A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Emotional Scene Content Drives the Saccade Generation System Reflexively
Authors: Nummenmaa L, Hyona J, Calvo MG
Publisher: AMER PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOC
Publication year: 2009
Journal: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance
Journal name in source: JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY-HUMAN PERCEPTION AND PERFORMANCE
Journal acronym: J EXP PSYCHOL HUMAN
Volume: 35
Issue: 2
First page : 305
Last page: 323
Number of pages: 19
ISSN: 0096-1523
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013626
Abstract
The authors assessed whether parafoveal perception of emotional content influences saccade programming. In Experiment 1, paired emotional and neutral scenes were presented to parafoveal vision. Participants performed voluntary saccades toward either of the scenes according to an imperative signal (color cue). Saccadic reaction times were faster when the cue pointed toward the emotional picture rather than toward the neutral picture. Experiment 2 replicated these findings with a reflexive saccade task, in which abrupt luminosity changes were used as exogenous saccade cues. In Experiment 3, participants performed vertical reflexive saccades that were orthogonal to the emotional-neutral picture locations. Saccade endpoints and trajectories deviated away from the visual field in which the emotional scenes were presented. Experiment 4 showed that computationally modeled visual saliency does not vary as a function of scene content and that inversion abolishes the. rapid orienting toward the emotional scenes. Visual confounds cannot thus explain the results. The authors conclude that early saccade target selection and execution processes are automatically influenced by emotional picture content. This reveals processing of meaningful scene content prior to overt attention to the stimulus.
The authors assessed whether parafoveal perception of emotional content influences saccade programming. In Experiment 1, paired emotional and neutral scenes were presented to parafoveal vision. Participants performed voluntary saccades toward either of the scenes according to an imperative signal (color cue). Saccadic reaction times were faster when the cue pointed toward the emotional picture rather than toward the neutral picture. Experiment 2 replicated these findings with a reflexive saccade task, in which abrupt luminosity changes were used as exogenous saccade cues. In Experiment 3, participants performed vertical reflexive saccades that were orthogonal to the emotional-neutral picture locations. Saccade endpoints and trajectories deviated away from the visual field in which the emotional scenes were presented. Experiment 4 showed that computationally modeled visual saliency does not vary as a function of scene content and that inversion abolishes the. rapid orienting toward the emotional scenes. Visual confounds cannot thus explain the results. The authors conclude that early saccade target selection and execution processes are automatically influenced by emotional picture content. This reveals processing of meaningful scene content prior to overt attention to the stimulus.
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