注意偏向训练对广泛性焦虑障碍负性情绪注意偏向的影响

采用改良的点探测任务,探讨了注意偏向训练能否改变GAD患者的负性情绪注意偏向并缓解其焦虑状态,及注意偏向训练的作用机制。结果发现,与控制组相比,训练组被试的负性注意偏向分数显著降低,具体表现为训练后训练组的负性注意解除能力显著高于控制组,两组被试的负性注意警觉在前后测均未有显著变化;注意偏向训练引起了GAD患者积极情绪的变化,缓解了状态焦虑。这证明了注意偏向训练对改变GAD患者负性情绪注意偏向及缓解其焦虑状态的有效性,并揭示这种改变主要是通过提升其对负性刺激的注意解除能力来实现的。     

童年期心理虐待对情绪面孔注意偏向的影响

目的 探讨童年期心理虐待对情绪面孔注意偏向的影响。方法 使用儿童心理虐待量表,筛选童年期受心理虐待者18人,对照组19人,采用点探测任务,以成对情绪面孔为实验材料,考查童年期心理虐待对情绪面孔注意偏向的影响。 结果 以反应时为指标得出组别、面孔性质及一致性交互作用显著,在探测点位置与面孔不一致时,心理虐待组对消极面孔的反应时长于积极面孔。以注意偏向分数为指标发现组别和面孔性质交互作用显著,心理虐待组对消极面孔的注意偏向分数高于控制组。 结论 童年期心理虐待对情绪面孔注意偏向存在影响。     

高焦虑个体对威胁性刺激的注意偏向特点*

采用点探测实验范式,将图片按照威胁性分为高威胁性和一般威胁性,探讨焦虑程度不同的个体对不同威胁性刺激的注意特点。采用状态-特质焦虑问卷从265个大学生中选取了33名高焦虑被试和31名对照组被试。结果发现：（1）高焦虑组个体对一般威胁性刺激有显著注意偏向,对高威胁性刺激有注意回避趋势;（2）对照组个体对一般威胁性刺激没有表现出注意偏向,对高威胁刺激有注意偏向趋势。结论：（1）即使是一般威胁性图片也能引起高焦虑被试的注意偏向 （2）高威胁性图片才能引起对照组个体产生注意偏向的趋势。     

自动情绪调节对负性情绪面孔注意偏向的影响

本研究通过成语匹配任务启动情绪调节目标,在情绪flanker任务中考察了自动情绪调节启动对注意偏向的影响。结果表明,中性启动条件下,被试表现出对负性情绪面孔的注意偏向,而情绪调节启动条件下,被试对正性、负性情绪面孔的注意分配不存在显著差异。这一结果说明自动情绪调节可以有效地减弱被试的负性情绪面孔注意偏向。     

自动情绪调节对负性情绪面孔注意偏向的影响

本研究通过成语匹配任务启动情绪调节目标,在情绪flanker任务中考察了自动情绪调节启动对注意偏向的影响。结果表明,中性启动条件下,被试表现出对负性情绪面孔的注意偏向,而情绪调节启动条件下,被试对正性、负性情绪面孔的注意分配不存在显著差异。这一结果说明自动情绪调节可以有效地减弱被试的负性情绪面孔注意偏向。     

情绪启动对低自尊个体注意偏向的影响

研究通过两个实验来探讨情绪启动对低自尊个体注意偏向的影响。实验一采用点探测实验范式考察高、低自尊个体的注意偏向特点。实验二将重复启动范式和点探测实验范式相结合,进一步探讨情绪启动如何影响低自尊水平个体注意偏向。结果表明：低自尊个体对负性信息存在注意偏向;情绪启动对低自尊个体注意偏向有显著的影响。正性情绪启动对低自尊个体负性注意偏向有显著的调节作用,负性情绪启动加重了低自尊个体的负性注意偏向。     

高功能自闭症个体对威胁性情绪面孔的注意偏向

高功能自闭症(High-Functioning Autism, HFA)个体智力正常, 但也面临着严重的社会功能障碍。对威胁性情绪面孔的注意偏向与HFA个体社会功能的发展密切相关。梳理相关研究发现, HFA个体在自动加工阶段和情绪目标参与阶段, 不存在威胁性情绪面孔注意偏向; 而在任务与情绪无关的控制加工阶段, 存在威胁性情绪面孔注意偏向。针对HFA个体威胁性情绪面孔注意偏向的理论解释主要有杏仁核理论、强烈世界理论和执行功能理论等。神经生理机制方面, HFA个体对威胁性情绪面孔的注意偏向可能与其异常的皮下及皮层通路功能有关, 同时可能会受5-羟色胺系统基因及催产素水平等的影响。未来研究可在综合考虑研究方法及个体因素的基础上, 进一步探究其加工特征及神经生物机制, 着力开发科学有效的干预策略。     

