

Author Names: Yamada Y,Kawabe T

Database Source: Ovid MEDLINE(R) In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations <October 26, 2011>

Journal Title: Consciousness & Cognition

Article Title: Emotion colors time perception unconsciously.

Year: 2011

Issue: 4

Volume: 20

Abstract: Emotion modulates our time perception. So far, the relationship between emotion and time perception has been examined with visible emotional stimuli. The present study investigated whether invisible emotional stimuli affected time perception. Using continuous flash suppression, which is a kind of dynamic interocular masking, supra-threshold emotional pictures were masked or unmasked depending on whether the retinal position of continuous flashes on one eye was consistent with that of the pictures on the other eye. Observers were asked to reproduce the perceived duration of a frame stimulus that was concurrently presented with a masked or unmasked emotional picture. As a result, negative emotional stimuli elongated the perceived duration of the frame stimulus in comparison with positive and neutral emotional stimuli, regardless of the visibility of emotional pictures. These results suggest that negative emotion unconsciously accelerates an internal clock, altering time perception. Copyright Copyright 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Emotional triangles: A test of emotion-based attentional capture by simple geometric shapes.

2011-10-27T14:10:07Z

Author Names: Watson DG,Blagrove E,Selwood S

Database Source: Ovid MEDLINE(R) In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations <October 26, 2011>

Journal Title: Cognition & Emotion

Article Title: Emotional triangles: A test of emotion-based attentional capture by simple geometric shapes.

Year: 2011

Issue: 7

Volume: 25

Abstract: Previous work has proposed that simple geometric shapes, carrying the features present within negative or threatening faces are especially effective at capturing or guiding attention. Here we test this account and provide converging evidence for a threat-based attentional advantage. Experiment 1 found that downward-pointing triangles continue to be detected more efficiently than upward-pointing triangles when: (i) both overall RT and search slope measures are obtained; and (ii) when the set size is varied and the stimuli are presented in random configurations. Experiment 2 tested and ruled out an alternative account of the selection advantage, based on differences between triangle shape consistencies with scene perspective cues. Overall, the data provide converging evidence that simple geometric shapes, which might be particularly important in providing emotional signals in faces, can also attract attention preferentially even when presented outside of a face context.

Encoding details: Positive emotion leads to memory broadening.

2011-10-27T14:10:07Z

Author Names: Yegiyan NS,Yonelinas AP

Database Source: Ovid MEDLINE(R) In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations <October 26, 2011>

Journal Title: Cognition & Emotion

Article Title: Encoding details: Positive emotion leads to memory broadening.

Year: 2011

Issue: 7

Volume: 25

Abstract: In the current experiment we tested the hypothesis that unlike negative arousal, which leads to memory narrowing effects whereby an increase in memory for the central details is accompanied by a decrease in memory for the peripheral details, positive arousing events might lead to a memory broadening effect such that positive arousal would increase memory for both central and peripheral details. This was assessed by testing recognition for central and peripheral details of pictures that were selected to vary in a continuous manner across a wide range of arousal for both positive and negative items. The results indicated that increases in both positive and negative stimulus arousal levels led to gradual increases in memory for the central aspects of the photos. In contrast, negative arousal first increased then decreased memory for peripheral detail as arousal levels increased, whereas positive arousal led to a continuous increase in memory for peripheral details. Thus, arousing negative materials lead to memory narrowing, whereas arousing positive materials can lead to memory broadening.

Cognitive reappraisal and acceptance: An experimental comparison of two emotion regulation strategies.

2011-10-28T05:10:28Z

Cognitive reappraisal and acceptance: An experimental comparison of two emotion regulation strategies.

Behav Res Ther. 2011 Oct 6;

Authors: Wolgast M, Lundh LG, Viborg G

Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to compare the effect of cognitive reappraisal and acceptance on subjective distress, physiological reactions and behavioral avoidance in relation to aversive emotional states elicited by film-clips. Ninety-four participants were randomized to one of three groups. The Reappraisal group was instructed to think about what they saw in a way that minimized negative emotional reactions, the Acceptance group was told to let their feelings come and go without trying to control or avoid them, while the Watch (control) group was told just to watch the film-clips. Compared to the control condition, both reappraisal and acceptance led to significant reductions of subjective distress, physiological reactions associated with aversive emotions and behavioral avoidance. On the three types of measures there were few significant differences between the Reappraisal and Acceptance groups, but when such differences existed they were to the benefit of the Reappraisal condition. In the reappraisal condition there was however a positive correlation between elicited aversive emotion and avoidance, while no such correlation existed in the acceptance condition. The results are interpreted and discussed in relation to the theories underlying reappraisal and acceptance as well as the conceptual framework for emotion regulation established by Gross (2007).

