Interactive influences of emotion and extraversion on visual attention

Introduction Emotion has been shown to influence selective visual attention. However, studies in this field have revealed contradictory findings regarding the nature of this influence. One possible explanation for the variation in findings is that affective inter‐individual differences impact both attention and emotion and may therefore moderate any influence of emotion on attention. The current work is a novel investigation of the effects of induced emotional states and the traits of extraversion and neuroticism on visual attention. This allowed a direct investigation of any impact of extraversion and neuroticism on the way in which emotion influences attention. Methods Participants were induced into positive, neutral, and negative emotional states before completing a change detection flicker task in which they were required to locate a change to a real‐world scene as quickly and accurately as possible. Results Participants scoring higher in extraversion were more accurate but slower at detecting changes. Importantly, this was particularly evident when induced into a negative emotional state compared to a neutral emotional state. Neuroticism had no impact on attention. Conclusions The current study provides evidence that extraversion can moderate the influence of negative emotion upon visual attention and may help to explain some of the contradictory findings in this research area. When considered independently, increased trait levels of extraversion were associated with improved change detection. Individuals higher in extraversion appear better equipped to regulate negative emotion compared to individuals lower in extraversion, supporting research linking extraversion to affective reactivity and models of psychopathology. The ability of affective traits to influence the effect of emotion on change detection is currently unknown. Extraversion independently improved change detection and interacted with emotion to guide the allocation of attention. Individuals higher in extraversion appear better equipped to regulate negative emotion compared to individuals lower in extraversion supporting research linking extraversion to affective reactivity and models of psychopathology.