The behavioural inhibitory control (IC) is known to be influenced by emotion. For instance, anxiety is associated with executive impairments such as difficulties in suppression of prepotent responses (Ansari & Derakshan, 2011; Yuan et al., 2011). In faces processing, bias towards threatening faces has been considered as a marker of trait-anxiety (TA) (Pérez-Edgar et al., 2010).

Our goal was to explore if IC impairment is expressed with an emotion in particular in TA. We hypothesized that there is a bias concerning engagement of attention towards angry faces.

Thirty healthy participants were included (7 M/ 23 F; mean age = 21, range: 18–29 years). State and trait anxiety was assessed with the STAI (Spielberger et al., 1983). Participants were also assessed with a modified Simon task showing controlled Emotional Facial Expressions (EFE). Negative faces (fear, sadness, anger) and positive faces (happiness) were in the same proportion. Incongruent trials constituted 20% of the task. Participants were asked to press a key if the EFE was positive or negative.

TA scores were between 31 and 67 (mean = 48). We found a significant correlation only for angry faces during incongruent condition with TA (r = −.44; p = .016). Time to engage attention to angry faces (in incongruent condition) decreased while TA increased.

Biases towards negative stimuli appear in attentional constraints in a sample of healthy adults from the general population. TA is characterised by a hypervigilance to anger in situations where attentional control is tested.