Cerebral Dominance and Attentional Bias in Word Recognition

Abstract

This study investigated the role of cerebral dominance, functional localization, and attentional bias on the recognition of neutral and emotionally charged words presented unilaterally and bilaterally by a tachistoscope to the left and right visual fields of 42 left and 42 right handers. The major findings were: (1) Over-all, right handers perceived more words than left handers; (2) Although more neutral words were perceived, there were no interactive effects for type of word; (3) Unilateral presentation: LVF = RVF for left and right handers; Bilateral presentation: left handers evidenced a left visual-field advantage, right handers evidenced a right visual-field advantage; (4) Directional cuing did not magnify the existing visual field advantage but increased efficiency of recognition for words presented to the correctly cued nondominant visual field and decreased efficiency of recognition for words presented to the incorrectly cued dominant visual field. It was concluded that, although each hemisphere was equally capable of processing single words, cerebral dominance and functional localization interact with attentional bias to produce the observed differential in word recognition of the left and right visual fields.

Attentional factors in visual field asymmetries.

“…The logical extrapolation of this argument to the visual domain would suggest that subjects should be prepared in advance to focus their attention maximally on a specified location and then compare performance when attention was directed to the LVF to when it was directed to the RVF. However, if subjects know well in advance as to where the stimulus will appear, there is little to prevent them from looking at the appropriate location; thus, the visual analogue of the dichotic directed attention procedure is rarely used (but see, e.g., Hardyck, Chiarello, Dronkers, & Simpson, 1985; Levinthal, 1988; Rizzolatti, Umilta, & Berlucchi, 1971).…”

Gender differences in the recognition of laterally presented affective nouns

“…On the other hand, Leventhal (1988), in a study of the relationship between handedness and lateral asymmetry for word recognition, found signi® cant visual ® eld differences in recognition ability, but no distinction between emotional and neutral words. Thus, although there is some suggestion from these studies that the broad propensity for the right hemisphere to GENDER DIFFERENCES IN AFFECTIVE NOUNS 329 predominate in the production of emotion may be mirrored in a similar bias toward emotional words in the right lexicon, there is as yet no clear evidence of a valenced differentiation between the left and right lexicons.…”

“…In particular, Davidson and his colleagues have carried out extensive research into the electroencephalographic correlates of emotional experience (Davidson, Ekman, Saron, Senulis, & Friesen, 1990;Davidson & Fox, 1982;Davidson, Schaffer, & Saron, 1985;Davidson, Schwartz, Saron, Bennett, & Goleman, 1979;Fox & Davidson, 1987, 1988. Using methods designed to ensure the stimulation and veri® cation of appropriate mood states, these studies have demonstrated reliable hemispheric differences in brain activity in the frontal and anterior temporal lobes.…”