Abstract
The detection of a very briefly presented (200-msec) configuration of eight neutral stimuli was inferior when the ninth member of the stimulus array was an emotional rather than a neutral item. This outcome suggests that the symbolic meaning of portions of a stimulus may disrupt the processing of adjacent stimulus components in a single-fixation exposure of the whole stimulus
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Support of this research by Grant No. 07-2120 from the Rutgers University Research Council is gratefully acknowledged.
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Erdelyi, M.H., Appelbaum, A.G. Cognitive masking: The disruptive effect of an emotional stimulus upon the perception of contiguous neutral items. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 1, 59–61 (1973). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03333340
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03333340