scholarly journals Failed attempts to improve the reliability of the Alcohol Visual Probe task following empirical recommendations

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Jones ◽  
Paul Christiansen ◽  
Matt Field
Keyword(s):  
Attentional Bias ◽  
Internal Consistency ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Absolute Difference ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Outlier Removal ◽  
Retest Reliability ◽  
Probe Task ◽  
Visual Probe ◽  
The Individual

Introduction: The Visual Probe Task (VPT) is a computerised task commonly used to measure attentional bias to substance-related stimuli. Despite concerns it demonstrates poor reliability and internal consistency little research has examined its psychometric properties. These issues can reduce confidence in inferences based on VPT performance. As such, we attempted to improve the reliability of the alcohol VPT, by attempting to apply empirical recommendations for outlier handling and task design from the anxiety literature. Methods: We reanalysed data from three previously published studies in our laboratory and three newly collected data sets. We compared tasks which presented images on the left and right of the screen to above and below, whether participants responded to the location of the probe or the content, and whether general alcohol-related images or images personalised to the individual were used. In each VPT we also applied a-priori outlier removal (2 and 3 standard deviations and median absolute difference) and data-driven outlier removal (Winsorising). Results: Across all studies and tasks internal consistency and test-retest reliability of attentional bias measures were inadequate. There was no consistent improvement in internal consistency or rest-retest reliability as a function of outlier removal methods. Discussion: We were unable to demonstrate adequate reliability of the alcohol VPT, which further supports observations that these tasks may not yield reliable measures. Future research should focus on improving the reliability of these tasks or abandoning them in favour of more reliable alternatives

scholarly journals Measuring Food-Related Attentional Bias

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefania Franja ◽  
Anna E. McCrae ◽  
Tina Jahnel ◽  
Ashley N. Gearhardt ◽  
Stuart G. Ferguson
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Attentional Bias ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Test Reliability ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Retest Reliability ◽  
Probe Task ◽  
Visual Probe ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Test Retest Reliability

Objective: Food-related attentional bias has been defined as the tendency to give preferential attention to food-related stimuli. Attentional bias is of interest as studies have found that increased attentional bias is associated with obesity; others, however, have not. A possible reason for mixed results may be that there is no agreed upon measure of attentional bias: studies differ in both measurement and scoring of attentional bias. Additionally, little is known about the stability of attentional bias over time. The present study aims to compare attentional bias measures generated from commonly used attentional bias tasks and scoring protocols, and to test re-test reliability.Methods: As part of a larger study, 69 participants (67% female) completed two food-related visual probe tasks at baseline: lexical (words as stimuli), and pictorial (pictures as stimuli). Reaction time bias scores (attentional bias scores) for each task were calculated in three different ways: by subtracting the reaction times for the trials where probes replaced (1) neutral stimuli from the trials where the probes replaced all food stimuli, (2) neutral stimuli from the trials where probes replaced high caloric food stimuli, and (3) neutral stimuli from low caloric food stimuli. This resulted in three separate attentional bias scores for each task. These reaction time results were then correlated. The pictorial visual probe task was administered a second time 14-days later to assess test-retest reliability.Results: Regardless of the scoring use, lexical attentional bias scores were minimal, suggesting minimal attentional bias. Pictorial task attentional bias scores were larger, suggesting greater attentional bias. The correlation between the various scores was relatively small (r = 0.13–0.20). Similarly, test-retest reliability for the pictorial task was poor regardless of how the test was scored (r = 0.20–0.41).Conclusion: These results suggest that at least some of the variation in findings across attentional bias studies could be due to differences in the way that attentional bias is measured. Future research may benefit from either combining eye-tracking measurements in addition to reaction times.

scholarly journals Role Ambiguity in Sport Teams

2003 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 534-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Eys ◽  
Albert V. Carron ◽  
Mark R. Beauchamp ◽  
Steven R. Bray
Keyword(s):  
Role Ambiguity ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Operational Definition ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
Future Research ◽  
First Year ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Sport Teams ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Individual

