Modifying Effects of Spatial Attention on Face Preference.

Abstract

In a previous study (Fukukawa & Matsumoto, 2022), which showed that spatial attention affects not only external features that form attractiveness impressions but also internal trait judgments, the presentation time of face stimuli was set at 68 ms, which may have been insufficient for processing facial morphology information. Therefore, in the present study, the presentation time was set to 136 ms to examine the modification effect of attention induced by spatial cues. Participants judged which of two faces presented after the appearance of the spatial cue was more attractive or more reliable. The results showed that the face in the position to which attention was directed by the spatial cue was more likely to be selected, and reaction times tended to be faster for the attractiveness judgment. Comparison of these results with previous studies showed that they were unaffected by the length of the presentation time.