高、低自尊个体对负性情绪注意偏向的眼动研究

采用"点探测任务"实验范式,选取29名大学生被试,用眼动仪记录被试观察情绪图片的眼动轨迹,考察高、低自尊个体注意偏向的内部加工机制。结果表明:低自尊个体对正性情绪图片的总注视时间显著短于高自尊个体,即低自尊个体缺乏对正性情绪图片的注意偏向,对负性情绪图片不存在注意警觉和注意维持,存在注意回避;高自尊个体对负性情绪图片的总注视时间显著长于正性情绪图片,即对负性情绪图片存在注意偏向。     

高强迫症状个体对图片刺激的注意偏向

以往强迫症注意偏向研究呈现出不一致的结果。为探索研究结果的不一致性是否由于被试取样和刺激选择所导致,当前研究改用非临床强迫症状个体作为研究对象,采用图片作为刺激来引发被试的反应和脑电波的变化。研究采用2(高强迫症状组、低强迫症状组)×3(中性图片、一般威胁图片和强迫相关图片)的混合实验设计,因变量为反应时和相关的脑电成分,结果显示:高强迫症状组较低强迫症状组对强迫相关图片表现出了更大幅度的P2波幅的变化。从而可以推断出,高强迫症状个体对强迫相关图片表现出了明显的注意偏向,其成分为注意脱困,主要发生在早期自动化加工阶段。     

手机成瘾大学生注意偏向的实验研究

该研究试图从注意偏向角度研究手机成瘾大学生的认知特点和机制,旨在揭示手机成瘾大学生与正常使用手机大学生在面对手机相关词语和中性刺激时的注意特点及其机制,以期为手机成瘾大学生的治疗和干预提供理论支持。该研究首先利用手机成瘾量表筛选出手机成瘾被试,然后采用点探测范式探求其存在这种注意偏向模式的内在机制。通过研究发现,手机成瘾水平对大学生手机相关词语注意偏向是有影响的,不同手机成瘾水平者的注意模式不同,手机成瘾者对手机相关信息存在注意偏向,正常使用手机者没有表现出显著的注意偏向。     

Selective attention and threat: quick orienting versus slow disengagement and two versions of the dot probe task

The dot probe task is often used to assess attentional bias in anxiety, but some aspects need clarification. First, the results, which are traditionally summarized in an attentional bias index, do not allow for distinguishing between different selective attention processes; orienting and disengagement. Second, different versions of the dot probe task have been used with unknown relative merits. Participants (N=133) completed two versions of the dot probe task: the detection task (i.e. is there a probe?) and the differentiation task (i.e. what sort of probe is it?). The analysis carried out allowed for a differentiation between orienting and disengagement. The main finding was that trait anxiety is related to disengagement difficulties and not to speed of orienting. Concerning the relative merits of the two dot probe task versions, the results suggest that the detection task may be superior to the differentiation task. Implications for past and future research are discussed.     

Attentional bias to angry faces using the dot-probe task? It depends when you look for it

A number of studies using the dot-probe task now report the existence of an attentional bias to angry faces in participants who rate highly on scales of anxiety; however, no equivalent bias has been observed in non-anxious populations, despite evidence to the contrary from studies using other tasks. One reason for this discrepancy may be that researchers using the dot-probe task have rarely investigated any effects which might emerge earlier than 500 ms following presentation of the threat-related faces. Accordingly, in the current study we presented pairs of face stimuli with emotional and neutral expressions and probed the allocation of attention to these stimuli for presentation times of 100 and 500 ms. Results showed that at 100 ms there was an attentional bias towards the location of the relatively threatening stimulus (the angry face in angry/neutral pairs and the neutral face in neutral/happy pairs) and this pattern reversed by 500 ms. Comparisons of reaction time (RT) scores with an appropriate baseline suggested that the early bias toward threatening faces may actually arise through inhibition of the relatively least threatening member of a face pair rather than through facilitation of, or vigilance towards, the more threatening stimulus. However the mechanisms governing the observed biases are interpreted, these data provide evidence that probing for the location of spatial attention at 500 ms is not necessarily indicative of the initial allocation of attention between competing emotional facial stimuli.     

