Relevance Is in the Eye of the Beholder: Attentional Bias to Relevant Stimuli in Children

Suzanne Broeren; Kathryn J. Lester

doi:10.1037/a0030598

Relevance Is in the Eye of the Beholder: Attentional Bias to Relevant Stimuli in Children

Suzanne Broeren^*, Kathryn J. Lester

^*Corresponding author for this work

Social Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry

Erasmus University Rotterdam

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Attentional biases are most often framed in a threat relevance framework. Alternatively, it could be that not only threat-related stimuli draw attention but also that preferential attention is drawn to all stimuli that have relevance for an individual. We investigated this stimulus relevance theory in primary school-age children by means of a visual search task. As predicted, children displayed attentional biases toward evolutionary and modern threat-related stimuli, such as spiders and guns, but also toward other relevant, positive stimuli (i.e., cakes, gifts, and happy faces). These results suggest that attentional biases are not specific to threat, but seem to apply to all relevant stimuli, both positive and negative in valence, providing first evidence for the stimulus relevance theory of preferential attention in children.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	262-269
Number of pages	8
Journal	EMOTION
Volume	13
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030598
Publication status	Published - Apr 2013

Keywords

attentional bias
preferential attention
children
stimulus relevance
SOCIAL-ANXIETY-SCALE
VISUAL-SEARCH
COGNITIVE BIAS
SELECTIVE ATTENTION
CONCURRENT VALIDITY
THREATENING STIMULI
FEAR
INTERFERENCE
ADOLESCENTS
EMOTION

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title = "Relevance Is in the Eye of the Beholder: Attentional Bias to Relevant Stimuli in Children",

abstract = "Attentional biases are most often framed in a threat relevance framework. Alternatively, it could be that not only threat-related stimuli draw attention but also that preferential attention is drawn to all stimuli that have relevance for an individual. We investigated this stimulus relevance theory in primary school-age children by means of a visual search task. As predicted, children displayed attentional biases toward evolutionary and modern threat-related stimuli, such as spiders and guns, but also toward other relevant, positive stimuli (i.e., cakes, gifts, and happy faces). These results suggest that attentional biases are not specific to threat, but seem to apply to all relevant stimuli, both positive and negative in valence, providing first evidence for the stimulus relevance theory of preferential attention in children.",

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author = "Suzanne Broeren and Lester, {Kathryn J.}",

year = "2013",

month = apr,

doi = "10.1037/a0030598",

language = "English",

volume = "13",

pages = "262--269",

journal = "EMOTION",

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T1 - Relevance Is in the Eye of the Beholder: Attentional Bias to Relevant Stimuli in Children

AU - Broeren, Suzanne

AU - Lester, Kathryn J.

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N2 - Attentional biases are most often framed in a threat relevance framework. Alternatively, it could be that not only threat-related stimuli draw attention but also that preferential attention is drawn to all stimuli that have relevance for an individual. We investigated this stimulus relevance theory in primary school-age children by means of a visual search task. As predicted, children displayed attentional biases toward evolutionary and modern threat-related stimuli, such as spiders and guns, but also toward other relevant, positive stimuli (i.e., cakes, gifts, and happy faces). These results suggest that attentional biases are not specific to threat, but seem to apply to all relevant stimuli, both positive and negative in valence, providing first evidence for the stimulus relevance theory of preferential attention in children.

AB - Attentional biases are most often framed in a threat relevance framework. Alternatively, it could be that not only threat-related stimuli draw attention but also that preferential attention is drawn to all stimuli that have relevance for an individual. We investigated this stimulus relevance theory in primary school-age children by means of a visual search task. As predicted, children displayed attentional biases toward evolutionary and modern threat-related stimuli, such as spiders and guns, but also toward other relevant, positive stimuli (i.e., cakes, gifts, and happy faces). These results suggest that attentional biases are not specific to threat, but seem to apply to all relevant stimuli, both positive and negative in valence, providing first evidence for the stimulus relevance theory of preferential attention in children.

KW - attentional bias

KW - preferential attention

KW - children

KW - stimulus relevance

KW - SOCIAL-ANXIETY-SCALE

KW - VISUAL-SEARCH

KW - COGNITIVE BIAS

KW - SELECTIVE ATTENTION

KW - CONCURRENT VALIDITY

KW - THREATENING STIMULI

KW - FEAR

KW - INTERFERENCE

KW - ADOLESCENTS

KW - EMOTION

U2 - 10.1037/a0030598

DO - 10.1037/a0030598

M3 - Article

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EP - 269

JO - EMOTION

JF - EMOTION

IS - 2

ER -

Relevance Is in the Eye of the Beholder: Attentional Bias to Relevant Stimuli in Children

Abstract

Keywords

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