Exploring Carry-Over Effects to Elucidate Attention Bias Modification’s Mixed Results

Abstract

cial expressions or words. During the modified dot-probe task, two stimuli appear on the screen for less than 1000 milliseconds, after which a target (letter or symbol) replaces one of the stimuli. The participant is asked to respond to the target as quickly and accurately as possible. The trial is named for the type of stimulus being replaced by the target (i.e., if a threat stimulus is replaced, the trial is a threat trial). In the literature, three ABM conditions have been tested: attend positive (positive stimulus is more often replaced by a target), attend threat (negative stimulus is more often replaced by a target), and a no-training control (stimulus types are replaced by a target with equal probability; Frewen, Dozois, Joanisse, & Neufeld, 2008; Klumpp & Amir, 2010). An attention bias, the tendency to attend to a certain type of information over other types of information, can be determined by calculating the difference in reaction times between threat trials and positive trials (Amir et al., 2009; Izetelny, 2006). This calculation is most commonly carried out using data from an assessment task, which is often a dot-probe task similar to the control training (Boettcher et al., 2013; White, Suway, Pine, Bar-Haim, & Fox, 2011). Individuals with SAD often demonstrate an attention bias to threat in these tasks (Bogels & Mansell, 2004). ABM has been developed in an effort to reduce this attention bias. In the dot-probe paradigm, attention bias manifests itself in reaction times. For example, if a SAD subject has an attention bias towards threat, the subject is, on average, quicker to respond to threat trials than to positive trials. This occurs because the subject’s attention is immediately drawn to the threatening stimuli. When the stimulus is replaced with an arrow, the subject will then respond more quickly. However, previous findings on the subject are mixed, with some studies reporting no bias among SAD subjects (Boettcher et al., 2013; Bradley et al., 1997) or even a bias away from threat INTRODUCTION Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is characterized by excessive worry and self-consciousness surrounding social situations due to significant discomfort, negative internal evaluations, or anticipated embarrassment (American Psychological Association, 2013). SAD is a debilitating disorder which leads to significant impairment in work and social situations. Annually, about 7% of the population meets DSM-V criteria for SAD and it accounts for 10% to 20% of people with anxiety disorders in outpatient settings (American Psychological Association, 2013; Ruscio et al., 2008). Not surprisingly, treatment for this disorder is in high demand. In an effort to reduce anxiety symptoms, attention bias modification (ABM) has been explored as a potential computer-based treatment for SAD designed to alter how people process and pay attention to social information (Amir et al., 2008; Heeren, Lievens, & Philippot, 2011; Klumpp & Amir, 2010). ABM is a modified dot-probe paradigm using affective/emotional stimuli such as faExploring Carry-Over Effects to Elucidate Attention Bias Modification’s Mixed Results