Processing Central and Peripheral Detail: How Content Arousal and Emotional Tone Influence Encoding

Abstract

This study investigates how visual details are encoded as a function of centrality of content, emotional intensity (arousal), and valence (pleasant/unpleasant). The study uses a new measure of visual content centrality and periphery based on structural rather than content features of mediated events. Seventy-two pictures were selected from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) using valence and arousal norms published with the system. Recognition was used to track encoding. Results suggest that central details are recognized better than peripheral details as arousal increases. The encoding of central compared to peripheral detail is less prone to cognitive overload. The findings reveal a remarkable hierarchy that is consistent with the motivational perspective on cognition and suggests that as emotional experience intensifies the organism gives up on encoding for peripheral negative detail sooner and more rapidly than for peripheral positive detail.