Orienting of attention: From cognition to emotion

Orienting has both cognitive and emotional aspects which can be revealed by selection and preference, respectively. In the first part of this study, we investigate of how the selection occurs and propose an interactive model in which both stimulus-driven properties and top-down controls interact with each other to determinate the final selection. Certain kinds of stimulus properties such as salience or transient changes can elicit stimulus-driven activation to capture attention. However, the activation can be modulated by top-down controls. The interactive model differentiates the two components of orienting, involuntary and voluntary, and further helps to solve the discrepancy in the literature of attentional capture. In the second part of this study, we investigate two principles of memory in preference, preference for familiar faces and novel natural scenes, and how orienting plays a role in-between. Although different mechanisms of the two kinds of preferences are suggested by series of studies, orienting indeed contributes to preference. A positive feedback loop between selection and preference is suggested which implies a close linkage between cognition and emotion by orienting.