Mood and Rate of Attentional Disengagement

Researchers: Michael Fernandez, Lisa Jefferies

Thank you for participating in this research!

What are we studying?

Most of us rely on vision in order to make sense of our environment and adapt to the demands of the modern world. While seeing feels effortless, our environment is cluttered with information that is far too much for the visual system to handle at any one time. In order to effectively process information, we engage in a process known as attention, which allow us to select information based on its relevance.

Consider driving, for example. At any given moment, we process information as it changes over time to help us navigate through the environment. Going from point A to B isn’t as simple as pressing the gas pedal and steering the wheel. It is a far more complex task that requires us to pay attention to objects and environments as they appear in our field of view. For instance, we direct the focus of our attention to look to cars around us, look to signs, and even to look to road markings and pedestrians (the list goes on!). This gives us rich moment-to-moment representations of the world in which we use to guide our behaviours. The end result, most of the time, is safe and successful navigation.

Figure 1. The focus of attention can be shifted between relevant objects. This figure shows possible areas of interest that attention can be directed to in a visual scene during driving

Now consider the same situation, but to complicate things, think about what would happen to our attention when we experience different moods? Would mood affect our ability to look to different objects in timely manner? This is the focus of our research. Here we are interested in the influence of positive and negative moods on our ability to shift away attention (i.e., attentional disengagement).

What research methodology was used?

We know from research that mood can alter the size of our focus of attention (Fredrickson, 2004). Positive emotions for instance, have been shown to increase the size of attention, making it possible for us to notice wider areas of space. Negative moods on the other hand decrease the size of attention, narrowing our field of view. To manipulate mood, we put together short videos using images (e.g., International Affective Picture System; Lang et al., 1997) and music (e.g., musical selections from Jefferies et al., 2009) known to influence mood.

We also know that the size of attention can affect the speed that we move our vision away from objects (Jefferies et al., 2021). We used a research methodology adapted from previous research by Jefferies and colleagues (2021), where shapes (cue) and letters (target) were presented either left or right of the screen. In this experiment, participants were required to identify the letters (targets) as quickly and as accurately as they can.

Independent Variables:

· Mood

· Target location

Dependent Variables:

· Reaction time (in milliseconds)

· Response accuracy

What did we find?

Although we know from previous research that mood can alter the size of attention, as yet, we are unsure whether it also affects the speed in which we shift our focus away from a target. The preliminary results of our research suggest that mood can influence the speed at which we can shift our focus away from a target.

Why does it matter?

Considering that we all experience different moods at any given moment, is important to know how changes in mood affects the way we process and integrate information, and thus respond to our environment. Think again about driving for a moment. It is important for us to ask these questions as it allows us to understand how fast we switch our attention between objects, scenes, signs, and hazards in order to adapt to our environment.

References

Fredrickson, B. L. (2004). The broaden–and–build theory of positive emotions. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 359(1449), 1367-1377. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2004.1512

Jefferies, L. N., Smilek, D., Eich, E., & Enns, J. T. (2008). Emotional valence and arousal interact in attentional control. Psychological science, 19(3), 290-295. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02082.x

Jefferies, L. N., Conlon, E., & Lawrence, R. (under review). Disengaging from the forest versus the trees: The spatial extent of focal attention modulates the rate of attentional disengagement. Journal of Vision, 21(9), 1836-1836. doi: 10.1167/jov.21.9.1836

Lang, P. J., Bradley, M. M., & Cuthbert, B. N. (1997). International affective picture system (IAPS): Technical manual and affective ratings. NIMH Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, 1, 39-58. https://www2.unifesp.br/dpsicobio/adap/instructions.pdf

UHGO (2019). Photo of Person Driving a Vehicle [Online Image]. Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-person-driving-a-vehicle-3160544/

If you have questions about this research, please contact L.Jefferies@griffith.edu.au

Curious to learn more about attention or visual cognition? Here are some books that you might enjoy:

• Chabris, C. F., & Simons, D. J. (2010). The invisible gorilla: And other ways our intuitions deceive us. Harmony.

• Doidge, N. (2007). The brain that changes itself: Stories of personal triumph from the frontiers of brain science. Penguin. (Available as an e-book in the City of Gold Coast public library via Overdrive)

• Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Macmillan. (Available as an e-book in the City of Gold Coast public library via Overdrive)

• Gladwell, M. (2006). Blink: The power of thinking without thinking. (Available as an e-book in the City of Gold Coast public library via Overdrive)