ERIC Number: EJ734741
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005-Jun
Pages: 18
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0096-1523
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Available Date: N/A
Parafoveal Semantic Processing of Emotional Visual Scenes
Calvo, Manuel G.; Lang, Peter J.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, v31 n3 p502-519 Jun 2005
The authors investigated whether emotional pictorial stimuli are especially likely to be processed in parafoveal vision. Pairs of emotional and neutral visual scenes were presented parafoveally (2.1[degrees] or 2.5[degrees] of visual angle from a central fixation point) for 150-3,000 ms, followed by an immediate recognition test (500-ms delay). Results indicated that (a) the first fixation was more likely to be placed onto the emotional than the neutral scene; (b) recognition sensitivity (A') was generally higher for the emotional than for the neutral scene when the scenes were paired, but there were no differences when presented individually; and (c) the superior sensitivity for emotional scenes survived changes in size, color, and spatial orientation, but not in meaning. The data suggest that semantic analysis of emotional scenes can begin in parafoveal vision in advance of foveal fixation.
Descriptors: Semantics, Pictorial Stimuli, Vision, Eye Movements, Spatial Ability, Visual Measures, Recognition (Psychology), Comparative Analysis, Visual Perception, Hypothesis Testing
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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