Data from: The effect of mood state on visual search times for detecting a target in noise: an application of smartphone technology

The study of visual perception has largely been completed without regard
to the influence that an individual’s emotional status may have on their
performance in visual tasks. However, there is a growing body of evidence
to suggest that mood may affect not only creative abilities and
interpersonal skills but also the capacity to perform low-level cognitive
tasks. Here, we sought to determine whether rudimentary visual search
processes are similarly affected by emotion. Specifically, we examined
whether an individual’s perceived happiness level affects their ability to
detect a target in noise. To do so, we employed pop-out and serial visual
search paradigms, implemented using a novel smartphone application that
allowed search times and self-rated levels of happiness to be recorded
throughout each twenty-four-hour period for two weeks. This experience
sampling protocol circumvented the need to alter mood artificially with
laboratory-based induction methods. Using our smartphone application, we
were able to replicate the classic visual search findings, whereby pop-out
search times remained largely unaffected by the number of distractors
whereas serial search times increased with increasing number of
distractors. While pop-out search times were unaffected by happiness
level, serial search times with the maximum numbers of distractors (n =
30) were significantly faster for high happiness levels than low happiness
levels (p = 0.02). Our results demonstrate the utility of smartphone
applications in assessing ecologically valid measures of human visual
performance. We discuss the significance of our findings for the
assessment of basic visual functions using search time measures, and for
our ability to search effectively for targets in real world settings.