The general purpose of the present study was to examine the nature of role ambiguity in sport teams and to explore the construct validity of the operational definition of role ambiguity developed by Beauchamp, Bray, Eys, and Carron (2002). Role ambiguity was operationalized as a multidimensional construct (Scope of Responsibilities, Behavioral Responsibilities, Evaluation of Performance, and Consequences of Not Fulfilling Responsibilities) that occurs in two contexts, offense and defense. Consistent with the a priori hypothesis, perceptions of role ambiguity exhibited some degree of within-group consistency and group-level variability, but most of the variance in role ambiguity was seen at the individual level. Also, perceptions of role ambiguity decreased from early to late season. Finally, veteran athletes experienced less role ambiguity than first-year athletes at the beginning of the season, but not at the end. Implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

scholarly journals Health anxiety and attentional bias toward virus-related stimuli during the COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Loreta Cannito ◽  
Adolfo Di Crosta ◽  
Rocco Palumbo ◽  
Irene Ceccato ◽  
Stefano Anzani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Attentional Bias ◽  
Health Anxiety ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Probe Task ◽  
Current Contribution ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Sleep Difficulties

Abstract After the COVID-19 worldwide spread, evidence suggested a vast diffusion of negative consequences on people's mental health. Together with depression and sleep difficulties, anxiety symptoms seem to be the most diffused clinical outcome. The current contribution aimed to examine attentional bias for virus-related stimuli in people varying in their degree of health anxiety (HA). Consistent with previous literature, it was hypothesized that higher HA would predict attentional bias, tested using a visual dot-probe task, to virus-related stimuli. Participants were 132 Italian individuals that participated in the study during the lockdown phase in Italy. Results indicated that the HA level predicts attentional bias toward virus-related objects. This relationship is double mediated by the belief of contagion and by the consequences of contagion as assessed through a recent questionnaire developed to measure the fear for COVID-19. These findings are discussed in the context of cognitive-behavioral conceptualizations of anxiety suggesting a risk for a loop effect. Future research directions are outlined.

scholarly journals Limited generalisation of changes in attentional bias following attentional bias modification with the visual probe task

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 369-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bram Van Bockstaele ◽  
Elske Salemink ◽  
Susan M. Bögels ◽  
Reinout W. Wiers
Keyword(s):  
Attentional Bias ◽  
Attentional Bias Modification ◽  
Probe Task ◽  
Visual Probe ◽  
Bias Modification

scholarly journals Health anxiety and attentional bias toward virus-related stimuli during the COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loreta Cannito ◽  
Adolfo Di Crosta ◽  
Rocco Palumbo ◽  
Irene Ceccato ◽  
Stefano Anzani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Attentional Bias ◽  
Health Anxiety ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Probe Task ◽  
Current Contribution ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Sleep Difficulties

Abstract After the COVID-19 worldwide spread, evidence suggested a vast diffusion of negative consequences on people's mental health. Together with depression and sleep difficulties, anxiety symptoms seem to be the most diffused clinical outcome. The current contribution aimed to examine attentional bias for virus-related stimuli in people varying in their degree of health anxiety (HA). Consistent with previous literature, it was hypothesized that higher HA would predict attentional bias, tested using a visual dot-probe task, to virus-related stimuli. Participants were 132 Italian individuals that participated in the study during the lockdown phase in Italy. Results indicated that the HA level predicts attentional bias toward virus-related objects. This relationship is double mediated by the belief of contagion and by the consequences of contagion as assessed through a recent questionnaire developed to measure the fear for COVID-19. These findings, indicative of attentional bias for virus-related cues, are discussed in the context of cognitive-behavioral conceptualizations of anxiety suggesting a risk for a loop effect. Future research directions are outlined.

scholarly journals Air delay propagation patterns in Europe from 2015 to 2018: an information processing perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luisina Pastorino ◽  
Massimiliano Zanin
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Delay Propagation ◽  
Complementary Approach ◽  
Priori Information ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Cost

Abstract The characterisation of delay propagation is one of the major topics of research in air transport management, due to its negative effects on the cost-efficiency, safety and environmental impact of this transportation mode. While most research works have naturally framed it as a transportation process, the successful application of network theory in neuroscience suggests a complementary approach, based on describing delay propagation as a form of information processing. This allows reconstructing propagation patterns from the dynamics of the individual elements, i.e. from the evolution observed at individual airports, without the need of additional a priori information. We here apply this framework to the analysis of delay propagation in the European airspace between 2015 and 2018, describe the evolution of the observed structure, and identify the role of individual airports in it. We further use this analysis to illustrate the limitations and challenges associated to this approach, and to sketch a roadmap of future research in this evolving topic.

scholarly journals Spatial Anticipatory Attentional Bias for Threat: Reliable Individual Differences with RT-based Online Measurement

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Edward Gladwin ◽  
Matthijs Vink
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
General Population ◽  
Attentional Bias ◽  
Online Measurement ◽  
Emotional Stimuli ◽  
Online Data ◽  
Probe Task ◽  
Significant Bias ◽  
Visual Probe ◽  
Online Data Collection

