Pacheco-Unguetti Antonia Pilar, Acosta Alberto, Lupiáñez Juan
Department of Personality, Assessment, and Psychological Treatment, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
Mind, Brain, and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
Front Psychol. 2025 Mar 20;16:1539992. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1539992. eCollection 2025.
The aim of the present research was to examine the role of affective information in the functioning of attentional networks in individuals with high vs. low trait or state anxiety. Previous studies suggest that anxiety can influence attentional processes, but the impact of affective information, such as alerting emotional stimuli, on these attentional networks remains unclear.
We conducted a set of experiments using negative or neutral faces as alerting stimuli, presented either alone or together with a neutral sound, within a modified version of the Attention Network Test-Interactions (ANT-I). Additionally, data from previous experiments with similar anxiety groups and without affective manipulations of alertness were analyzed for comparative insights (378 participants in total).
Results showed three main effects on the functioning of attentional networks when affective alerting signals were introduced: (1) the alertness effect is increased, (2) the interference effect is increased, and (3) the orienting effect is decreased. These effects occurred regardless of the valence of the alerting stimuli on a given trial. Importantly, the presence of affective information on some trials eliminated the group differences regarding the functioning of the attentional networks that are usually found when no affective information is presented. Specifically, the larger interference effect commonly observed in individuals with high trait-anxiety and the larger alertness and orienting effects seen in those with high state-anxiety, disappeared when emotional alerting stimuli were included.
The findings suggest that emotional information can significantly impact the functioning of attentional networks, particularly in relation to anxiety. The presence of affective stimuli seems to modulate attentional biases associated with anxiety, potentially neutralizing the usual effects seen in individuals with high trait or state anxiety. The role of affective information on the functioning of the attentional networks is discussed within the framework of anxiety and attention.
本研究的目的是考察情感信息在高特质焦虑或状态焦虑与低特质焦虑或状态焦虑个体的注意网络功能中的作用。先前的研究表明，焦虑会影响注意过程，但情感信息（如警示性情绪刺激）对这些注意网络的影响仍不明确。
我们在注意力网络测试交互版（ANT-I）的一个修改版本中，进行了一组实验，使用负面或中性面孔作为警示刺激，单独呈现或与中性声音一起呈现。此外，还分析了先前对类似焦虑组且无警觉性情感操纵的实验数据，以获得比较性见解（总共378名参与者）。
当引入情感警示信号时，结果显示对注意网络功能有三个主要影响：（1）警觉效应增强，（2）干扰效应增强，（3）定向效应减弱。这些效应在给定试验中与警示刺激的效价无关。重要的是，某些试验中情感信息的存在消除了在不呈现情感信息时通常发现的注意网络功能方面的组间差异。具体而言，当包含情感警示刺激时，高特质焦虑个体中通常观察到的较大干扰效应以及高状态焦虑个体中较大的警觉和定向效应消失了。
研究结果表明，情绪信息会显著影响注意网络的功能，特别是与焦虑相关的方面。情感刺激的存在似乎调节了与焦虑相关的注意偏差，可能抵消了高特质或状态焦虑个体中常见的效应。在焦虑和注意的框架内讨论了情感信息对注意网络功能的作用。
