Attentional capture by evaluative stimuli: Gain- and loss-connoting colors boost the additional-singleton effect

Wentura, Dirk; Müller, Philipp; Rothermund, Klaus · 2013 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.3758/s13423-013-0531-z

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Summary

This study investigates whether attentional capture is driven primarily by negative (threat-related) stimuli or by a more general mechanism that prioritizes goal-relevant stimuli regardless of valence. The authors address the debate between the "negativity bias" hypothesis and the "relevance hypothesis," which posits that both positive opportunities and negative dangers attract attention due to their functional significance. Previous research often lacked balanced comparisons between positive and negative stimuli within a single experimental design, typically using complex natural stimuli with intrinsic valences. To resolve this, the researchers experimentally induced extrinsic evaluative connotations onto simple, neutral color stimuli. The experiment involved 48 participants who completed two alternating tasks: a valence induction task and an additional-singleton visual search task. In the valence induction task, participants categorized target lines within colored frames. One color signaled a potential monetary gain for fast, correct responses (positive valence), another signaled a potential loss for slow or incorrect responses (negative valence), while two other colors were neutral or irrelevant. This procedure established learned associations between specific colors and evaluative outcomes. Subsequently, in the visual search task, participants searched for a target line among distractors. In "additional-singleton" trials, one distractor appeared in a deviating color (either the positive, negative, or a neutral color). Participants were instructed to ignore these color singletons. The study measured response times (RTs) to determine if the valence-connoting colors increased the interference caused by the singleton distractor compared to neutral colors. An evaluative priming task was also administered to verify that the colors had successfully acquired their intended positive or negative valences. The results confirmed a standard additional-singleton effect, where RTs were longer when a color singleton was present compared to control trials. Crucially, the presence of either the positive or negative valence-connoting colors significantly increased this interference effect relative to the neutral colors. The magnitude of the boost in RTs was comparable for both positive and negative colors, with no statistically significant difference between them. The evaluative priming task validated the manipulation, showing that the positive and negative colors elicited priming effects similar to standard positive and negative schematic faces. Error rates did not differ significantly across conditions. These findings support the relevance hypothesis over the negativity bias hypothesis. The study demonstrates that attentional capture is not exclusively driven by threat-related or negative stimuli; rather, it is enhanced by the general relevance of a stimulus to goals and well-being, whether that relevance is positive (gain) or negative (loss). By using a balanced design with experimentally induced valences, the authors provide evidence that the attentional system prioritizes stimuli based on their functional significance for survival and goal attainment, rather than solely on their negative emotional content. This suggests that the mechanisms governing attentional capture are sensitive to the motivational relevance of stimuli, regardless of their specific valence.

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• attention selective divided