Cueing of visual attention by emotional facial expressions: The influence of individual differences in anxiety and depression

Theoretical models on the development of anxiety disorders and depression have postulated mood-congruent information processing biases as a cognitive vulnerability factor. Hierarchical models of these disorders suggest shared and distinct cognitive processing biases in at-risk individuals. In the present study, attentive processing of emotional facial expressions was investigated in a large group of participants (N = 144) that were tested on tension/stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms. In a modified version of the exogenous cueing paradigm, spatial attention was cued by an angry, sad, happy, or neutral facial expression that correctly or incorrectly predicted the location of a target. Results showed no main or interaction effects of emotional expression and individual differences on attentional cueing. The absence of any attentional cueing effects is discussed in relation to population characteristics and previous null-results in the attentional bias literature.