Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34135956›Full record

ReviewNeural plasticity2021

Negative and Positive Bias for Emotional Faces: Evidence from the Attention and Working Memory Paradigms.

Qianru Xu, Chaoxiong Ye, Simeng Gu, Zhonghua Hu, Yi Lei, Xueyan Li, Lihui Huang, Qiang Liu

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Neural plasticity, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
14citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  8. Competition between emotional faces in visuospatial working memory.Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Qianru XuInstitute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China.ORCID 0000-0003-1579-6972
Chaoxiong YeInstitute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China.ORCID 0000-0002-8301-7582
Simeng GuInstitute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China.
Zhonghua HuInstitute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China.
Yi LeiInstitute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China.
Xueyan LiSchool of Foreign Languages, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China.
Lihui HuangFaculty of Education, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China.
Qiang LiuInstitute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Visual attention and visual working memory (VWM) are two major cognitive functions in humans, and they have much in common. A growing body of research has investigated the effect of emotional information on visual attention and VWM. Interestingly, contradictory findings have supported both a negative bias and a positive bias toward emotional faces (e.g., angry faces or happy faces) in the attention and VWM fields. We found that the classical paradigms-that is, the visual search paradigm in attention and the change detection paradigm in VWM-are considerably similar. The settings of these paradigms could therefore be responsible for the contradictory results. In this paper, we compare previous controversial results from behavioral and neuroscience studies using these two paradigms. We suggest three possible contributing factors that have significant impacts on the contradictory conclusions regarding different emotional bias effects; these factors are stimulus choice, experimental setting, and cognitive process. We also propose new research directions and guidelines for future studies.

Indexed as

EmotionsFacial ExpressionModels, NeurologicalAngerAttentionElectroencephalographyHappinessHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMemory, Short-TermPhotography

Identifiers

PMID34135956
PMCPMC8178010

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.