Cognition and Emotion Laboratory
Department of Psychology
The
Methodological information
for Attentional Probe Task
Instructions for use of
Attentional Probe Task
Download Attentional
Probe Task
Upgrade Now Available for Existing Attentional Probe Software Users
This website provides a free downloadable
software package that can be used to create an on-line version of the
attentional probe task employed within the Cognition
and Emotion Laboratory,
Research with both clinical and normal
populations have shown that the efficacy of this on-line attentional probe task
at detecting and manipulating attentional biases is comparable to attentional
probe tasks used in previous studies (Mac
Researchers can download the software
package, customize the software and install it on their own servers to enable
the attentional probe task to be administered over the internet. If researchers
wish to employ the software within laboratory settings, they will still need to
customize the program, install it on their servers and access it via the
internet. The software can be configured to deliver any combination of
questionnaires, training trials, and assessment trials, using the researcher's
choice of stimulus materials. When the task is accessed and completed across
the internet, the resulting data are transmitted back to the e-mail address
specified by the researcher.
We have produced a comprehensive user
guide for this fully customizable attentional probe software package. This user
guide downloads simultaneously with the software.
The software was programmed using Java,
and is accessed via any internet browser which supports Java components (e.g.,
Internet Explorer).
We have made available this software
package to facilitate research progress by rendering attentional assessment and
modification procedures readily accessible to geographically dispersed clients,
who can complete the task within their home environments.
We very much hope that provision of this
package will enable a wider range of clinical researchers to investigate the
role of threat attentional bias in mediating and modifying anxiety symptoms
across a wider range of clinical patients. We also expect that the resource may
facilitate many forms of constructive collaboration, particularly between
researchers and practitioners, enabling both theoretical and applied advances
to be made in the investigation of the relationship between attentional bias
and anxiety vulnerability.
We would be interested in receiving
feedback on the results of any application of the task provided on this web
site. Should you wish to collaborate in future research projects, or require
further information, please contact us. While we
are keen to engage in such collaborations, we regret we are unable to provide
individual support to independent researchers.
The programs appearing on this web site
are intended solely for use by suitably qualified researchers.
None of the material on this web site is
intended as a substitute for diagnosis and/or treatment by a qualified health
professional. Persons with anxiety symptoms are advised to seek clinical
evaluation from a qualified health professional.
The Cognition and Emotion Laboratory and
its staff accept no responsibility for any inappropriate application of any
task provided on this web site. The Cognition and Emotion Laboratory and its
staff shall have no liability for claims by, or damages of any kind whatsoever
to a user of this web site or any other person, for the use of any task
contained on this web site. Such damages include, without limitation, direct,
indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages.
Information and materials, unless
otherwise stated, are copyrighted by the Cognition and Emotion Laboratory and
may be downloaded for use in research and clinical settings. Permission must be
sought for any commercial activity associated with the use of this software.
Your use of this web site
constitutes your agreement to the provisions of this disclaimer.
Methodological information for Attentional Probe Task
Task
The package provides a standard version
of the attentional probe task, with provision for the researcher to customize parameters
and stimuli, and to precede the task with administration of questionnaires.
Attentional Probe Task delivery is
preceded by comprehensive task instructions which allow self-paced viewing by
participants.
Each trial commences with the fixation
cue '+++', presented in the centre of the screen.
Immediately following termination of this
display, the two members of a word pair (one threat word, one non-threat word)
are presented. One word appears just above the location of the preceding
fixation cue, while the other word appears just below this location.
The stimulus words are replaced by one of
two probes, a symbol pointing to either the left or the right (i.e., < vs
>). This screen remains until the program detects a response.
Participants respond by pressing the left
or right arrow key to indicate their discrimination of the symbol direction.
When a response is detected, the screen is cleared and the next trial
commences.
