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Positive online attentional training as a means of modifying attentional and interpretational biases among the clinically depressed: An experimental study using eye tracking
Author(s) -
Krejtz Izabela,
Holas Paweł,
Rusanowska Marzena,
Nezlek John B.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/jclp.22617
Subject(s) - psychology , attentional bias , anxiety , attentional control , depression (economics) , task (project management) , eye tracking , negative information , clinical psychology , audiology , developmental psychology , cognitive psychology , cognition , psychiatry , medicine , physics , optics , economics , macroeconomics , management
Objective The present study examined the effectiveness of online positive attention bias modification training (ABMT) in inducing positive attention and positive interpretational biases in depressed individuals. Method Clinically depressed individuals ( n = 60) were randomly assigned to one of two conditions of 14‐day online ABMT. In the positive ABMT condition, a probe replaced positive stimuli in 100% of trials. In the control condition, the probe replaced positive stimuli in 50% of trials. Before and after training, we recorded eye movements during the completion of a Scrambled Sentence Task in which participants created positive or negative sentences. Participants also completed measures of symptoms of depression and anxiety. Results After training, participants in the positive ABMT condition fixated longer on positive keywords than participants in the control group and experienced a significant reduction in anxiety. Conclusion These findings suggest that positive AMBT can promote positive attention bias among clinically depressed individuals.