Dynamic variations in affective priming.

Full Abstract

The present study investigates the dynamics of emotional processing and awareness using an affective facial priming paradigm in conjunction with a multimodal assessment of awareness. Key facial primes are visually masked, and are presented for brief (unconscious) and extended (conscious) durations. Using a preference measure, we examine whether the effects of the primes differ qualitatively (Murphy & Zajonc, 1993). We show that:
(a) unconscious affective priming with faces emerges strongly in initial presentations and diminishes rapidly with repetition; (b) conscious affective priming also emerges strongly in initial presentations, however it persists in strength with repetition; and (c) in contrast to other reports on the salience of negative stimuli, happy faces appear more salient than sad faces when presented outside awareness. We discuss the limits and extensions of unconscious affective priming with faces, and consider several methodological and conceptual questions concerning emotional processing out of awareness.

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Author information

Author/s: Wong, P S (PS); Root, J C (JC);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science, New School University, 65 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10003, USA. pswong@newschool.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Consciousness and cognition (Conscious Cogn), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2003-Jun; vol 12 (issue 2) : pp 147-68

Dates: Created 2003/05/23; Completed 2003/09/16; Revised 2004/11/17;

PMID: 12763002, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

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