Motivational Modulation of the Attentional Blink

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate if and to what degree motivationally-behaviourally relevant material modulates the attentional blink effect during rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP). Written eating verbs (e.g. essen , speisen , kauen ; to eat , to dine , to chew , respectively) and written arts and craft verbs (e.g. hämmern, sägen, schnitzen ; to hammer, to saw, to carve , respectively) were used as a second target (T2) in an 8.7-Hz RSVP paradigm. Participants came to the laboratory twice: once in a satiated state, and once in a hungry state (food-deprived for 24 hours). The crucial experimental question was whether food deprivation modulates the attentional blink effect. In particular, the hypothesis of a facilitated identification of eating verbs compared to arts and craft verbs in a hungry state was tested. Successful manipulation of motivational state was controlled with a blood test and with ratings of hunger and appetite. Subjective ratings of the target verbs using the Self-Assessment-Manikin showed a state-dependent difference in the hungry state specifically for the eating verbs. In the hungry state, participants rated eating verbs as more arousing and as more pleasant compared to the satiated state. As expected, the classic attentional blink effect was replicated in the present study. Interestingly, the results did not show that being in a hungry state leads to a better identification of eating-relevant verbs. Although the successful manipulation of motivational state was demonstrated in this study, food deprivation did not influence the attentional blink pattern. Instead, a very robust attentional blink effect was found for both T2 stimulus classes. The findings of the present study are discussed in relation to recent attentional blink experiments using affectively arousing material and in relation to other paradigms dealing with hunger-related attention biases towards food-relevant stimuli.