Preattentive Processes in the Generation of Emotions

Emotions are inextricably interwoven with cognitions. To the extent that we are willing to be informed by introspections, it is clear that emotions pervade our conscious life, and that there are emotional aspects to most kinds of mental activity. Consequently, the relation of emotion to cognition has been a central matter of speculation for theorists of emotion. Yet if we demand more rigorous evidence, surprisingly little can be said. One of the promises of the emerging cognitive science is that it provides conceptual tools that may allow progress beyond introspectively inspired speculation to a stage of theory-driven empirical research on emotion and cognition. The task is to delineate the mechanisms defining the interface between these two processes. What roles do cognitive mechanisms play in emotions and which effects do emotions have on cognitions? The purpose of the present chapter is to address one issue in this general context, namely the nature of the cognitive mechanisms that underlie the evoking of emotions. However, before this central question is addressed, it is necessary to digress briefly to describe the perspective on emotion upon which our research is based.