Stimulus affective valence reverses spatial compatibility effect.

Abstract

In spatial compatibility tasks, the Reaction Time to right-side stimuli is shorter for right key responses (compatible condition) than for left key responses (incompatible condition) and vice-versa for left-side stimuli. Similar results have been found when the stimulus location is not relevant for response selection, such as in the Simon task. The Simon effect is the difference between the reaction times for non-corresponding and corresponding conditions. The Simon effect and its variants may be modulated by using emotional stimuli. However, until now, no work has studied how the affective valence of a stimulus influences spatial compatibility effects along the horizontal dimension. The present study investigated this issue by using small lateralized figures of soccer team players as stimuli. In the experiment, a compatible or incompatible response was chosen according to the team shirt. In one block, for the Favorite team, the volunteers had to press the key on the same side as the stimulus hemifield but the opposite-side key for the Rival team. In the other block, a reverse code had to be used. Fourteen right-handed volunteers were tested. Mean reaction times were subjected to analysis of variance with the following variables: Preference (Favorite/Rival), Hemifield (Left/Right), and Response Key (Left/Right). A three-way interaction was found (F 1,13 = 6.60, p = .023), showing that the spatial compatibility effects depended on Preference. The Favorite team player elicited the usual spatial compatibility pattern, but for the Rival team player, the reverse effect was found, with incompatible responses being faster than compatible responses. We propose that this modulation may result from approach/avoidance reactions to the Favorite and Rival teams, respectively. Moreover, we suggest as a corollary that the classic spatial compatibility task is a powerful tool for investigating approach/ avoidance effects.

Stimulus affect valence may influence mapping-rule selection but does not reverse the spatial compatibility effect: Reinterpretation of Conde et al. (2011).

“…The manipulation of Favorite and Rival teams in the study of Conde et al (2011) is clever and does show an influence of that distinction on performance, but there is a simpler interpretation of their results for which that variable does not modulate spatial SRC, contrary to their explanation. The experiment of Conde et al is a variant of a mixed-mapping task in which participants are to make the spatially compatible response on some trials and the spatially incompatible response on others.…”

“…If Favorite is coded as the unmarked (or "+" polarity) member of the dimension of preference and Rival as marked relative to it (or "-" polarity) and compatible is coded as unmarked ("+" polarity) for the dimension of compatibility and incompatible as marked ("-" polarity), this correspondence of the polarities could produce the observed compatibility effect of team preference with mapping rules without any overlap of conceptual content between the dimensions (Proctor & Cho, 2006). In summary, the ingenious study of Conde et al (2011) demonstrates a large compatibility effect for the mapping of team preference to selection of compatible versus incompatible spatial mapping rule. Although this compatibility effect may have its basis in affective coding of the teams, other accounts that do not invoke affect are possible.…”

Effects of affective valence on a mixed Spatial Correspondence Task: A reply to Proctor (2013).

“…We initially reanalyzed the results of Conde et al (2011) according to the model proposed by Proctor (2013). In that study, compatible and incompatible responses were chosen according to the participants' team preference.…”

Affective Spatial Compatibility Task (AffSCt): Theory and applications

“…In the present study, we extended the analysis reported in Conde et al (2011), aiming to accomplish part of the enterprise of providing a complete description of the phenomena associated to AffSCt. In order to establish how the approach and avoidance responses are temporally produced in AffSCt, distributional analyses were applied on data.…”

“…Results of Conde et al (2011) opened up an important applied research fi eld, since the AffSCt may be a methodology capable of identifying opposite patterns of affective valence. For instance, AffSCt can be used to explore differential patterns of affective valence effects in non-clinical groups as well as in psychiatric and neurological patients, affl icted by disorders such as the Attention Defi cit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Parkinson Disease (PD).…”