Effect of negative emotions and arousal on attentional resources, risk perception, and risk assessment.

In traffic contexts, negative emotions and high arousal levels lead to risk underestimation (Jones et al., 2014) and promote a preference for risky choices (Eherenfreund-Hager et al., 2016). On the other hand, it has also been reported that negative emotions increase conservative behavior (Pêcher et al., 2009), suggesting that negative emotions—particularly in high-arousal states—may lead to the overestimation of risk. The emergence of these conflicting reactions is thought to be driven by alterations in attention resources caused by emotions. High-arousal negative emotions consume significant attention resources (Pessoa, 2009) and impair the processing of peripheral information (Easterbrook, 1959). Consequently, important visual cues essential for safe judgment—such as the speed and distance of approaching vehicles—may not be sufficiently processed, making it difficult to accurately assess the magnitude of risk. This impairment in information processing is presumed to distort risk perception, thereby triggering extreme decision-making—either excessively risky or overly conservative—that deviates from appropriate judgment. These points suggest that the impact of negative emotions on risk judgment stems from fluctuations in attention resources associated with arousal levels. Therefore, the present study examines how negative emotions and their arousal levels influence attention resources, risk perception, and risk assessment within the context of pedestrian road-crossing scenarios.