Cues that predict the future location of emotional stimuli may evoke an anticipatory form of automatic attentional bias. The reliability of this bias towards threat is uncertain: experimental design may need to be optimized or individual differences may simply be relatively noisy in the general population. The current study therefore aimed to determine the split-half reliability of the bias, in a design with fewer factors and more trials than in previous work. A sample of 63 participants was used for analysis, who performed the cued Visual Probe Task online, which aims to measure an anticipatory attentional bias. The overall bias towards threat was tested and split-half reliability was calculated over even and odd blocks. Results showed a significant bias towards threat and a reliability of around .7. The results support systematic individual differences in anticipatory attentional bias and demonstrate that RT-based bias scores, with online data collection, can be reliable.

scholarly journals Attentional bias modification based on visual probe task: methodological issues, results and clinical relevance

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 183-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernanda Machado Lopes ◽  
Keitiline R. Viacava ◽  
Lisiane Bizarro
Keyword(s):  
Attentional Bias ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Additional Treatment ◽  
Clinical Samples ◽  
Specific Class ◽  
Attentional Bias Modification ◽  
Probe Task ◽  
Visual Probe ◽  
Potential Clinical Utility ◽  
Bias Modification

Introduction: Attentional bias, the tendency that a person has to drive or maintain attention to a specific class of stimuli, may play an important role in the etiology and persistence of mental disorders. Attentional bias modification has been studied as a form of additional treatment related to automatic processing. Objectives: This systematic literature review compared and discussed methods, evidence of success and potential clinical applications of studies about attentional bias modification (ABM) using a visual probe task. Methods: The Web of Knowledge, PubMed and PsycInfo were searched using the keywords attentional bias modification, attentional bias manipulation and attentional bias training. We selected empirical studies about ABM training using a visual probe task written in English and published between 2002 and 2014. Results: Fifty-seven studies met inclusion criteria. Most (78%) succeeded in training attention in the predicted direction, and in 71% results were generalized to other measures correlated with the symptoms. Conclusions: ABM has potential clinical utility, but to standardize methods and maximize applicability, future studies should include clinical samples and be based on findings of studies about its effectiveness.

scholarly journals Test–retest reliability of eye tracking during the visual probe task in cocaine-using adults

2014 ◽  
Vol 145 ◽  
pp. 235-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine R. Marks ◽  
Erika Pike ◽  
William W. Stoops ◽  
Craig R. Rush
Keyword(s):  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Retest Reliability ◽  
Probe Task ◽  
Visual Probe ◽  
Test Retest Reliability

The Executive Interview (EXIT25) as a tool for assessing executive functioning in older medical and surgical inpatients referred to a psychiatry service: feasibility of creating a brief version

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 935-941 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fedza Mujic ◽  
Eyal Lebovich ◽  
Maite Von Heising ◽  
Damian Clifford ◽  
Martin J. Prince
Keyword(s):  
Executive Function ◽  
Older People ◽  
Internal Consistency ◽  
Inverse Correlation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Liaison Psychiatry ◽  
En Bloc ◽  
Retest Reliability ◽  
Scaling Properties ◽  
Test Retest Reliability

ABSTRACTBackground:Most neuropsychological tests of executive function are time-consuming and otherwise unsuitable for routine bedside assessment, particularly in older people admitted to a general hospital. After introducing the Executive Interview (EXIT25) in our routine clinical practice, we hypothesized that it would be possible to shorten it for easier administration in our group of patients while maintaining or improving properties of the scale.Methods:The EXIT25 was applied in 122 clinically stable medical and surgical inpatients aged 65 years and over referred to the Liaison Psychiatry Service for Older People. Individual items were initially tested for floor and ceiling effects, inter-rater and test-retest reliability, and item-total correlations. Items were then selected for retention in the brief scale on the basis of adequate item-total correlation and inter-rater and test-retest reliability. The construct validity of the original and brief versions of the EXIT25 scale was assessed.Results:The original EXIT25 scale was found to lack desirable scaling properties either as a classical or hierarchical scale. The study confirmed a possibility to reduce the number of items to nine out of the original 25 while improving internal consistency, test-retest and inter-rater reliability, and maintaining high correlation with the original EXIT25 score, and moderate inverse correlation with the Mini-Mental State Examination score.Conclusions:There is potential to abbreviate the original EXIT25, and improve internal consistency and hierarchical scaling properties. Future research is necessary to focus on piloting these brief measures of executive function in relevant clinical settings, when administered en bloc, rather than with items interspersed in the original longer version.

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