Do attentional and interpretive biases interact or work independently in vulnerability to emotional stress?

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Current psychological theories emphasise the role that the way in which people think plays in the development of common psychological conditions like anxiety, depression and elation. It is thought that people with anxiety or depression have biased thinking styles which mean that they tend to automatically process information in a threat-related or negative way compared with the general population. Those with elation react differently from those that are normal and those with anxiety and depression. Two kinds of biased thinking have been identified in emotional disorders: attention bias, where attention is automatically diverted towards items associated with danger or unhappiness, and interpretation bias, where the individual automatically perceives emotionally aversive meanings in ambiguous information. Computer-based interventions which have been designed to reverse these biases (known as cognitive bias modification (CBM)) have been shown to significantly alleviate anxiety and low mood, demonstrating the causal role of biased thinking in mental ill health, whilst providing a potential platform for developing non-specialist interventions which individuals can access on their own home computer. All the research to date, has, however, focussed on a single thinking bias at a time (either attention or interpretation). In addition, testing of participants tends to be conducted with groups of either highly socially anxious participants, or those who experience no difficulty in their everyday living due to anxiety. Interpretation bias modification programs typically train individuals to interpret information in a more positive way, and the effect of interpretation bias from pre to post training is assessed, along with any changes in mood. Similarly, attention bias modification programs train participants to attend away from unpleasant stimuli and the difference between pre and post attention bias is measured, along with mood changes. Very little work has considered whether reduction in one bias also results in a reduction in the other bias and how different mood states might interact with different levels of bias. For further progress to be made in understanding the mechanisms underpinning emotional problems, work needs to be done to find out how the identified attentional and interpretive processes interact with one another and with different levels of distress to induce and subsequently maintain differing levels of anxiety in individuals. The aim of the proposed research is to find out first of all whether or not the biases operate conjointly or independently. Based on these findings, the second aim will be to examine the optimal conditions for training delivery for individuals with elevated anxiety and/or depression levels, and exuberant individuals. The findings from this research will inform the development of current theories of affective conditions in cognitive psychology. With improved understanding of the conditions in which the mind generates biased thinking more precise cognitive bias modification interventions can be developed to target problematic thinking in anxiety, depression and elation.