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。     

Mental Health Inequalities During COVID-19 Outbreak: The Role of Financial Insecurity and Attentional Control

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns negatively impacted the mental health of populations. This impact is not equally distributed and increases existing mental health inequalities. Indeed, government restrictions and the economic consequences of the pandemic affect more the less educated and less wealthy people. However, psychological processes implicated in this increase of mental health inequalities during the COVID-19 pandemic remain unexplored. The present study (N=591) tested the role of financial insecurity and attentional control in the relation between socioeconomic status and mental health, along with the influence of trait anxiety. Based on Structural Equation Modelling, findings showed a mediation effect of financial insecurity, but not of attentional control, in the relationship between socioeconomic status and mental health. In addition, exploratory analyses suggested that financial insecurity also mediated the effect of attentional control on mental health. Results of the present research point at the importance of understanding psychological processes implicated in the effect of economic crises on mental health inequalities.     

Adaptive working memory training can reduce anxiety and depression vulnerability in adolescents

Adolescents can be at heightened risk for anxiety and depression, with accumulating research reporting on associations between anxiety and depression and cognitive impairments, implicating working memory and attentional control deficits. Several studies now point to the promise of adaptive working memory training to increase attentional control in depressed and anxious participants and reduce anxiety and depression symptoms, but this has not been explored in a non‐clinical adolescent population. The current study explored the effects of adaptive dual n‐back working memory training on sub‐clinical anxiety and depression symptomology in adolescents. Participants trained on either an online adaptive working memory task or non‐adaptive control task for up to 20 days. Primary outcome measures were self‐reported anxiety and depression symptomology, before and after intervention, and at 1‐month follow‐up. Self‐reported depression (p = 0.003) and anxiety (p = 0.04) decreased after training in the adaptive n‐back group relative to the non‐adaptive control group in the intention‐to‐treat sample (n = 120). These effects were sustained at follow‐up. Our findings constitute proof of principle evidence that working memory training may help reduce anxiety and depression vulnerability in a non‐clinical adolescent population. We discuss the findings’ implications for reducing risk of internalizing disorders in youth and the need for replication.     

高社交焦虑者识别动态情绪面孔的神经机制

近年来, 大量的研究对高社交焦虑者的情绪面孔加工和社交焦虑的干预进行了考察, 取得了丰富成果, 但仍存在以下不足: (1) 在以往的中国动态情绪面孔库存中, 刺激材料的情绪类别、视频维度以及视频持续时间的种类偏少; (2) 高社交焦虑者识别动态情绪面孔的神经机制未被系统探讨; (3) 注意偏向训练的效果存在争议, 即一些研究者发现注意偏向训练对社交焦虑有明显的缓解作用, 而其他研究者却未发现注意偏向训练的效果。针对这些不足, 当前项目建设的中国人动态情绪面孔库拟增加刺激材料的情绪类别、视频维度以及视频持续时间的类型, 此外运用神经科学的技术系统探究高社交焦虑者对动态情绪面孔的识别机制, 最后采用工作记忆训练改善高社交焦虑者对动态生气面孔识别的注意偏向。本研究团队提出了高社交焦虑个体识别动态情绪面孔的神经机制模型, 该模型主要包括机制和干预两个部分。本项目的开展不仅为动态情绪面孔加工和社交焦虑研究提供了新视角, 还突破原有单一的研究方法, 拟从行为、电生理和脑成像三个层次进行研究。研究成果将促进社交焦虑干预工作的开展, 从而缓解社交焦虑个体的心理健康问题, 对于提高他们的幸福感和生命质量有重要价值。     

Influence of emotional task relevancy on the temporal dynamic of attentional bias in people with high-trait anxiety

ABSTRACT

It is unknown whether high-trait anxiety (HTA) individuals show facilitated attention or impaired attentional disengagement. In the present study, we have manipulated emotion and task relevance to explore the temporal dynamic of attentional bias in an HTA group via emotional attentional blink (EAB) and emotion-induced blindness (EIB). The results showed that the attentional blink effect was greater in the negative compared to neutral condition. When emotional stimulation was task-irrelevant at lag6, this enhanced effect was only present for the HTA group, indicating impaired attentional disengagement. However, when emotional stimulation was task-relevant at lag4, the enhanced attentional blink was absent for HTA but still present for LTA until lag8, suggesting facilitated attention for HTA. Thus, task relevancy of emotional distractor appears to influence attention biases in HTA individuals. In addition, individual characteristics modulate the magnitude and time window of the attentional blink in the context of EIB and EAB tasks.     

The effect of varying danger controllability on attention to threat messages

The objective of this study is to determine whether attention toward fear messages is affected by variation in the controllability of the associated danger. There is no consensus regarding the effectiveness of fear appeals in driving adaptive behaviour, and it may be the case that threat messages fail to capture attention if the associated danger is not explicitly controllable. One hundred and sixty undergraduate university students completed a computer task that involved exposure to threat cues signalling a danger (money loss). In high control blocks, attending to threat cues provided a high chance of avoiding the danger, whereas in low control blocks, attending to threat cues provided little chance of avoiding the danger. Attentional capture by threat was measured. A mixed-design analysis of variance showed there was greater attentional capture by threat cues in high control blocks compared with low control blocks. This effect was observed with a short stimulus exposure duration and was magnified with a long exposure duration. Fear appeals could capture attention to a greater degree if the danger related to the threat message was communicated as being controllable. This has significant practical implications for the implementation of fear appeals.     

竞赛压力、注意控制与运动表现关系的理论演进

竞赛压力及其引发的紧张焦虑对运动员的竞技状态有重要影响。注意控制理论(attentional control theory, ACT)从注意控制角度解释焦虑如何影响操作表现。阐述了ACT的历史演变过程和基本假设, 梳理了ACT在运动领域的适用性检验和基于ACT的拓展研究, 引出了ACT的发展理论——运动注意控制理论, 进而分析了其与挑战-威胁生物心理社会模型和自我控制力量模型的整合链接点, 提出了“压力-资源-注意控制整合模型”, 以更好地理解竞赛压力、注意控制与运动表现之间的关系。     

海量信息如何影响跨期决策?基于注意资源的理论视角

信息过少容易使人成为井底之蛙, 不利于做出高质量的决策; 那拥有更多信息是否就能做出更高质量、有远见的决策呢?已有研究发现海量信息导致注意资源稀缺, 注意资源对跨期决策至关重要, 但海量信息如何影响跨期决策的内在机制尚不明确。本研究基于注意资源的理论视角提出：海量信息加剧注意资源的稀缺, 一方面当前信息捕获过多注意资源, 导致指向未来的注意资源减少, 造成模拟未来不清晰、预测未来不准确, 意图形成减少; 另一方面增加对时间紧迫性的关注, 减少为长远未来做计划的意愿, 导致在跨期权衡中更偏好近期选项。长期导向的特质可以使个体将注意聚焦于长远收益, 做出更有远见的决策。研究结果将科学地解释海量信息影响跨期决策的内在机制, 并为进一步探讨助推海量信息环境下有远见的跨期决策提供理论与实证依据。