Attentional bias and facilitated escape: A pictorial test

Abstract

Results of various experimental studies prove that fearful Ss show an attentional bias to threatening information. It is hypothesized that such attentional bias promotes facilitation of escape from potential danger. In this study, a paradigm is described in which both selective allocation of attention and facilitated escape can be studied in one pictorial task. Selective allocation of attention is assessed by measuring performance deterioration due to distraction with a threatening distracter. Facilitation is measured by improved reaction time performance to threat-relevant cues. An experiment was conducted with 46 spider phobics. The results confirmed that phobic Ss show facilitated responses to threat-congruent cues. The potency of the pictorial task and possible relationships between attentional bias and avoidance are discussed.