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Anxiety patients exhibit attentional biases toward threat, which have often been demonstrated as increased distractibility by threatening stimuli. In contrast, speeded detection of threat has rarely been shown. Therefore, the authors studied both phenomena in 3 versions of a visual search task while eye movements were recorded continuously. Spider-fearful individuals and nonanxious control participants participated in a target search task, an odd-one-out search task, and a category search task. Evidence for disorder-specific increased distraction by threat was found in all tasks, whereas speeded threat detection did not occur in the target search task. The implications of these findings for cognitive theories of anxiety are discussed, particularly in relation to the concept of disengagement from threat.

Original publication

DOI

10.1037/0021-843X.114.2.235

Type

Journal article

Journal

J Abnorm Psychol

Publication Date

05/2005

Volume

114

Pages

235 - 248

Keywords

Adult, Animals, Attention, Eye Movements, Fear, Female, Fixation, Ocular, Humans, Male, Phobic Disorders, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Psychomotor Performance, Reaction Time, Spiders, Surveys and Questionnaires, Visual Perception