Analysis of attentional biases in anxiety using 24 facial priming sequences.

Abstract

The processing of emotional facial expressions helps people to adjust to the physical and social environment. Furthermore, mental disorders such as anxiety have been linked to attentional biases in the processing of this type of information. Nevertheless, there are still contradictory results that might be due to the methodology used and to individual differences in the manifestation of anxiety. Our research goal was to use 24 facial priming sequences to analyse attentional biases in the detection of facial expressions of fear, considering the levels and the ways in which individuals express anxiety. With higher levels of cognitive anxiety and general trait anxiety, those sequences that began in the upper half (vs. lower half) elicited a speedier response in the detection of fear. The results are discussed within the context of other techniques and disorders that prompt a deficit in the processing of facial information.