Attention Bias Modification (ABM): Review of Effects of Multisession ABM Training on Anxiety and Threat-Related Attention in High-Anxious Individuals. (July 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mogg, Karin; Waters, Allison M.; Bradley, Brendan P.
• Is Part Of: Clinical psychological science. Volume 5:Number 4(2017:Jul.)
• Page Start: 698
• Page End: 717
• Publication Date: 2017-07
• Subjects: anxiety -- attention bias modification -- threat -- cognitive control; Clinical psychology -- Periodicals; 616.89
• DOI: 10.1177/2167702617696359
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2167-7026

Abstract

Attention bias modification (ABM) aims to reduce anxiety by reducing attention bias (AB) to threat; however, effects on anxiety and AB are variable. This review examines 34 studies assessing effects of multisession-ABM on both anxiety and AB in high-anxious individuals. Methods include ABM-threat-avoidance (promoting attention-orienting away from threat), ABM-positive-search (promoting explicit, goal-directed attention-search for positive/nonthreat targets among negative/threat distractors), and comparison conditions (e.g., control-attention training combining threat-cue exposure and attention-task practice without AB-modification). Findings indicate anxiety reduction often occurs during both ABM-threat-avoidance and control-attention training; anxiety reduction is not consistently accompanied by AB reduction; anxious individuals often show no pretraining AB in orienting toward threat; and ABM-positive-search training appears promising in reducing anxiety. Methodological and theoretical issues are discussed concerning ABM paradigms, comparison conditions, and AB assessment. ABM methods combining explicit goal-directed attention-search for nonthreat/positive information and effortful threat-distractor inhibition (promoting top-down cognitive control during threat-cue exposure) warrant further evaluation.