Abstract
Human visual attention is preferentially drawn to threat-related cues. Despite extensive experimental works, this attentional bias has been predominantly examined after participants experienced repeated pairings between a conditioned stimulus (CS) and an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US). The present study aimed to determine whether threat-related attentional capture can result from vicarious learning, when participants acquire knowledge of the aversive qualities of a stimulus through verbal instruction (Experiment 1) or observation (Experiment 2), without direct exposure to the aversive outcome. In Experiment 1, participants first performed a visual search task in which a green or red circle was presented as a target. They were instructed that one of these two colors might be paired with an electric shock if they responded slowly or inaccurately, whereas the other color was never associated with shock. However, no shocks were actually delivered. In a subsequent test phase, in which participants were explicitly informed that shocks were no longer possible, former-target-color stimuli were presented as distractors in a visual search task for a shape-defined target. In both phases, we observed a positive correlation between threat-related attentional bias and state anxiety. In Experiment 2, participants watched a video of a person (the demonstrator) performing a Pavlovian conditioning task in which one color was paired with shock (CS+) and another color was neutral (CS-). Participants then carried out visual search for a shape-defined target. Oculomotor measures evidenced an attentional bias toward the CS+ color. This effect was also positively correlated with empathy for the demonstrator. Altogether, our data suggest that threat-related attentional capture can ensue from vicarious learning. This study extends empirical and theoretical knowledge about threat-driven attention and provides valuable insight to better understand the formation of anxiety disorders.