SATO Wataru Laboratory

Dynamic fearful expressions enhance gaze-triggered attention orienting regardless of anxiety level

(Uono, Sato, & Toichi: Soc Behav Pers)

Previous studies using static stimuli showed that gaze-triggered attention orienting is facilitated by fearful expressions, mediated by high anxiety.

However, uncertainty remains regarding the effect of anxiety on responses to dynamic stimuli.

We investigated this using dynamic fearful and neutral gaze as cues.
Participants detected a peripheral target following the cue.
Anxiety levels were measured after (Experiment 1) or during experimental manipulation (Experiment 2).

We found a reaction time (RT) advantage for fearful vs. neutral gazes in both high and low state/trait anxiety participants.

The results showed that dynamic fearful expressions facilitate gaze-triggered attention orienting, without mediation by high anxiety.

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