Deployment of attention to emotional pictures varies as a function of externally-oriented thinking: An eye tracking investigation

摘要

Background and objectives: Alexithymia is a multidimensional personality construct including the components difficulties identifying feelings (DIF), difficulties describing feelings (DDF), and externally oriented thinking (EOT). Different features of alexithymia are thought to reflect specific deficits in the cognitive processing and regulation of emotions. The aim of the present study was to examine for the first time patterns of deployment of attention as a function of alexithymia components in healthy persons by using eye-tracking technology. It was assumed that EOT is linked to avoidance of negative images.