Previous research has shown that chronic stress resulting from negative life events (NLEs) impairs prefrontal cortex functioning, leading to weakened inhibitory control, working memory overload, and attentional bias toward event-related stimuli. Our proposed study investigates how traumatic event-related visual stimuli influence performance in a visual search task compared to neutral stimuli. Participants will complete a Number Matrix Task in which they must sequentially click numbers 1-10 within a random array containing numbers up to 35, while distracting visual stimuli will appear. Five categories of negative stimuli will be used (e.g., death, extreme injury/illness, violence). Neutral stimuli will be matched in content but non-negative. Performance will be assessed via two reaction time measures: (1) time to locate the number 1 after stimulus onset, reflecting attentional orienting; and (2) time required to progress from 1 to 10, reflecting attentional control and working memory load. Participants will also complete questionnaires assessing psychological state, individual characteristics, and the occurrence of NLEs. Data will be analysed using linear mixed models with reaction time measures as outcome variables (separately), stimulus valence (negative, neutral) and category as within-subject factors, questionnaire scores as independent predictors, participant ID as a random factor. We hypothesize that negative stimuli will slow performance relative to neutral stimuli, and that individuals reporting more NLEs or heightened emotional distress will show stronger interference effects. This paradigm may provide insight into how NLEs and related emotional cues disrupt cognitive control, offering a useful experimental model for studying cognitive-affective mechanisms underlying attentional disturbances following adverse experiences.