The position of the threat word in each
word pair is randomised, such that it appears either in the upper or lower
screen location with equal probability. On attentional assessment trials the
probe location is also randomised such that it appears in the location vacated
by the threat word or the non-threat word with equal probability. The order of
presentation of trials is also randomised. The probe type is determined
randomly on each trial.
Customizable features include the option
of:
Administering
questions/questionnaires before the experimental trials.
Administering
practice trials before the experimental trials.
Specifying the
type of trials - assessment or training, and
For training
trials, specifying a contingency that encourages attentional bias towards
threat, towards non-threat, or no contingency trials.
Specifying the
combination of trial types to be presented - for example, a block of assessment
trials, followed by a block of training trials.
Specifying the
number of trials in each block.
Specifying the
word pairs to be presented in each block.
Default stimuli
96 word pairs were used in the original
studies that verified the validity of this program (MacLeod et al., under
review). These word pairs are included in the program download. Researchers
have the option of using them, or substituting their own word stimuli.
Each word pair contains one emotionally-negative
and one emotionally-neutral member. Words within each pair are matched for
length and frequency of usage (according to Kucera & Francis, 1967). The
words were rated on a 9 point scale ranging from a score of 1 for very
negative, through 5 for neutral, to 9 for very positive. The final word set
includes pairs with a negative member with a mean rating less than 3.7, and a
neutral member with a mean rating between 4.6 and 5.9. The mean rating
difference between the two members of any pair was at least 1.75, with an
average of 2.62. The full set of word pairs is provided below.
Instructions for use of Attentional
Probe Task software package
There are four different web pages, which
are configured to be delivered in the following order:
fixation.html
This is the very first web page presented.
It checks the appearance of the task on the participant's computer, and asks
participants to adjust their computer settings if necessary. This page provides
links to instructions.html and attProbe.html
instructions.html
This web page is linked from fixation.html.
It provides instructions to participants on how to adjust their screen
resolution if necessary. It provides a link back to fixation.html.
attProbe.html
This web page is also linked from fixation.html.
It contains the experimental instructions and task.
ThankYou.html
This web page is automatically accessed
from attProbe.html when the experimental task is completed. It is the
final web page presented, and informs the participants that the experiment is
over. This can be customised to provide feedback or any other information that
the researcher wishes to provide.
For delivery to participants over the
internet it is advisable to have an introduction
page containing information about the experiment and a consent form
if required. This introduction page should link to fixation.html.
Setting up the
experimental session
For participants accessing the study over
the internet, all information and instructions for the Attentional Probe task
have been included in the package. If administering the task to participants in
a laboratory environment, it is possible to skip the instructions by pressing
's' instead of 'p' during the instruction screens, and providing verbal
instructions instead.
Download Attentional Probe Task Program
PLEASE
NOTE: While this software has
been implemented successfully on our school server in the past, its installation
on your own server may require support from your systems administrator. Unfortunately
we are unable to provide the particular support and expertise for the
installation and running of this software outside of the written instructions
provided on this and the following webpage.
Click the following link for instructions
regarding download and installation.
Users
are welcome to share this software with other researchers provided that the
material is distributed in its original zipped format, including all the
original zipped information. Those researchers will also have to email us to
retrieve the password in order to install the software.
