Effects Of Affective Priming On Cognitive Efficiency And Cognitive Bias Between Students With Different Depression Status

Objective: This study was designed to explore the interaction of the emotion and cognitive between the normal and subjects with depressive tendencies under different levels of consciousness, prove the interaction of the emotion and cognitive, and and to provide theoretical support for the emotion regulation and treatment.Method: Under different consciousness levels, we use different age and facial expression pictures with matched emotional valence as prime stimulation, to do three experiments on digital STROOP paradigm and affective priming paradigm with subjects of the normal and subthreshold depression students, then to analyze the RT and ACC of the subjects.Result: (1) In the experiment under the consciousness threshold ,there was a significant main effect of children's facial expression on RT, F(2,44)=6.548, p<0.05.And the RT which primed by the"sad"expression was shorter than"neutral"or"happy"expression. Significant interaction was found between affective priming and the groups when adult's facial expression were used, F(2,44)=2.527, p=0.091>0.05. There was a significant main effect RT when the targets were consistency on the subjects with depressive tendencies, F(2,86)=3.19, p=0.046<0.05. (2) In the experiment over the consciousness threshold, there was a significant main effect of children's facial expression on RT, F(2,44)=3.646, p=0.034<0.05. And the RT which primed by the"sad"expression was shorter than"neutral"or"happy"expression. Significant interaction was found between the type of targets and the groups of paticipants when adult's facial expression were used, F(1,22)=3.249, p=0.085>0.05. There was a significant main effect RT when the targets were consistency on the subjects with depressive tendencies, F(2,86)=5.41, p<0.05. (3) In the guessing task of facial expression,it showed no main effect of facial expression nor group main effect under the prime of children's facial expression. No interaction was found between affective priming and the groups. Descriptive statistics showed that The subjects with depressive tendencies likely to judge the back of the head as cry. Significant interaction was found between the type of primings and the groups of paticipants when adult's facial expression were used, F(1,22)=8.105,p=0.009<0.05.Conclusion: (1) The affective priming effect of the pictures are the same when they shared the same validity, and the priming and the status of individuals work together during the cognitive process. (2)Stable affective priming effect was found when the pictures were presented consciously or unconsciously, the underlying process of the conscious affective priming tend to be the control process, while the unconscious affective priming tend to be automatical process. (3)There was no significant negative cognitive bias both under the priming of children's facial expression and adult's facial expression, there was only a trend of negative cognitive bias, depressed individuals tend to the negative cognitive bias remains to be proof in the future.