Manipulating attentional asymmetry affects self-reported arousal

This investigation examined whether manipulating participants' attention toward the left or right visual field would have consequences for mood state. Based on the premise that right parietal activity is related to the arousal dimension of emotion, it was predicted that activating the right parietal region asymmetrically would differentially affect aspects of mood related to arousal. Half of the participants in the experiment completed a leftward-biased attentional orienting task, and half completed a mirror-image rightward-biased task. Consistent with predictions, participants in the left-biased group showed greater changes in self-reported arousal. Results support the notion of bidirectional causal relations between mood and perceptual asymmetries.