Does emotion influence visual perception? Depends on how you look at it

ABSTRACT

One of the biggest challenges in the study of emotion–cognition interaction is addressing the question of whether and how emotions influence processes of perception as distinct from other higher-level cognitive processes. Most theories of emotion agree that an emotion episode begins with a sensory experience – such as a visual percept – that elicits a cascade of affective, cognitive, physiological, and/or behavioural responses (the ordering and inclusion of those latter components being forever debated). However, for decades, a subset of philosophers and scientists have suggested that the presumed perception → emotion relationship is in fact bidirectional, with emotion also altering the perceptual process. In the present review we reflect on the history and empirical support (or, some might argue, lack thereof) for the notion that emotion influences visual perception. We examine ways in which researchers have attempted to test the question, and the ways in which this pursuit is so difficult. As is the case with the ongoing debate about the cognitive penetrability of perception, we conclude that nothing is conclusive in the debate about the emotional penetrability of perception. We nonetheless don rose-coloured glasses as we look forward to the future of this research topic.

KEYWORDS:

• Visual perception
• top-down influence
• New Look
• emotion-congruence
• emotion networks

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Adrienne Wood http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4773-4493

Notes

1 The mechanism of the suppression effects of CFS are still debated (e.g. Stein & Sterzer, 2014), with some arguing the suppressed stimuli reach early vision but do not undergo the same recursive processing in higher brain systems as consciously-perceived stimuli, and others suggesting CFS also interferes with early vision (Yuval-Greenberg & Heeger, 2013). Similar debates occurred earlier with regard to pattern masking (Enns & Di Lollo, 2000).