Feeling is for seeing

Feeling is for doing : impact of emotions on visual perceptio

Data

Data for studies 1 &

Does reference to COVID-19 improve climate change communication? Investigating the influence of emotions and uncertainty in persuasion messages

International audienc

Can the induction of incidental positive emotions lead to different performances in sequential decision-making?

International audienc

Rethinking Climate Change Vulnerabilities in light of the COVID-19 Crisis: Illustrations through Conspiracy Theories and Diversity Issues

Scholars have noted several connections between the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis, ranging from the material influence of the pandemic on climate change processes (e.g., how lockdowns temporarily lowered climate emissions) to the similar ways the crises have been managed. Both crises are also global in scope, have exerted a significant toll in human lives and require major changes in our lifestyles. However, while collective responses to the COVID-19 were rapid and concerted, efforts to address climate change continue to be met with resistance. In this article, we investigate the social vulnerabilities common to both crises and the lessons that social scientists interested in climate change, and psychologists in particular, can take away from the pandemic. We focus on two broad topics of contemporary interest that lay bare social vulnerabilities of the coronavirus pandemicconspiracy theories and racial and ethnic inequitiesto highlight the ways that understanding psychological processes associated with the pandemic can help inform more efficient climate policies. We end by discussing recommendations as well as a framework to guide the application of psychological science findings to help address climate change

When feeling is for seeing: comparing the effects of motivated perception between fear and anger on ambiguous threatening stimuli

We do not see the world as it is: distortions of visual perception can occur depending on the goals we wish to achieve ("wishful seeing"). Following functionalist theories of emotions (e.g., "feeling is for doing"), visual perception biases could also be involved in the link between emotion and specific behavior. Previous research has shown that anger can modify visual perception towards ambiguous menacing stimuli, or that fear can similarly direct our attention and perception towards threatening stimuli (e.g., weapons). The aim of our research was to replicate these effects by directly comparing the effects of these two emotions on perceptual biases and by relying on general mixed models to control Type I errors and reduce the risk related to the non-independence between observations. Our results partially replicate a perceptual bias toward threatening objects for both emotions although this effect depends on the type of stimulus and of the emotional dimension involved. These results are discussed in terms of the impact of emotions in attentional and perceptual processes and in relation to alternative theoretical explanations for motivated perception

Rethinking Climate Change Vulnerabilities in light of the COVID-19 Crisis: Illustrations through Conspiracy Theories and Diversity Issues

Scholars have noted several connections between the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis, ranging from the material influence of the pandemic on climate change processes (e.g., how lockdowns temporarily lowered climate emissions) to the similar ways the crises have been managed. Both crises are also global in scope, have exerted a significant toll in human lives and require major changes in our lifestyles. However, while collective responses to the COVID-19 were rapid and concerted, efforts to address climate change continue to be met with resistance. In this article, we investigate the social vulnerabilities common to both crises and the lessons that social scientists interested in climate change, and psychologists in particular, can take away from the pandemic. We focus on two broad topics of contemporary interest that lay bare social vulnerabilities of the coronavirus pandemic – conspiracy theories and racial and ethnic inequities – to highlight the ways that understanding psychological processes associated with the pandemic can help inform more efficient climate policies. We end by discussing recommendations as well as a framework to guide the application of psychological science findings to help address climate change