Attentional asymmetries in a visual orienting task are related to temperament

Spatial asymmetries are an intriguing feature of directed attention. Recent observations indicate an influence of temperament upon the direction of these asymmetries. It is unknown whether this influence generalises to visual orienting behaviour. The aim of the current study was therefore to explore...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cognition and emotion 2012-12, Vol.26 (8), p.1508-1515
Main Authors: Garner, Kelly G., Dux, Paul E., Wagner, Joe, Cummins, Tarrant D. R., Chambers, Christopher D., Bellgrove, Mark A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activation
Activity levels. Psychomotricity
Adult
Affectivity. Emotion
Attention
Attention asymmetry
Behavioural Activation System
Behavioural approaches
Behavioural Inhibition System
Biological and medical sciences
Cues
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Inhibition
Inhibition (Psychology)
Male
Orientation
Perception
Personality. Affectivity
Photic Stimulation
Pseudoneglect
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Punishment
Reinforcement (Psychology)
Sensitivity
Space Perception
Temperament
Vigilance. Attention. Sleep
Vision
Visual Fields
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Summary:Spatial asymmetries are an intriguing feature of directed attention. Recent observations indicate an influence of temperament upon the direction of these asymmetries. It is unknown whether this influence generalises to visual orienting behaviour. The aim of the current study was therefore to explore the relationship between temperament and measures of spatial orienting as a function of target hemifield. An exogenous cueing task was administered to 92 healthy participants. Temperament was assessed using Carver and White's (1994) Behavioural Inhibition System and Behavioural Activation System (BIS/BAS) scales. Individuals with high sensitivity to punishment and low sensitivity to reward showed a leftward asymmetry of directed attention when there was no informative spatial cue provided. This asymmetry was not present when targets were preceded by spatial cues that were either valid or invalid. The findings support the notion that individual variations in temperament influence spatial asymmetries in visual orienting, but only when lateral targets are preceded by a non-directional (neutral) cue. The results are discussed in terms of hemispheric asymmetries and dopamine activity.
ISSN:0269-9931
1464-0600
DOI:10.1080/02699931.2012.666205