PMID: 21999941 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Emotional voice and emotional body postures influence each other independently of visual awareness.

2011-10-28T05:09:57Z

Emotional voice and emotional body postures influence each other independently of visual awareness.

PLoS One. 2011;6(10):e25517

Authors: Stienen BM, Tanaka A, de Gelder B

Abstract
Multisensory integration may occur independently of visual attention as previously shown with compound face-voice stimuli. We investigated in two experiments whether the perception of whole body expressions and the perception of voices influence each other when observers are not aware of seeing the bodily expression. In the first experiment participants categorized masked happy and angry bodily expressions while ignoring congruent or incongruent emotional voices. The onset between target and mask varied from -50 to +133 ms. Results show that the congruency between the emotion in the voice and the bodily expressions influences audiovisual perception independently of the visibility of the stimuli. In the second experiment participants categorized the emotional voices combined with masked bodily expressions as fearful or happy. This experiment showed that bodily expressions presented outside visual awareness still influence prosody perception. Our experiments show that audiovisual integration between bodily expressions and affective prosody can take place outside and independent of visual awareness.

PMID: 22003396 [PubMed - in process]

Categorical perception of emotional facial expressions does not require lexical categories.

2011-10-28T05:08:39Z

Categorical perception of emotional facial expressions does not require lexical categories.

Emotion. 2011 Oct 17;

Authors: Sauter DA, Leguen O, Haun DB

Abstract
Does our perception of others' emotional signals depend on the language we speak or is our perception the same regardless of language and culture? It is well established that human emotional facial expressions are perceived categorically by viewers, but whether this is driven by perceptual or linguistic mechanisms is debated. We report an investigation into the perception of emotional facial expressions, comparing German speakers to native speakers of Yucatec Maya, a language with no lexical labels that distinguish disgust from anger. In a free naming task, speakers of German, but not Yucatec Maya, made lexical distinctions between disgust and anger. However, in a delayed match-to-sample task, both groups perceived emotional facial expressions of these and other emotions categorically. The magnitude of this effect was equivalent across the language groups, as well as across emotion continua with and without lexical distinctions. Our results show that the perception of affective signals is not driven by lexical labels, instead lending support to accounts of emotions as a set of biologically evolved mechanisms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved).

PMID: 22004379 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Positive affect versus reward: emotional and motivational influences on cognitive control.

2011-10-28T05:03:10Z

Positive affect versus reward: emotional and motivational influences on cognitive control.

Front Psychol. 2011;2:279

Authors: Chiew KS, Braver TS

Abstract
It is becoming increasingly appreciated that affective influences can contribute strongly to goal-oriented cognition and behavior. However, much work is still needed to properly characterize these influences and the mechanisms by which they contribute to cognitive processing. An important question concerns the nature of emotional manipulations (i.e., direct induction of affectively valenced subjective experience) versus motivational manipulations (e.g., delivery of performance-contingent rewards and punishments) and their impact on cognitive control. Empirical evidence suggests that both kinds of manipulations can influence cognitive control in a systematic fashion, but investigations of both have largely been conducted independently of one another. Likewise, some theoretical accounts suggest that emotion and motivation may modulate cognitive control via common neural mechanisms, while others suggest the possibility of dissociable influences. Here, we provide an analysis and synthesis of these various accounts, suggesting potentially fruitful new research directions to test competing hypotheses.

PMID: 22022318 [PubMed - in process]

I-space: the effects of emotional valence and source of music on interpersonal distance.

2011-10-28T05:03:02Z

I-space: the effects of emotional valence and source of music on interpersonal distance.

PLoS One. 2011;6(10):e26083

Authors: Tajadura-Jiménez A, Pantelidou G, Rebacz P, Västfjäll D, Tsakiris M

Abstract
BACKGROUND: The ubiquitous use of personal music players in over-crowded public transport alludes to the hypothesis that apart from making the journey more pleasant, listening to music through headphones may also affect representations of our personal space, that is, the emotionally-tinged zone around the human body that people feel is "their space". We evaluated the effects of emotional valence (positive versus negative) and source (external, i.e. loudspeakers, versus embedded, i.e. headphones) of music on the participant's interpersonal distance when interacting with others.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Personal space was evaluated as the comfort interpersonal distance between participant and experimenter during both active and passive approach tasks. Our results show that, during passive approach tasks, listening to positive versus negative emotion-inducing music reduces the representation of personal space, allowing others to come closer to us. With respect to a no-music condition, an embedded source of positive emotion-inducing music reduced personal space, while an external source of negative emotion-inducing music expanded personal space.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The results provide the first empirical evidence of the relation between induced emotional state, as a result of listening to positive music through headphones, and personal space when interacting with others. This research might help to understand the benefit that people find in using personal music players in crowded situations, such as when using the public transport in urban settings.

