Intertrial variability in emotive reactions to approach-motivated positive pictures predicts attentional narrowing: The role of individual differences.

Previous research has found that high approach-motivated positive affect narrows cognitive scope. Additionally, this narrowing of cognitive scope in high approach-motivated states is related to neural correlates of motor-action preparation, including beta suppression over the motor cortex. However, past studies have only examined these effects averaging across trials, without accounting for individual variability from trial-to-trial. Across two studies, the present research investigated how individual differences in motor-action preparation related to individual differences in cognitive narrowing. Experiment 1 had participants view affective or neutral pictures and then respond to a Navon letters task. Results indicated that there was a more positive relationship between beta suppression to approach-motivated positive pictures and local targets than either beta suppression to approach-motivated positive pictures and global targets or beta suppression to neutral pictures and local targets. Experiment 2 replicated these results using alcohol pictures. These experiments suggest that individual differences in beta suppression predict greater narrowed cognitive scope to appetitive pictures. Assessing individual differences in neurophysiological and emotive responses to pictures reveals individual variations in cognitive processing.