Eye Movements and Behavioral Responses to Threatening and Nonthreatening Stimuli During Visual Search in Phobic and Nonphobic Subjects.

Miltner, Wolfgang H. R.; Krieschel, Silke; Hecht, Holger; Trippe, Ralf H.; Weiß, Thomas

doi:10.1037/1528-3542.4.4.323

Cited by 108 publications

(121 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Several studies have demonstrated that when individuals are presented with images related to their personal concerns, they often show global avoidance of them (Amir, Elias, Klumpp, & Przeworski, 2003;Lykins, Meana, & Minimi, 2011;Miltner, Krieschel, Hecht, Trippe, & Weiss, 2004). These viewing patterns likely represent a typical anxiety response, whereby individuals generally avoid looking at anxiety-provoking stimuli (Rinck & Becker, 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Body region dissatisfaction predicts attention to body regions on other women

2014

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The proliferation of "idealized" (i.e., very thin and attractive) women in the media has contributed to increasing rates of body dissatisfaction among women. However, it remains relatively unknown how women attend to these images: does dissatisfaction predict greater or lesser attention to these body regions on others? Fifty healthy women (mean age = 21.8 years) viewed images of idealized and plus-size models; an eye-tracker recorded visual attention. Participants also completed measures of satisfaction for specific body regions, which were then used as predictors of visual attention to these regions on models. Consistent with an avoidance-type process, lower levels of satisfaction with the two regions of greatest reported concern (mid, lower torso) predicted less attention to these regions; greater satisfaction predicted more attention to these regions. While this visual attention bias may aid in preserving self-esteem when viewing idealized others, it may preclude the opportunity for comparisons that could improve self-esteem.Key Words: body image, eye-tracking, visual attention, body satisfaction, body dissatisfaction, women 3 Body region dissatisfaction predicts attention to body regions on other womenSeveral meta-analyses of experimental studies have shown that exposure to media images of "idealized" (i.e., very thin and attractive) models contributes to body dissatisfaction in women (Grabe, Ward, & Hyde, 2008;Groesz, Levine, & Murnen, 2002), which, in turn, can contribute to other negative outcomes such as disordered eating, obesity, body dysmorphic disorder, depression, and low self-esteem (Dittmar, 2009;Glauert, Rhodes, Fink, & Grammer, 2010;Littleton & Ollendick, 2003). These relationships have been of particular interest due to the significant exposure to these idealized images many women experience (Fouts & Burggraf, 1999, 2000Greenberg, Eastin, Hofschire, Lachlan, & Brownell, 2003; Richens, 1991). The underlying relationships among these variables (i.e., media exposure, body dissatisfaction, and other negative consequences) are undoubtedly complex; research exploring these mechanisms is needed but has been sparse (Tiggemann & McGill, 2004).Despite the primacy of visual material in these relationships, few studies have explored how women perceive or attend to images of other women using objective (non-selfreport) assessment of visual attention, such as eye-tracking, and how these patterns relate to women's own body image concerns. Ju and Johnson (2010) reported that women attended most to models in magazine advertisements, suggesting a prominence of visual appearancerelated information over other types of information (e.g., words). As evidenced by reaction time data, women selectively attended to thin women versus plus-size women regardless of body satisfaction (Glauert et al., 2010). In a study where women viewed images of themselves and others, healthy (i.e., non-eating-disordered) women attended most to others' "ugly" features, patterns which were reversed when they viewed themselves (Janse...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Body region dissatisfaction predicts attention to body regions on other women

2014

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“…These findings have not typically been replicated in studies using more complex visual displays (e.g., Derakshan & Koster, 2010;Huijding et al, 2011). Furthermore, some eye tracking evidence suggests that there is capture of overt attention by task-irrelevant threat in anxiety (Miltner et al, 2004); however, more recent studies have questioned this finding by using traditional eye tracking paradigms to show that anxious individuals are able to suppress exogenous saccades to threat stimuli (Derakshan et al, 2009;Richards et al, 2012). Findings of delayed disengagement from threatening distractors in eye tracking studies could be related to selective attention to threat (Rinck et al, 2005).…”

Section: Theoretical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Initial studies in this area used complex displays with 8 to 16 stimuli and measured eye movements concurrently during an RT visual search task (Miltner, Krieschel, Hecht, Trippe, & Weiss, 2004;Rinck, Reinecke, Ellwart, Heuer, & Becker, 2005). The emphasis was on assessing the detrimental impact of threat (vs. non-threat) distractors on target detection.…”

Section: Empirical Evidence For Selective Attention To Threat In Anxietymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The emphasis was on assessing the detrimental impact of threat (vs. non-threat) distractors on target detection. Miltner et al (2004), for example, presented participants with displays containing either one target (a spider or mushroom) amongst 15 flower distractors or one target and one singleton distractor (a spider target and mushroom distractor or vice versa) amongst 14 flower distractors. Participants were instructed to make a key press response when they detected a pre-specified target.…”

Section: Empirical Evidence For Selective Attention To Threat In Anxietymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, eye tracking studies that have focused more specifically on the detrimental impact of threatening distractors have been equivocal in this respect, but have provided some evidence to suggest that anxiety is associated with two distinct forms of impaired attention: attentional capture by threat (Miltner et al, 2004) and delayed disengagement of foveal vision from threat (Rinck et al, 2005).…”

Section: Empirical Evidence For Selective Attention To Threat In Anxietymentioning

confidence: 99%

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