Concurrent cognitive demands influence allocation of attention resources during fear processing.

• Influences of a concurrent cognitive demand on allocation of attentional resources and physiological responses to threatening stimuli was investigated. In two secondary task experiments, pictures of fear-relevant and fear-irrelevant stimuli (Experiment 1), as well as feared and non-feared stimuli (Experiment 2), were used as backgrounds in a discrimination task. The cognitive manipulation was provided by a constraint, induced with a threat of punishment motivating participants to respond quick and accurately. The control condition imposed no such constraint. Results showed a larger allocation of attentional resources for both fear-relevant and feared stimuli. More importantly, it was also shown that resources allocated to threatening stimuli could be manipulated by a concurrent cognitive demand. However, both response accuracy and physiological reactions persisted the manipulation when a feared versus a non-feared animal was shown, indicating that attentional resources can be manipulated by an internal cognitive demand even though a fear reaction occurs.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Psykologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Psychology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Secondary task

fear

processong resources

heart rate

cognitive control.

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

ovr (subject category)