Seeing conflict: identifying self-control conflict attenuates early allocation of visual attention to positive stimuli

Vogt, J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3178-2805, Bajandouh, Y. and Butler, L. (2025) Seeing conflict: identifying self-control conflict attenuates early allocation of visual attention to positive stimuli. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. ISSN 1747-0226 doi: 10.1177/17470218251389519

Abstract/Summary

Positive information such as temptations or stimuli related to reward attracts attention. This attentional bias is often considered to be habit-like and, consequently, to contribute to self-control problems. In contrast, we document across three studies how attention allocation to positive stimuli is attenuated when observers identify a conflict between positive information and a more important current goal. In Study 1, students attended away from leisure-related temptations in the presence of studying reminders, however, they paid more attention to such positive, tempting stimuli when conflict was less salient such as when planning to engage in more leisure activities. Study 2 and 3 manipulated experimentally whether a conflict is identified and tested the effects of conflict identification on attention allocation. In study 2, students attended away from a positive temptation when they were prompted to consider it as detrimental to their studying goals but not when they reflected on how it might support their studying goals. This supports our assumption that activating a more important goal by itself does not cause attenuation of attention but the identification of a conflict with a goal. In study 3, reward-related information was attended to, but attention was attenuated when participants were instructed that the stimuli would temporarily harm and thus be in conflict with a more important goal. This effect was visible even without allowing participants to forget about the association with reward. In sum, malleable perceptions of conflict between positive information and important goals shape how observers orient to such information.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/124886
Identification Number/DOI	10.1177/17470218251389519
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Department of Psychology Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Language and Cognition Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Perception and Action
Publisher	Sage
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