Change in Attentional Control Predicts Change in Attentional Bias to Negative Information in Response to Elevated State Anxiety

Basanovic, Julian; Kaiko, Isabelle; MacLeod, Colin · 2020 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1007/s10608-020-10176-3

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Summary

This study investigates the cognitive mechanisms underlying individual differences in how elevated state anxiety influences attentional bias toward negative information. While previous research established that heightened state anxiety generally increases attentional bias to negative stimuli and impairs inhibitory control of attention, it remained unclear whether the degree of attentional bias elevation is driven by the degree of attentional control impairment. The authors hypothesized that greater impairment in inhibitory control would predict greater increases in attentional bias to negative information following anxiety induction. The researchers recruited 80 undergraduate participants, stratified into high and low trait anxiety groups, to ensure sufficient power for detecting correlations. Participants completed assessments of attentional bias (using a dot-probe task) and inhibitory control of attention (using an attentional-probe task) both before and after a state anxiety induction procedure. The induction involved a simulated job interview evaluation designed to acutely elevate state anxiety. State anxiety levels were measured using the short-form Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The study design allowed for the examination of within-individual changes in attentional processes in response to the induced anxiety. Results confirmed that the induction procedure successfully elevated state anxiety across all participants and generally impaired inhibitory control of attention. However, contrary to some prior literature, the induction did not produce a significant general increase in attentional bias to negative information across the sample. Crucially, the analysis of individual differences revealed a significant relationship between changes in attentional control and changes in attentional bias. Specifically, greater elevation in attentional bias to negative information was predicted by *lesser* decline in inhibitory control of attention. This finding was inverse to the initial hypothesis, which predicted that poorer control would lead to greater bias. The findings suggest that while attentional control and attentional bias are related, the mechanism is not simply that impaired control leads to uncontrolled attentional capture by negative stimuli. Instead, the authors propose that increased attentional bias in response to anxiety may reflect a strategic attentional goal rather than a failure of control. Individuals who maintain better inhibitory control may more effectively suppress attention to non-negative, goal-irrelevant information, thereby facilitating sustained attention to negative, potentially threatening stimuli. These results challenge theoretical models that uniformly link anxiety-linked attentional bias to poor inhibitory control and highlight the need to consider attentional flexibility and goal-directed processes in understanding anxiety. The authors also note limitations regarding the reliability of the dot-probe task and suggest future research should explore these dynamics under prolonged stress conditions.

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• stress arousal performance