Hemispheric asymmetry of the affective priming effect
Abstract
The present study examined the role of prime strength on the lateralized affective priming effect. Participants were presented unilateral primes (i.e., either to the left or right visual field) and then made evaluative decisions on centrally presented targets. Across both experiments, the affective congruity effect occurred for high, but not low, arousing primes. In Experiment 1, when stimuli were primes or targets but not both, the affective priming effect occurred in the right visual field (left hemisphere) for high arousing primes. However in Experiment 2, when stimuli were presented as both primes and targets receiving repeated parafoveal and foveal exposure of primes, the affective priming effect occurred in the left visual field (right hemisphere) for high arousing primes. The present experiments support the right hemisphere hypothesis of superior affective and arousal processing, but only when stimuli receive adequate foveal exposure of prime stimuli. Thus, the present results emphasize task structure (i.e., mode of repeated exposure) in producing lateralized affective priming.
Subject Area
Psychobiology|Psychology
Recommended Citation
Herring, David R, "Hemispheric asymmetry of the affective priming effect" (2011). ETD Collection for University of Texas, El Paso. AAI1494355.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/dissertations/AAI1494355