Attention Bias On Negative Vocabularies Of Different Arousal And Their Attention Bias Modification Training

Compared to neutral stimuli,negative stimuli are prioritized or received more attention resources is often defined attentional bias to negative stimuli,referred to as attentional bias.Note that there are two different components of attentional bias.One is engagement bias,means harder to get rid of the negative stimulus compared with neutral ones.The other is disengagement bias,means negative stimulus can hold attention more firmly than neutral ones.The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of attentional bias,attentional bias components and attentional bias training of high-trait anxiety individuals on different-intensity negative vocabularies.30 undergraduates whose trait anxiety score greater than 49 were selected through the state-trait anxiety questionnaire.Four experiments were performed using a dot-probe paradigm and Modifieddot-probe paradigm combined with more sensitive eye tracking technologies.Experiment 1 used negative vocabulary with different intensities as experimental materials.The results showed that individuals with high trait anxiety only had attentional bias toward low-intensity negative vocabulary;Experiment 2 used eyetracking techniques and found that individuals with high trait anxiety had attentional engagement bias towards high arousal negative vocabulary and disengagement bias towards low arousal negative vocabulary.Experiments 1 and 2 confirmed the presence of attentional bias in negative vocabulary of different arousal among individuals with high trait anxiety.In experiment 3,the attention bias modification training was performed using the modifieddot-probe paradigm.The results showed that after one session attention bias training,the attention disengagement bias towards low arousal negative vocabulary nolonger exist,but attentional engagement bias towards high arousal negative vocabulary still exist.After accumulating two session attention-biased modification training individuals with high trait anxiety showed attention avoidance towards high and low arousalof negative vocabulary,but attentional engagement bias towards high arousal negative vocabulary still exist.Experiment 4 performed visual search with face images.The results showed that after training,high-anxiety individuals speed up the search for neutral faces in the anger face matrix,and enhance the ability to gettheripof the angry faces,but there is no change in the search for the anger and fear face in the neutral face matrix.Both experiments 3 and 4 confirmed that attentional bias modification training can effectively enhance the ability to getrip of the attention disengagement bias tothe negative stimuli but does not change the priority vigilance to negative stimuli.And attention bias training effect can be migrated to the face picture.