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17-02-2021 | Original Article

The Reliability and Validity of Response-Based Measures of Attention Bias

Auteurs: Emily E. E. Meissel, Huiting Liu, Elizabeth S. Stevens, Travis C. Evans, Jennifer C. Britton, Allison M. Letkiewicz, Stewart A. Shankman

Gepubliceerd in: Cognitive Therapy and Research | Uitgave 1/2022

Abstract

Background

Attentional bias to threat is a fundamental transdiagnostic component and potential vulnerability factor for internalizing psychopathologies. However, the measurement of attentional bias, such as traditional scores from the dot-probe paradigm, evidence poor reliability and do not measure intra-individual variation in attentional bias.

Methods

The present study examined, in three independent samples, the psychometric properties of a novel attentional bias (AB) scoring method of the dot-probe task based on responses to individual trials. For six AB scores derived using the response-based approach, we assessed the internal consistency, test–retest reliability, familial associations, and external validity (using Social Anxiety Disorder, a disorder strongly associated with attentional bias to threatening faces).

Results

Compared to traditional AB scores, response-based scores had generally better internal consistency (range of Cronbach’s alphas: 0.68–0.92 vs. 0.41–0.71), higher test–retest reliabilities (range of Pearson’s correlations: 0.26–0.77 vs. − 0.05 to 0.35), and were more strongly related in family members (range of ICCs: 0.11–0.27 vs. 0–0.05). Furthermore, three response-based scores added incremental validity beyond traditional scores and gender in the external validators of current and lifetime Social Anxiety Disorder.

Conclusions

Findings indicate that response-based AB scores from the dot-probe task have better psychometric properties than traditional scores.

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This Stimulus Onset Asynchrony was established from previous research (20–50 ms; Egloff and Hock 2003; Mathews et al. 1996) and piloted before data collection to ensure that the images disappeared before conscious awareness.

We explored whether AB would vary under ‘threat’ and ‘safe’ contexts (order of safe and threat were counterbalanced). During the threatening context, participants heard random presentations of a woman screaming or nails scraping on slate (see Neumann et al. 2008; who used these sounds as unconditioned stimuli in Pavlovian conditioning). The traditional and response-based measures of AB were comparable under threat vs. safe contexts (all p’s > 0.16) as were the reliabilities. Thus, for ease of presentation of results and to increase power, all analyses combined trials from threat and safe contexts.

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Titel: The Reliability and Validity of Response-Based Measures of Attention Bias
Auteurs: Emily E. E. Meissel
Huiting Liu
Elizabeth S. Stevens
Travis C. Evans
Jennifer C. Britton
Allison M. Letkiewicz
Stewart A. Shankman
Publicatiedatum: 17-02-2021
Uitgeverij: Springer US
Gepubliceerd in: Cognitive Therapy and Research / Uitgave 1/2022
Print ISSN: 0147-5916
Elektronisch ISSN: 1573-2819
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-021-10212-w

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Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

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