Attentional capture by signals of threat
Abstract
Attention can be captured automatically by events that are physically salient. Similarly, emotional stimuli are known to be prioritised by the visual system because of their behavioural significance. The present study investigated whether a neutral stimulus which became associated with fear captured attention in visual search. Using a fear-conditioning procedure, one stimulus was repeatedly combined with an electrical shock (CS+), whereas another stimulus with identical physical features was never combined with a shock (CS-). Following conditioning, participants had to search for a target; while on some trials, either an irrelevant CS+ or CS- stimulus was present. The results show that the presence of an irrelevant distractor that was previously associated with fear slowed a search more than a distractor without fear association. The current results indicate that learned fear associations have the ability to capture our attention even if we try to ignore them.
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The threat-signaling stimulus may have been attended because its physical salience was not carefully controlled or because it was not associated with any costs for task performance or any influence on the aversive experience.
“Similarly, the threat-signaling stimulus may have been attended because its physical salience was not carefully controlled (e.g., Öhman, Lundqvist, & Esteves, 2001; Schmidt et al., 2015a) or because it was not associated with any costs for task performance or any influence on the aversive experience (e.g., Schmidt et al., 2015b).”
From Selection history: How reward modulates selectivity of visual attention. (2018) · cites this paper as Schmidt et al., 2015a
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Self-citationDoes Imminent Threat Capture and Hold Attention?
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Selection history: How reward modulates selectivity of visual attention.
Failing, M., & Theeuwes, J. (2018) · Psychonomic Bulletin & Review · doi:10.3758/s13423-017-1380-y · Cited by 345 · see citing works
Self-citationConvergence of prefrontal and parietal anatomical projections in a connectional hub in the striatum
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People look at the object they fear: oculomotor capture by stimuli that signal threat
Nissens, T., Failing, M., & Theeuwes, J. (2017) · Cognition and Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699931.2016.1248905 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Self-citationReward can modulate attentional capture, independent of top-down set
Munneke, J., Hoppenbrouwers, S. S., & Theeuwes, J. (2015) · Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics · doi:10.3758/s13414-015-0958-6 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Self-citationCommon Priority Map for Selection History, Reward and Emotion in the Oculomotor System
Belopolsky, A. V. (2015) · Perception · doi:10.1177/0301006615596866 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Self-citationDistracted by danger: Temporal and spatial dynamics of visual selection in the presence of threat
Mulckhuyse, M., & Dalmaijer, E. S. (2016) · Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3758/s13415-015-0391-2 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Was that a threat? Attentional biases by signals of threat.
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Self-citationDella Libera, C., Calletti, R., Eštočinová, J., Chelazzi, L., & Santandrea, E. (2017) · Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1080/17588928.2016.1213226 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
- Authors
- Schmidt, L. J., Belopolsky, A. V., & Theeuwes, J.
- Affiliations
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Schmidt, Lisette J.
- Venue
- Cognition and Emotion
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2014-06-05
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 687-694
- ISSN
- 0269-9931 (ISSN-L)
- 1464-0600
- OpenAlex
- W2014586486
- Cited by
- 173
- References
- 8
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 7.81
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Cognition & Emotion (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- VU Research Portal (publishedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition › Visual Attention and Saliency Detection
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Keywords
- attentional capture, threat signals, fear conditioning, emotional stimuli, visual search, distractor interference, attentional bias
- MeSH terms
- Association Learning, Attention, Conditioning, Classical, Fear, Female, Humans, Male, Reaction Time, Young Adult
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