Measuring attentional bias using the dot-probe task in young women: Psychometric properties and feasibility of response-based computations, dwell time, and the N2pc component

IF 1.7 4区医学 Q3 PSYCHIATRY

Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry Pub Date : 2025-04-10 DOI:10.1016/j.jbtep.2025.102036

Sandra Klonteig , Elise S. Roalsø , Brage Kraft , Torgeir Moberget , Eva Hilland , Peyman Mirtaheri , Rune Jonassen

{"title":"Measuring attentional bias using the dot-probe task in young women: Psychometric properties and feasibility of response-based computations, dwell time, and the N2pc component","authors":"Sandra Klonteig , Elise S. Roalsø , Brage Kraft , Torgeir Moberget , Eva Hilland , Peyman Mirtaheri , Rune Jonassen","doi":"10.1016/j.jbtep.2025.102036","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Attentional bias (AB) is characterized by preferential cognitive and emotional processing of mood-congruent stimuli and considered a central mechanism in mood disorders. Considerable research has focused on improving AB measures to enhance mechanistic understanding and clinical utility. The present study examines psychometric properties of a range of AB measures with a multimodal setup.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A nonclinical sample of 62 women aged 20–30 years completed the facial dot-probe task while behavioral responses (reaction time), eye-gaze patterns (eye tracking), and electrical brain potentials (electroencephalography) were recorded. AB metrics from four types of AB measures – traditional, response-based, dwell time, and the N2pc component– were examined with internal consistency and short-term test-retest calculations. AB metrics with an internal consistency score over .4 were considered reliable, and their validity were explored by examining relations to depression and anxiety symptoms. In addition, the consistency between reliable metrics across trials were examined.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Findings show that traditional AB metrics exhibited no degree of reliability, whereas response-based and dwell time metrics overall demonstrated better internal consistencies. Response-based metrics also had higher test-retest reliability in all but one metric. The previously reported reliability of the N2pc component was not observed. As for validity, no linear associations were found between the reliable measures, depression, and anxiety. There were no relations between metrics across trials.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>This study provides insights for future AB research, emphasizing the potential of novel metrics over traditional ones and the use of multimodal setups to develop reliable and potentially hybrid measurements for clinical assessment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48198,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry","volume":"88 ","pages":"Article 102036"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0005791625000205","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"PSYCHIATRY","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Attentional bias (AB) is characterized by preferential cognitive and emotional processing of mood-congruent stimuli and considered a central mechanism in mood disorders. Considerable research has focused on improving AB measures to enhance mechanistic understanding and clinical utility. The present study examines psychometric properties of a range of AB measures with a multimodal setup.

Methods

A nonclinical sample of 62 women aged 20–30 years completed the facial dot-probe task while behavioral responses (reaction time), eye-gaze patterns (eye tracking), and electrical brain potentials (electroencephalography) were recorded. AB metrics from four types of AB measures – traditional, response-based, dwell time, and the N2pc component– were examined with internal consistency and short-term test-retest calculations. AB metrics with an internal consistency score over .4 were considered reliable, and their validity were explored by examining relations to depression and anxiety symptoms. In addition, the consistency between reliable metrics across trials were examined.

Results

Findings show that traditional AB metrics exhibited no degree of reliability, whereas response-based and dwell time metrics overall demonstrated better internal consistencies. Response-based metrics also had higher test-retest reliability in all but one metric. The previously reported reliability of the N2pc component was not observed. As for validity, no linear associations were found between the reliable measures, depression, and anxiety. There were no relations between metrics across trials.

Conclusions

This study provides insights for future AB research, emphasizing the potential of novel metrics over traditional ones and the use of multimodal setups to develop reliable and potentially hybrid measurements for clinical assessment.

查看原文本刊更多论文

使用点探测任务测量年轻女性的注意偏倚：基于反应的计算、停留时间和N2pc成分的心理测量特性和可行性

注意偏倚（attention bias， AB）表现为对情绪一致刺激的优先认知和情绪加工，被认为是情绪障碍的中心机制。相当多的研究集中在改善AB措施，以加强机制的理解和临床应用。本研究以多模态设置考察了一系列AB测量的心理测量特性。方法对62名年龄在20 ~ 30岁的非临床女性进行面部点探测任务，记录她们的行为反应（反应时间）、眼球注视模式（眼动追踪）和脑电势（脑电图）。通过内部一致性和短期测试-重测试计算，研究了四种类型的AB度量（传统、基于响应、停留时间和N2pc组件）的AB度量。内部一致性评分超过0.4的AB指标被认为是可靠的，通过检查与抑郁和焦虑症状的关系来探索其有效性。此外，还检查了试验中可靠指标之间的一致性。研究结果表明，传统的AB指标没有表现出一定程度的可靠性，而基于响应和停留时间的指标总体上表现出更好的内部一致性。基于响应的度量在除一个度量外的所有度量中也具有更高的测试-重测试可靠性。先前报道的N2pc组分的可靠性未被观察到。至于效度，在可靠测量、抑郁和焦虑之间没有发现线性关联。不同试验的指标之间没有关系。这项研究为未来的AB研究提供了见解，强调了新指标相对于传统指标的潜力，以及使用多模式设置来开发可靠的、潜在的混合测量方法用于临床评估。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry Multiple-

CiteScore

3.60

自引率

5.60%

发文量

期刊介绍： The publication of the book Psychotherapy by Reciprocal Inhibition (1958) by the co-founding editor of this Journal, Joseph Wolpe, marked a major change in the understanding and treatment of mental disorders. The book used principles from empirical behavioral science to explain psychopathological phenomena and the resulting explanations were critically tested and used to derive effective treatments. The second half of the 20th century saw this rigorous scientific approach come to fruition. Experimental approaches to psychopathology, in particular those used to test conditioning theories and cognitive theories, have steadily expanded, and experimental analysis of processes characterising and maintaining mental disorders have become an established research area.