A gender- and sexual orientation-dependent spatial attentional effect of invisible images

TLDR

Human observers constantly process vast amounts of information, and selective attention enables rapid focus on relevant stimuli while filtering out irrelevant ones. The study demonstrates that invisible erotic images can direct spatial attention. Invisible erotic images attract or repel attention depending on gender and sexual orientation: heterosexual males focus on invisible female nudes, heterosexual females on male nudes, gay males behave like heterosexual females, and gay/bisexual females show intermediate effects.

Abstract

Human observers are constantly bombarded with a vast amount of information. Selective attention helps us to quickly process what is important while ignoring the irrelevant. In this study, we demonstrate that information that has not entered observers' consciousness, such as interocularly suppressed (invisible) erotic pictures, can direct the distribution of spatial attention. Furthermore, invisible erotic information can either attract or repel observers' spatial attention depending on their gender and sexual orientation. While unaware of the suppressed pictures, heterosexual males' attention was attracted to invisible female nudes, heterosexual females' attention was attracted to invisible male nudes, gay males behaved similarly to heterosexual females, and gay/bisexual females performed in-between heterosexual males and females.