Selective attention to threat in the dot probe paradigm: differentiating vigilance and difficulty to disengage

The dot probe task [J Abnorm Psychol 95 (1986) 15] is an often-used paradigm to investigate selective attention to threat. A facilitated response to probes that appear at the same location of threat information in comparison with responses to probes at the opposite location of threat information is interpreted as vigilance for threat. We argue that the findings in the dot probe paradigm are ambiguous evidence for the vigilance to threat hypothesis. Results can also be interpreted as a difficulty to disengage from threat. In this study, 44 undergraduates performed a pictorial version of the probe detection task. Taking into account the reaction times on neutral trials, we found no evidence for a facilitated detection of threatening information. It was found that the dot probe effects are at least partially due to disengagement effects. The implications of these results for the understanding of attentional bias in normal and anxious individuals are discussed.     

Time course of attentional bias for fear-relevant pictures in spider-fearful individuals

The time course of attentional biases for spider stimuli was assessed in two groups of individuals with high or low levels of spider fear. Pairs of photographs of spiders and cats were presented in a visual probe task with three exposure durations: 200, 500 and 2000 ms. Results indicated greater attentional bias for spider stimuli in high fear, than in low fear, individuals in the 200 ms condition. The attentional bias in the high fear group significantly reduced as stimulus exposure duration increased, with no significant biases found in the longer exposure conditions. Results support the view that high fear is associated with an enhanced initial attentional bias for fear-relevant stimuli, but that this attentional bias is not maintained over time.     

Tracking the evil eye: Trait anger and selective attention within ambiguously hostile scenes

Previous research has shown that trait anger is associated with biases in attention and interpretation, but the temporal relation between these two types of biases remains unresolved. Indeed, two very different models can be derived from the literature. One model proposes that interpretation biases emerge from earlier biases in attention, whereas the other model proposes that hostile interpretations occur quickly, even prior to the allocation of attention to specific cues. Within the context of integrated visual scenes of ambiguously intended harm, the two models make opposite predictions that can be examined using an eye-tracking methodology. The present study (N = 45) therefore tracked participants’ allocation of attention to hostile and non-hostile cues in ambiguous visual scenes, and found support for the idea that high anger individuals make early hostile interpretations prior to encoding hostile and non-hostiles cues. The data are important in understanding associations between trait anger and cognitive biases.     

Do people change behind the wheel? A comparison of anger and aggression on and off the road

The question of whether “we drive as we live” or whether “we are transformed behind the wheel” generates discussion at all levels from the scholarly to the popular. To shed light on this issue, this study measured the personality traits of general anger and driving anger and four modes of expression common to both contexts (verbal, physical, displaced and adaptive) in a sample of 198 drivers. The results showed a moderate correlation between the two measured traits and indicated that each mode of expression correlated better with its equivalent mode in the other context than it did with the other modes of expression. Next, three hypotheses about the multivariate relationship were tested through five path models. These models confirmed that general anger and driving anger, although related to each other, are two different traits: a propensity to general anger and a propensity to driving anger. However, it was observed that when someone experiences anger, either on or off the road, it is expressed in the same way, given that each mode of expression behind the wheel is associated to both the propensity to driving anger and the equivalent mode of expression in a general context. Finally, the study’s implications are discussed.     

Driving stimuli increases accessibility of aggression-related concepts in “angry” drivers

Stimuli present in aversive situations (even initially neutral stimuli) can become associated with aggressive feelings and thoughts become capable of acting as cues for aggressive thoughts. The present research examined whether driving stimuli can serve as triggers for aggression-related concepts for individuals predisposed to becoming angry while driving (i.e., high in self-reported trait driving anger). Using the General Aggression Model (Anderson & Bushman, 2002) as a guide, two studies demonstrated that participants high in trait driving anger responded more quickly to aggressive words when paired with driving than neutral stimuli. There were no differences in primes for nonaggressive words and nonwords. Study 2 also found that, for participants high in driving anger, increased accessibility of aggressive words following driving primes predicted self-reported anger in a provoking driving scenario.     

Attentional bias for performance-related words in individuals with narcissism

In this study, dot probe tasks were employed to present performance-related or interpersonal-related words paired with neutral words, we examined the attentional bias of narcissists as well as its mechanism. Results showed that the narcissistic individuals demonstrated significant attentional bias for performance words. Specifically, they were highly vigilant to failure words and had difficulty disengaging from success words, and there was no such bias for the category of interpersonal ones. Non-narcissists, on the other hand, exhibited significant difficulty disengaging from negative words, including failure words and rejection words. From this data, it would appear that attentional bias may be a built-in cognitive attribute of narcissism. The limitations of the present study and future research directions are also discussed.