Dissociated Hemispheric and Stimulus Effects Upon Affective Choice and Recognition

Abstract

Following lateralized tachistoscopic presentations of faces and pronounceable nonsense words, subjects made two kinds of choices, affective (AFF) and recognition (REC). Subliminal presentations influenced later affective choices for faces (but not for nonsense words), while recognition was not influenced. Liminal presentations produced no effects. Supraliminal presentations influenced later affective choices for nonsense words (but not for faces), while recognition choices showed the expected LVF advantage for faces and a RVF advantage for nonsense words. Affective and recognition judgments appeared to be competing processes since only one or the other but not both differed significantly from chance in a visual field for a given stimulus type and exposure duration.

Key Words:

• Subliminal stimulation
• preconscious processing
• cerebral laterality
• affect
• cognitive stages