Four experiments tested the hypothesis that objects toward which individuals hold attitudes that are highly accessible from memory (i.e., affectively-laden objects) are more likely to attract attention when presented in a v isual display than objects involving less accessible attitudes. The first two experiments found that, upon being presented with 6-item displays, subjects were more likely to notice and subsequently report those objects toward which they held accessible attitudes. The first experiment involved the measurement of attitude accessibility, whereas attitude accessibility was manipulated in the second experiment. Evidence of incidental attention was obsewed in the third experiment; subjects noticed affectively-laden distractors despite being instructed to ignore these items. The fourth experiment demonstrated that inclusion of affectively-laden objects as distractor items interfered with subjects' performance on a visual search task. Apparently, affectively-laden stimuli attract attention. The findings illustrate that accessible attitudes provide the functional benefit of orienting an individual's visual attention toward attitude obiects with potential hedonic consequences.