PMID: 22022516 [PubMed - in process]

On the (un)conditionality of automatic attitude activation: the valence proportion effect.

2011-10-28T05:02:31Z

On the (un)conditionality of automatic attitude activation: the valence proportion effect.

Can J Exp Psychol. 2011 Jun;65(2):125-32

Authors: Everaert T, Spruyt A, De Houwer J

Abstract
Affective priming studies have shown that participants are faster to pronounce affectively polarized target words that are preceded by affectively congruent prime words than affectively polarized target words that are preceded by affectively incongruent prime words. We examined whether affective priming of naming responses depends on the valence proportion (i.e., the proportion of stimuli that are affectively polarized). In one group of participants, experimental trials were embedded in a context of filler trials that consisted of affectively polarized stimulus materials (i.e., high valence proportion condition). In a second group, the same set of experimental trials was embedded in a context of filler trials consisting of neutral stimuli (i.e., low valence proportion condition). Results showed that affective priming of naming responses was significantly stronger in the high valence proportion condition than in the low valence proportion condition. We conclude that (a) subtle aspects of the procedure can influence affective priming of naming responses, (b) finding affective priming of naming responses does not allow for the conclusion that affective stimulus processing is unconditional, and (c) affective stimulus processing depends on selective attention for affective stimulus information.

PMID: 21668095 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Emotional valence modulates the preference for curved objects.

2011-10-28T05:02:04Z

Emotional valence modulates the preference for curved objects.

Perception. 2011;40(6):649-55

Authors: Leder H, Tinio PP, Bar M

Abstract
Previous studies have shown that people prefer objects with curved contours over objects with sharp contours. However, those studies used stimuli that were mainly neutral in emotional valence. We tested here the interplay between visual features and general valence as positive or negative. After replicating curvature preferences for neutral objects, we used positive (cake, chocolate) and negative (snake, bomb) stimuli to examine if emotional valence-through response prioritisation-modulates the preference for curved objects. We found that people indeed preferred the curved versions of objects to the sharp versions of the same objects, but only if the objects were neutral or positive in emotional valence. There were no difference in liking for objects with negative emotional valence. This is evidence that the aesthetic response is adaptive, in this case prioritising valence over contour as demanded by the general semantic classification.

PMID: 21936294 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

The role of autobiographical memory networks in the experience of negative emotions: How our remembered past elicits our current feelings.

2011-10-28T05:01:24Z

The role of autobiographical memory networks in the experience of negative emotions: How our remembered past elicits our current feelings.

Emotion. 2011 Oct 24;

Authors: Philippe FL, Koestner R, Lecours S, Beaulieu-Pelletier G, Bois K

Abstract
The present research examined the role of autobiographical memory networks on negative emotional experiences. Results from 2 studies found support for an active but also discriminant role of autobiographical memories and their related networked memories on negative emotions. In addition, in line with self-determination theory, thwarting of the psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness was found to be the critical component of autobiographical memory affecting negative emotional experiences. Study 1 revealed that need thwarting in a specific autobiographical memory network related to the theme of loss was positively associated with depressive negative emotions, but not with other negative emotions. Study 2 showed within a prospective design a differential predictive validity between 2 autobiographical memory networks (an anger-related vs. a guilt-related memory) on situational anger reactivity with respect to unfair treatment. All of these results held after controlling for neuroticism (Studies 1 and 2), self-control (Study 2), and for the valence (Study 1) and emotions (Study 2) found in the measured autobiographical memory network. These findings highlight the ongoing emotional significance of representations of need thwarting in autobiographical memory networks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved).

PMID: 22023360 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Attentional consequences of pregoal and postgoal positive affects.

2011-10-28T05:00:45Z

Attentional consequences of pregoal and postgoal positive affects.

Emotion. 2011 Oct 24;

Authors: Gable PA, Harmon-Jones E

Abstract
Decades of research have suggested that all positive affective states broaden attention. Recent studies have found that positive affects high in approach motivation narrow attention, whereas positive affects low in approach motivation broaden attention. However, these studies were limited because they used only affective pictures to manipulate positive affect. The pictures, rather than the affective states created by them, may have caused individuals to focus on the emotional details of the picture, and this attentional focus may have caused the narrowing of attentional scope. Moreover, no experiment has yet to examine both low and high approach-motivated positive affect within the same individuals in the same study. The current experiments manipulated pregoal (high approach) and postgoal (low approach) positive states by giving participants the opportunity to win money on a game. Results revealed that pregoal positive affect caused a narrowing of attention, whereas postgoal positive affect caused a broadening of attention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved).

PMID: 22023362 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]