Rewards modify performance so that attentional priority is given to stimuli associated with a higher probability of reward. A stimulus associated with reward attracts attention even when it is no longer relevant. In this study, we explored whether or not strategic top-down control can be employed to overcome the attentional bias from a recent reward-stimulus association. Four groups of 12 participants completed a spatial-cueing task involving two phases, in which the cue associated with the target location changed from Phase 1 to Phase 2. Attentional-bias effects toward a previously rewarded cue were demonstrated when the rewarded cue from Phase 1 interfered with the orienting toward a nonrewarded but valid cue in Phase 2. Associating the Phase 2 cue with a higher reward than had been used in Phase 1 resulted in a rapid orientation of attention to the new cue. These findings suggest that pathologies characterized by maladaptive attentional biases (e.g., addiction) may be counteracted by treatments that manipulate motivation by enhancing the subjective relevance of rewards that are less harmful.
THE 1937 STUDY I N 1937 a preliminary investigation was conducted 1 in which the relationship between the prevailing form of hand-smile laterality and certain aspects of behavior and mode of adjustment was studied. The subjects consisted of 84 normal individuals (mostly summer campers) who had been selected from 398 adults and children on the basis of marked or easily observable laterality of the face while spontaneously smiling or laughing. These 84 well-defined or extreme cases of smile dominance were further subdivided into two contrasting groups: (i) 49 "homolateral" subjects (right-smiledness with right-handedness or left-smiledness with left-handedness) and (2) 35 "contralateral" or crossed subjects (left-smiledness with right-handedness or right-smiledness with left-handedness). Two to three personality sketches were obtained from counselors and supervisors on each of these 84 cases. These personality sketches were then rated by two independent judges on the basis of the presence or absence of 15 paired "A" or "Z" a traits, which preliminary investigations had indicated to be significant. These A and Z traits are tabulated as follows:A TRAITS Z TRAITS
i. Fight reaction vs. Flight reactionA-Z 8 The formula used was: A-Zis Q = .Here A represents the number of traits rated as "well-defined A," and 2, the number rated as "well-defined Z." 15 represents the greatest number of ratings any subject could possibly receive from one judge. 4 In the earlier report of this study (cf. footnote 2) this correlation was based directly on the percentages of the A (positive) and Z (negative) ratings, rather than on the derived A-ZiB Q's. An approximate r of +.77 was obtained.
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