12. Attention Types, Anxiety, Emotion Regulation and Bistable Images

Attention

Selection of specific features in the environment at the expense of others.

types of visual attentions

1. feature-based attention

2. object-based attention

3. spatial attention

Feature-based attention

Paying attention to certain features of the environment at the expense of others

example of Feature-based attention

meeting friend at crowded place, know friend is gonna wear red hat so focus on red stimuli

Object-based attention

Feature-based attention directed towards objects.

Space-based/spatial attention

Applying attention to a particular location in the environment.

example of spatial attention

look at the door to see if friend enters

Attentional breadth

The size of the area over which attention is focused, which can be narrow or broad.

Preference vs ability

Preference is what an individual chooses to do when not compelled, while ability is what an individual does when compelled (how well they can do it)

Cultural differences in attention

Eastern cultural backgrounds show a broader preferred attentional breadth compared to Western backgrounds.

Himba participants and attention

Show a narrower preferred attentional breadth than British participants but outperform them in ability to adopt different attentional breadths.

Autism Spectrum Disorder and attention

Participants diagnosed show a narrower preferred attentional breadth than neurotypical people, with no differences in ability.

Openness to Experience and attention

Individuals higher in this trait show more absorbed engagement with visual information.

Working memory capacity and attention

Higher capacity leads to greater efficiency in frequent contraction of attentional breadth and reduced efficiency in infrequent contraction.

Trait anxiety

An enduring tendency to attend to and report negative emotions across various situations.

State anxiety

A temporary feeling of anxiety, especially in situations where others do not feel anxious.

what personality trait is trait anxiety related to

neuroticism

attentional bias and trait anxiety

attentional bias around threatening stimuli.

Interpretation Bias and trait anxiety

interpretation bias toward threatening interpretations of stimuli and events.

trait anxiety and empathy

increased affective empathy

Attentional Control Theory

Attentional Control Theory (Eysenck) predicts that anxiety impacts efficiency more than effectiveness.

Executive Functions and trait anxiety

Meta-analytic evidence consistent with trait anxiety being associated with impaired efficiency of executive functions, including inhibition and shifting.

Emotional Regulation

process of attempting to amplify or reduce emotional experiences.

2 types of emotion regulation

intrinsic and extrinsic

Intrinsic Emotion Regulation

regulating one's own emotions.

Extrinsic Emotion Regulation

regulating another person's emotions.

gross' model of emotional regulation

appraisal, response, situation, attention

Situation Selection (situation)

taking actions that make it more (or less) likely that one will be in a situation that one expects will give rise to desirable (or undesirable) emotions.

Situation Selection example

you find that spending time with a particular person makes you feel bad, so you refuse their offer to go to the movies

Situation Modification (situation)

taking actions that directly alter a situation to change its emotional impact

Situation Modification example

file away an email that annoys you so that you don't have to see it on your inbox

Attention Deployment (attention)

directing one's attention with the goal of influencing one's emotional response.

Attention Deployment example

nervous about giving a speech, so focus your attention on your friend in audience who's smiling and nodding reassuringly

Cognitive Change (appraisal)

modifying one's appraisal of a situation to alter its emotional impact.

Cognitive Change example

get rejected from a team but use it to get feedback and improve skills

response modulation (response)

influencing experiential, behavioural, or physiological components of the emotional response after the emotion is well-developed.

response modulation example

friend gives bad present, but you supress frown so you don't hurt their feelings

Reappraisal

changing the way that one thinks about a situation or event.

reappraisal example

friend gives feeback on essay, identified some issues, you take it they think your writings rubbish

-reappraisal = good opportunity to edit, wouldn't give feeback if didn't think could improve

overusing emotional regulation strategies

leads to short-term relief but reinforces anxiety in the long-term.

Propensity

The natural tendency to engage in reappraisal, which can vary significantly among individuals.

Bistable Images

Images that can be perceived in two different ways, useful for studying emotional reactions and cognitive processes.

goodhew and edwards (2024)

studied emotional consequences of bistable perception; used 3 bistable images and rate of -4-4 with 4 predictors

4 predictors of emotion goodhew and edwards (2024)

may influence how individuals emotionally respond to stimuli, including Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU), Cognitive Empathy (CE), Affective Empathy (AE), Negative Affect (NA)

Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) and bistable images

Negative beliefs about and reactions to uncertainty, such as feeling upset by unforeseen events; predicted higher would lead to more negative reactions

Cognitive Empathy (CE) and bistable images

The ability to understand others' perspectives, including their thoughts, emotions, and beliefs; predicted higher would lead to more positive

Affective Empathy (AE) and bistable images

The capacity to feel what others are feeling, which was predicted to have no relationship with emotional reactions to bistable images.

Negative Affect (NA) and bistable images

A tendency to experience negative emotional states, which predicted increased negative emotional reactions to bistable images.

goodhew and edwards (2024) results

strong internal consistency, ce explained unique varience in emotional reactions