Exploring the Space-Calorie Association : Preliminary Evidence from Reaction Time Performance

The present study was designed to investigate the representation of calorie levels in space. Previously an association between numerical magnitude and space has been established, namely, the Spatial Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect. The spatial-numerical association reveals representation of smaller and larger numbers by the left and right sides, respectively. In addition, previous studies showed that spatial arrangement of foods in space affects the food selection behavior. In three experiments, the presence of an association between calorie magnitude and space was tested to understand how it could potentially affect food selection behavior. Reaction times were recorded to investigate the speed of information processing. In Experiment 1, locations of low and high calorie food stimuli were (in)congruent in terms of the space-calorie association. In Experiment 2, endogenous spatial cues were used to bias attention to investigate if this bias would lead to formation of the space-calorie association. Finally, Experiment 3 investigated whether green and red colors evoke approach or avoidance behavior and prevent formation of the space-calorie association. In all experiments, results revealed lack of an association between space and calorie, that is, presenting low/high calorie items on the left/right hemispace, respectively, did not modulate the processing speed

Attachment anxiety benefits from security priming: Evidence from working memory performance.

The present study investigates the relationship between the attachment dimensions (anxious vs. avoidance) and the cognitive performance of individuals, specifically whether the attachment dimensions would predict the working memory (WM) performance. In the n-back task, reflecting the WM capacity, both attachment related and non-attachment related words were used. Participants were randomly assigned into two groups that received either the secure or the neutral subliminal priming. In the secure priming condition, the aim was to induce sense of security by presenting secure attachment words prior to the n-back task performance. In neutral priming condition, neutral words that did not elicit sense of security were presented. Structural equation modeling revealed divergent patterns for attachment anxiety and avoidance dimensions under the different priming conditions. In neutral priming condition, WM performance declined in terms of capacity in the n-back task for individuals who rated higher levels of attachment anxiety. However in the secure priming condition, WM performance was boosted in the n-back task for individuals who rated higher levels of attachment anxiety. In other words, the subliminal priming of the security led to increased WM capacity of individuals who rated higher levels of attachment anxiety. This effect, however, was not observed for higher levels of attachment avoidance. Results are discussed along the lines of hyperactivation and deactivation strategies of the attachment system

Affective Modulation of Working Memory Maintenance

The present study investigated the impact of task-irrelevant emotional images on the retention of information in spatial working memory (WM). Two experiments employed a delayed matching to-sample task where participants had to maintain the locations of four briefly presented squares. After a short retention interval, a probe item appeared and participants were required to indicate whether the probe position matched one of the previously occupied square positions. During the retention interval, task-irrelevant negative, positive, or neutral emotional pictures were presented. The results revealed a dissociation between negative and positive affect on the participants’ ability to hold spatial locations in WM. While negative affective pictures reduced WM capacity, positive pictures increased WM capacity relative to the neutral images. Moreover, the specific valence and arousal of a given emotional picture was also related to WM performance: While higher valence enhanced WM capacity, higher levels of arousal in turn reduced WM capacity. Together, our findings suggest that emotions up- or down-regulate attention to items in WM and thus modulate the short-term storage of visual information in memory

Emotional Word Processing Within Configural Representations

The impact of emotions on cognitive processes has been studied intensively in the last years. The aim of the present study is to investigate the relationship between visuospatial attention processes and emotions. Visuospatial attention processes were investigated by using a localization task which required processing of the words that formed the configuration. In the localization task, participants were asked to indicate the position of the target word which matched the color of the fixation cross ("+") by pressing the relevant keyboard button. In each trial, four words in different colors were positioned to form a square configuration. In different experimental conditions, words that formed the configuration varied in their valence (neutral, positive and negative words). The intertrial transitions (trial 1 -> trial 2) consisted of changes in the target's location within the configuration (e.g. top right corner), size of configuration (big/small square) and type of word (emotional/neutral). The main goal of the present study is to investigate the interaction between the processing of emotional and neutral words and certain variables. The variables were the size of the attended area and localizing the target word that was repeated or changed across trials. By changing the size of the configuration (small / big sized square) across trials, the size of the attended area was determined. The results revealed that changes in word valence and size of the configuration led to differences in the localization task performance. It was found that neutral and negative words led to target location repetition cost. Different location targets were processed faster suggesting that word processing was easier. Additionally, bigger, compared to smaller configurations, led to better performance only when emotional words were used. Overall findings of the present study suggest that configural representations are formed automatically by using the word stimuli, and they influence the processing of emotional and neutral words differently

Measurement model estimations for the n-back task performance.

<p>Measurement model estimations for the n-back task performance.</p

Attachment dimensions predicting the processing speed.

<p>Attachment dimensions predicting the processing speed.</p

Task sequence.

<p>The depiction of the n-back task used in the present study. Here participants were subliminally primed with the secure attachment word (trust), followed by the presentation of the mask, they performed the n-back task with the attachment related words (passion). The task was to respond whether the current word is same or different as in the previous 1/2/3 trial (here: 1-back). In this example the presentation of the word “passion” for the second time would require “same” response as it matches the previously presented item (n-1).. The termination of each trial depended on the response, that is participants had to respond to each word that was presented across trials and each word constituted one trial. Depending on the n-back condition, the word that was identical with the n^th back word required the “same” response while the other words/trials required the “different” response.</p

The mean values and SDs of the measured variables for the neutral (upper part) and secure priming (lower part) conditions.

<p>The mean values and SDs of the measured variables for the neutral (upper part) and secure priming (lower part) conditions.</p

Attachment dimensions predicting the WM performance.

<p>Attachment dimensions predicting the WM performance.</p