Visual attention mechanisms underlying the emotional dot probe task

Abstract

The emotional dot probe paradigm has been used extensively to explore attentional biases. Behavioral reaction times are the most common measurement, but have been criticized for being a rather indirect measure of attentional bias. EEG/ERPs, a covert and non-invasive measure of cortical brain activity, will be recorded throughout the experiment to more directly examine automatic attentional processing of emotional stimuli preceding execution of behavioral responses. Using a multi-modal approach to examine attentional biases in the context of emotional cues or distracters will enhance and contribute to the current understanding of the topic and can help to clarify equivocal results found in the current literature.