Automatic vigilance refers to the automatic process by which people direct attention toward undesirable stimuli. In three experiments, participants named colors associated with desirable and undesirable traits, showing longer latencies for undesirable traits. This suggests that attention is automatically drawn to negative information, even when participants try not to focus on it. The findings support the automatic vigilance hypothesis, which posits that negative stimuli are more likely to attract attention than positive ones. This effect was not explained by perceptual defense or base-rate differences. The results indicate that negative information is processed automatically and that attention is directed to it without conscious effort. The valence effect was consistent across experiments, with undesirable traits eliciting longer response times than desirable ones. The findings suggest that automatic vigilance is a key mechanism in attentional processing, with negative stimuli being more salient and requiring more attentional resources. The results also highlight the asymmetry in people's evaluations of gains and losses, with negative events being weighted more heavily in decision-making and impression formation. The study provides evidence that automatic vigilance plays a crucial role in attentional processing, with negative stimuli being more likely to attract attention than positive ones.Automatic vigilance refers to the automatic process by which people direct attention toward undesirable stimuli. In three experiments, participants named colors associated with desirable and undesirable traits, showing longer latencies for undesirable traits. This suggests that attention is automatically drawn to negative information, even when participants try not to focus on it. The findings support the automatic vigilance hypothesis, which posits that negative stimuli are more likely to attract attention than positive ones. This effect was not explained by perceptual defense or base-rate differences. The results indicate that negative information is processed automatically and that attention is directed to it without conscious effort. The valence effect was consistent across experiments, with undesirable traits eliciting longer response times than desirable ones. The findings suggest that automatic vigilance is a key mechanism in attentional processing, with negative stimuli being more salient and requiring more attentional resources. The results also highlight the asymmetry in people's evaluations of gains and losses, with negative events being weighted more heavily in decision-making and impression formation. The study provides evidence that automatic vigilance plays a crucial role in attentional processing, with negative stimuli being more likely to attract attention than positive ones.