Note The Facilitation Effect

Attentional boost effect(ABE)referred to when the subjects in a dual task that required target detection,memorizing background materials and monitoring irrelevant secondary tasks,but only responding to the target stimulus,and ignoring the distracting stimulus,the phenomenon that recognition memory of stimuli presented with the target conditions were better than stimuli presented with the distractor conditions.Previous studies have shown that the ABE existed in different memory types,sensory channels,learning material forms,and presented spatial locations,but most of them were based on item memory research,and there were few studies on source memory.And most research results had shown that the negative emotional would automatically attract attention and reduce the boost effect of target detection,so,emotional background materials has a regulatory effect on ABE.However,some studies had proposed inconsistent conclusions.Therefore,the present study was to test the generation and mechanism of attention boost effect through three experiments that used emotional words with different valences as background materials and source memory as the framework to discuss.In experiment 1,we used a 2(interference type: target,distraction)× 2(font size of background material: large,small)× 3(emotional valence of background material:positive,neutral,negative)within subject design.Recorded the correct rate of recognition memory and source judgment.This study discussed the influence of emotional materials on the ABE when font size was used as the source variable,analyzed the differences of ABE in the two memory types,and whether the ABE was regulated by the uniqueness of the background material(emotional material).The results found that the memory of item stimuli and source variable extraction of words co-occurring with targets were better than distractor,both have an ABE,and the difference in memory performance was the most significant in negative emotion materials,which showed the regulating effect of emotion.In order to further verify the attention boost effect under the framework of source memory,so in experiment 2,we used a 2(interference type: target,distraction)× 2(color of background material: red,green)× 3(emotional valence of background material: positive,neutral,negative)within subject design.Also recorded the correct rate of recognition memory and source judgment.This study further verified the influence of emotional valence on ABE in the frame of source memory,explore the adjustment of ABE when font color was the source variable,to deepen the processing mechanism of the ABE.The results found that the ACC of recognition of words and colors co-occurring with the target stimulus were higher than distracted stimuli,that was ABE appeared in both item memory and source memory,and the difference in memory performance between target and distraction was more significant in emotional words,and there was still a regulating effect of emotion.The above results were the same as experiment one.In experiment 3,we used a 2(interference type: target,distraction)× 2(color of background material: red,green)× 2(emotional valence of background material:positive,negative)three factors' mixed design.Emotional characteristics of background material was the between-subject variable,recorded the correct rate of recognition memory and source judgment.The study used ERP technology to analyze the average volatility of different components induced under different conditions,and further explored the regulating effect of emotional valence and source variables on the effect of ABE.Results found that target stimuli induced a larger amplitude of the P2 component than distractor,and the distracted stimulus induced a larger N2 amplitude than target condition,and the difference of the target and the distracted stimulus in amplitude can continue to the late stage of coding.Within 500-800 time window,significant differences in the amplitude of the target and distracted stimulus-induced were found in the central area.Through the above experiments,we have come to the following conclusions:(1)there was a stable attention boost effect(ABE)in item memory,that was,the participants' recognition of words presented with the target stimulus was better than distracting stimuli.This attention promotion effect was derived from increased attention to target stimuli that need to respond and deepens the perceptual coding,which supported the early perceptual coding enhancement hypothesis and the dual-task interaction model;(2)ABE will also appear in the source memory,but it will be affected by the task form.Attention promotion in source memory included two stages,namely,the early physical feature coding enhancement regarding familiarity,and the later intentional processing of situational(source)information regarding control.This showed that the dual processing theory of source memory still existed in the attention promotion paradigm;(3)emotional valence and ABE have a regulatory effect.The ABE showed in negative emotion materials was the result of the dual effects of negative stimulus emotional memory enhancement and target detection perceptual coding enhancement,which was based on the dual processing of automatic and control.However,the boost of attention in emotional stimulation will be regulated by factors such as the arousal of the material and the presentation of the stimulus;(4)neurological evidence suggested the learning of the goals or distractors included not only the bottom-up perceptual processing driven by physical information,but also the cognitive processing of top-down selection and inhibition driven by the internal information of the brain.It was the result of early perceptual coding enhancement and multipath coordination of the brain.