Encouraging Expressions Affect the Brain and Alter Visual Attention

Abstract

BackgroundVery often, encouraging or discouraging expressions are used in competitive contexts, such as sports practice, aiming at provoking an emotional reaction on the listener and, consequently, an effect on subsequent cognition and/or performance. However, the actual efficiency of these expressions has not been tested scientifically.Methodology/Principal FindingsTo fill this gap, we studied the effects of encouraging, discouraging, and neutral expressions on event-related brain electrical activity during a visual selective attention task in which targets were determined by location, shape, and color. Although the expressions preceded the attentional task, both encouraging and discouraging messages elicited a similar long-lasting brain emotional response present during the visuospatial task. In addition, encouraging expressions were able to alter the customary working pattern of the visual attention system for shape selection in the attended location, increasing the P1 and the SP modulations while simultaneously fading away the SN.Conclusions/SignificanceThis was interpreted as an enhancement of the attentional processes for shape in the attended location after an encouraging expression. It can be stated, therefore, that encouraging expressions, as those used in sport practice, as well as in many other contexts and situations, do seem to be efficient in exerting emotional reactions and measurable effects on cognition.

The influence of affective state on exogenous attention to emotional distractors: behavioral and electrophysiological correlates

“…At the neural level, a main effect of affective state on the early anterior and posterior N1 components (peaking approximately at 150 ms from stimulus onset) was found; thus, emotionally arousing moods (positive and negative) elicited greater N1 amplitudes than the neutral mood. This is in line with previous evidence showing that experiencing an emotional state may broaden early processing of stimuli 52 , 69 , and specifically, of distracting stimuli 55 , 57 , 70 , though these previous studies described effects at even earlier latencies (C1 and P1). This discrepancy might be due to differences in the experimental paradigms (i.e., previous studies mentioned above did not present any kind of distractors or the employed distractors were not emotional).…”

From metaphor to action: Embodied language cognition

“…Our data showed that these expressions were able to modify the usual work pattern of the visual system, apparently leading the dorsal stream to process a feature that is usually processed by the ventral stream, like shape (Figure 4). Thus, we can confirm that linguistic expressions of encouragement, such as the ones usually present in sports and in many other contexts and situations, are efficient to exert emotional reactions and noticeable and measurable effects in cognition (Martín-Loeches, Sel, Casado, Jiménez, & Castellanos, 2009). Figure 2.…”

Peer Verbal Encouragement Enhances Offensive Performance Indicators in Handball Small-Sided Games

“…Potential theoretical and pedagogical implications of external motivation are drawn to enhance the quality and effectiveness of external motivation. Furthermore, encouraging expressions, such as VE, are thought to be a suitable and powered factor not only to induce emotional states, but also to subsequently affect performance or cognitive processing [ 39 ].…”