Attentional bias to emotional facial expressions

Authors
Citation
F. Esteves, Attentional bias to emotional facial expressions, EUR R AP PS, 49(2), 1999, pp. 91-96
Citations number
38
Categorie Soggetti
Psycology
Journal title
EUROPEAN REVIEW OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY-REVUE EUROPEENNE DE PSYCHOLOGIE APPLIQUEE
ISSN journal
11629088 → ACNP
Volume
49
Issue
2
Year of publication
1999
Pages
91 - 96
Database
ISI
SICI code
1162-9088(1999)49:2<91:ABTEFE>2.0.ZU;2-A
Abstract
It is assumed that our perceptual apparatus has been shaped by evolution. T hus, stimuli and situations that have been dangerous to the survival of the species should have some kind of priority in the way they are detected. le arned or memorised. Threatening facial expressions are a class of stimuli that have been studie d in this context. In a series of visual search experiments with schematic faces, subjects were asked to detect a deviant facial expression in a crowd of nine faces presented on a computer screen. The results showed a general attentional bias to detect threatening faces. Thus, an angry face among, e .g., happy faces was detected faster and with fewer errors than a happy fac e among angry faces. Furthermore, subjects with high and low scores on soci al phobia were compared. In general, no differences were obtained in detect ion time, but subjects in the group with high social anxiety did show more errors.