Inducing a benign interpretational bias reduces trait anxiety

Mathews, Andrew; Ridgeway, Valerie; Cook, Emma; Yiend, Jenny

doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2006.10.011

Cited by 151 publications

(154 citation statements)

References 12 publications

(20 reference statements)

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“…Mathews, Ridgeway, Cook, and Yiend (2007) extended these findings by increasing CBM from a single session to four sessions and by assessing trait anxiety one week later. High trait anxious individuals completed a CBM program that presented ambiguous scenarios, each resolved in an increasingly positive manner over the four sessions (completed over two weeks).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…However, the current study cannot determine whether both types of bias require modification in order to affect social anxiety. Previous CBM studies that only induced a benign bias showed that targeting benign interpretations was sufficient to affect general anxiety symptoms (e.g., Mathews, Ridgeway, Cook, & Yiend, 2007). However, future research should compare the effects of paradigms that induce a benign bias, reduce threat bias, or both to determine which mechanisms are important for affecting social anxiety.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…However, no study has examined the effect of multiple sessions of interpretation modification on symptoms of social anxiety. The changes in trait anxiety observed in Mathews, Ridgeway, Cook, and Yiend (2007) suggest that increasing the number of sessions could lead to changes in social anxiety symptoms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A multi-session interpretation modification program: Changes in interpretation and social anxiety symptoms

Beard

Amir

2008

Behaviour Research and Therapy

263

257

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Previous research suggests that socially anxious individuals interpret ambiguous social information in a more threatening manner compared to non-anxious individuals. Recently, studies have experimentally modified interpretation and shown that this subsequently affected anxiety in non-anxious individuals. If similar procedures can modify interpretation biases in socially anxious individuals, they may lead to a reduction in social anxiety symptoms. In the current study, we examined the effect of a computerized Interpretation Modification Program (IMP) on interpretation bias and social anxiety symptoms. Twenty-seven socially anxious individuals were randomly assigned to the IMP or a control condition. Participants completed eight computer sessions over four weeks. The IMP modified interpretation by providing positive feedback when participants made benign interpretations and negative feedback in response to threat interpretations. The IMP successfully decreased threat interpretations, increased benign interpretations, and decreased social anxiety symptoms compared to the control condition. Moreover, changes in benign interpretation mediated IMP's effect on social anxiety. This initial trial suggests that interpretation modification may have clinical utility when applied as a multisession intervention.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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A multi-session interpretation modification program: Changes in interpretation and social anxiety symptoms

Beard

Amir

2008

Behaviour Research and Therapy

263

257

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“…Extending positive training to symptomatic samples (e.g. high trait anxiety/depression) has yielded similar beneficial effects on mood [19], negative thought intrusions [20,21] and anxiety [22][23][24][25][26][27], presumably through modification of cognitive biases.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Plasticity of Adolescent Cognitions: Data from a Novel Cognitive Bias Modification Training Task

Lau

Molyneaux

Telman

et al. 2011

Child Psychiatry Hum Dev

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Many adult anxiety problems emerge in adolescence. Investigating how adolescent anxiety arises and abates is critical for understanding and preventing adult psychiatric problems. Drawing threat interpretations from ambiguous material is linked to adolescent anxiety but little research has clarified the causal nature of this relationship. Work in adults using Cognitive Bias Modification of Interpretations (CBM-I) training show that manipulating negative interpretational style alters negative affect. Conversely, 'boosting' positive interpretations improves affect. Here, we extend CBM-I investigations to adolescents. Thirty-nine adolescents (13-18 years), varying in trait anxiety and selfefficacy, were randomly allocated to receive positive or negative training. Training-congruent differences emerged for subsequent interpretation style. Induced negative biases predicted a decline in positive affect in low self-efficacious adolescents only. Tentatively, our data suggest that cognitive biases predict adolescent affective symptoms in vulnerable individuals. The acquisition of positive cognitions through training has implications for prevention.

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“…For example, Wilson, MacLeod, Mathews & Rutherford (2006) used a training program to induce an interpretation bias towards non-threat and an interpretation bias towards threat in two groups of non-anxious participants and found that, following an emotional event, anxiety was increased in those participants who had received the training towards threat relative to those who had received training towards non-threat. Furthermore, Mathews, Ridgeway, Cook, and Yiend (2007) found that when participants were trained to make benign interpretations, this led to significant decreases in anxiety symptoms.…”

Section: The Relationship Between Anxiety and Interpretation Biasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpretation of Ambiguous Situations: Evidence for a Dissociation Between Social and Physical Threat in Williams Syndrome

Dodd

Porter

2010

J Autism Dev Disord

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Interpretation bias 2 AbstractWilliams Syndrome (WS) is associated with an unusual profile of anxiety, characterised by increased rates of non-social anxiety but not social anxiety ). The present research examines whether this profile of anxiety is associated with an interpretation bias for ambiguous physical, but not social, situations. Sixteen participants with WS, aged 13-34 years, and two groups of typically developing controls matched to the WS group on chronological age (CA) and mental age (MA), participated. Consistent with the profile of anxiety reported in WS, the WS group were significantly more likely to interpret an ambiguous physical situation as threatening than both control groups.However, no between-group differences were found on the ambiguous social situations.

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Inducing a benign interpretational bias reduces trait anxiety

Cited by 151 publications

References 12 publications

A multi-session interpretation modification program: Changes in interpretation and social anxiety symptoms

A multi-session interpretation modification program: Changes in interpretation and social anxiety symptoms

The Plasticity of Adolescent Cognitions: Data from a Novel Cognitive Bias Modification Training Task

Interpretation of Ambiguous Situations: Evidence for a Dissociation Between Social and Physical Threat in Williams Syndrome

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