We request that any publications arising
from the use of the software from this site reference the software in the
following APA approved format:
Cognition and Emotion Laboratory,
Department of Psychology, The
|
THREAT |
NEUTRAL |
|
THREAT |
NEUTRAL |
|
PANICKY |
CLARETS |
|
UNPOPULAR |
SHORELINE |
|
DESPERATE |
VARIABLES |
|
SAD |
PAT |
|
CRINGING |
NECKLACE |
|
POINTLESS |
LUNCHROOM |
|
CAUTIOUS |
EDITIONS |
|
GLUM |
KITE |
|
SCARED |
PLANET |
|
REJECTED |
QUANTITY |
|
CANCER |
SADDLE |
|
POWERLESS |
MULTITUDE |
|
DANGER |
LEAGUE |
|
SICKLY |
TOKENS |
|
ALARMED |
SHELVES |
|
DEVASTATED |
STAGECOACH |
|
CORONARY |
RECEIPTS |
|
INFERIOR |
SHEARING |
|
TRAUMA |
ENJOIN |
|
FAIL |
EARS |
|
EDGY |
RINK |
|
DEFEAT |
MUSEUM |
|
EMERGENCY |
LISTENING |
|
LONELY |
|
|
DISTRESS |
CREATURE |
|
FATIGUE |
AVOCADO |
|
UNSETTLED |
ADVOCATED |
|
IGNORED |
LIGHTED |
|
HOSTILE |
ROLLING |
|
SLUGGISH |
TEXTURED |
|
CONFUSED |
ARRANGED |
|
GROAN |
FLUTE |
|
TOUCHY |
TINTED |
|
MISERABLE |
STATEWIDE |
|
FRIGHT |
SIPPED |
|
BROODING |
PROTEINS |
|
WORRIED |
CONTEXT |
|
UNFORTUNATE |
COMMODITIES |
|
NAUSEA |
CONFER |
|
DESPISED |
TOMATOES |
|
DISEASE |
REMARKS |
|
PATHETIC |
CLEANERS |
|
WARY |
FOLD |
|
HUMILIATED |
WATERPROOF |
|
SINISTER |
INTEGRAL |
|
HAZARD |
BALLOT |
|
MUTILATED |
DECANTING |
|
INTIMIDATED |
COEFFICIENT |
|
NERVOUS |
OUTCOME |
|
QUAKING |
ANAGRAM |
|
ASSAULT |
BOTTLES |
|
TIMID |
SATIN |
|
SUFFOCATING |
CONSTITUENT |
|
TEASE |
AISLE |
|
CATASTROPHE |
APPROXIMATE |
|
DISMAL |
MIDWAY |
|
LOST |
READ |
|
HOPELESS |
FEATHERS |
|
HARM |
NOON |
|
AWFUL |
TRACT |
|
TENSE |
BACKS |
|
DESERTED |
MARCHING |
|
JUMPY |
LOTUS |
|
FUTILE |
ATTIRE |
|
DEFENSIVE |
GEOMETRIC |
|
MOURN |
SCANS |
|
EMBARRASSED |
MICROSCOPIC |
|
DISCOURAGED |
CONNECTIONS |
|
LETHAL |
RACKET |
|
INADEQUATE |
TRANSITION |
|
APPREHENSION |
INSTRUMENTAL |
|
DISCONTENTED |
HOUSEHOLDERS |
|
AMBULANCE |
MOMENTARY |
|
INFORM |
DEPOTS |
|
ATTACK |
SEASON |
|
MISUNDERSTOOD |
MANIFESTATION |
|
HORROR |
WAGONS |
|
GLOOMY |
PASTEL |
|
STRANGLED |
SIGNATURE |
|
USELESS |
FLOWING |
|
AGITATION |
FIREPLACE |
|
FORLORN |
KEYHOLE |
|
INSECURE |
FETCHING |
|
TORMENTED |
MYTHOLOGY |
|
INCURABLE |
RECLAIMED |
|
DEATHBED |
SOFTENER |
|
SUICIDE |
SUMMERS |
|
UNHAPPY |
BRIDGES |
|
FUNERAL |
HUNTING |
|
DULL |
FLEW |
|
GRIEVING |
HALLMARK |
|
DREADFUL |
COMPUTER |
|
TRAGEDY |
REQUEST |
|
COFFIN |
EDITED |
|
WORTHLESS |
BATTERIES |
|
MISTAKE |
QUARTER |
Upgrade for Existing
Attentional Probe Software Users
An upgrade of
the attentional probe software is now available for those who have already
installed the original program. This allows the program to be run without
errors on a wider range of PCs (but has not yet been trialed on Macs).
For this
upgrade to operate, the original attentional probe software must already be
installed.
To install
this upgraded version, click here.