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Research Paradigms Cognition and Emotion Laboratory The University of Western Australia
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Methodological information
for Attentional Training Task
Instructions for use of
Attentional Training Task
Download Attentional
Training Task
This website provides free downloadable
software for the attentional training task employed by (MacLeod et al., 2002) within the Cognition and Emotion Laboratory at The University of Western Australia.
We hope that provision of this software
will encourage research application of the attentional training task in both
laboratory and clinical settings.
The task has proven effective in
modifying attentional responses to emotional stimuli. Such induced attentional
changes have been shown to significantly modify emotional vulnerability.
While individual researchers are free to
employ the training procedure in any research design, we have demonstrated the
effects of attentional training on emotional vulnerability when such
vulnerability is assessed immediately following training, and in response to a
4-minute laboratory stressor.
Additionally, the results of a
preliminary study suggest that attentional training designed to encourage
attentional avoidance of threatening stimuli may reduce everyday anxiety
levels. When administered for three sessions per week for a period of three weeks,
this training significantly reduced the degree to which participants reporting
high levels of anxiety vulnerability became anxious in everyday life, relative
to controls given a non-contingent version of the training procedure.
We would be interested to receive
feedback on the results of any application of the tasks provided in this web
site. Should you wish to collaborate in future research projects, or require
further information, please contact us.
The programs appearing on this web site
are intended solely for research purposes.
They are not designed to provide a
diagnosis or treatment. The diagnosis of mood disorders requires a physician or
qualified mental health professional. None of the material on this web site is
a substitute for a diagnosis by a qualified professional. Persons with anxiety
symptoms are advised to seek clinical evaluation from a qualified 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 by users solely for research purposes. 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 Training Task
Stimuli
The word set is identical to that
employed in MacLeod et al. (2002). There are 96 word pairs selected from an
initial pool of 140 pairs on the basis of emotional ratings provided by 12
final year psychology students. 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.
Task
Each trial commences with the fixation
cue ‘NEXT TRIAL’, presented for 500 ms in the centre of the monitor.
Immediately following termination of this display the two members of a word
pair are presented for 500 ms. One word appears just above the location of the
preceding Next Trial signal, while the other word appears just below this
location.
The stimulus words are replaced by one of
two probes, a line sloping upwards to either the left or the right (i.e \ vs/),
with the probe type determined randomly on each trial. The probe appears in the
position of a randomly determined letter within the word that has just been
exposed in that screen location. This screen displaying the probe stimulus
remains until the program detects a response. When a response is detected, this
screen is cleared and the next trial commences 500 ms later.
The position of the threat word is
randomised, such that it appears either in the upper or lower screen location
with equal probability. The position of the probe stimuli relative to the
threat words depends on the training condition. There are three training
conditions provided: Unconstrained, Attend Neutral, and Attend Threat. In the
Unconstrained condition, probes appear with equal frequency in the location
vacated by words of both emotional classes, and it is likely that this will be
used as a control condition. In the Attend Neutral condition, probes are always
presented in the location vacated by the non-threat member of the word pair.
This condition is designed to induce attentional avoidance of threatening
stimuli. In the Attend Threat condition, probes are always presented in the
location vacated by the threat member of the word pair. This condition is
designed to induce attentional vigilance for threatening stimuli.
There are 576 trials. Each word pair
appears six times throughout the session, with the constraint that each of the
96 word pairs is exposed once within a set of 96 trials before appearing again.
Presentation order is randomised within each set of 96 trials, for each
participant. For the comfort of participants there are two self-controlled rest
breaks. These are indicated in the program with the instruction to participants
'You may now pause for a break. Press F2 to continue'. The program does not
specify the length of this break, therefore if you wish to control the length
of these breaks you will need to do so by instruction. The default instruction
is to pause as long as needed.
Differences between the
present task and those employed in MacLeod et al. (2002):
1. The capacity to include precisely controlled
timing routines is constrained by variations in the equipment that will be used
to run the software provided on this website. Therefore each version of the
task on this web site presents attentional training trials only. There are no
assessment trials. We would be happy to be consulted concerning potential
collaborations that would require the customised tailoring of software to
enable assessment trials to be administered on your own equipment.
2. The probes employed in the studies reported in
MacLeod et al. were single and double red dots. To permit discrimination across
a wider range of displays in which the software is likely to be employed, the
present software employs small lines sloping upwards to either the left or the
right (i.e. \ vs/).
3. In MacLeod et al., the 96-pair word set was
divided into two subsets, with one set being employed in the attentional
training trials and both sets being employed in the attentional assessment
trials. Because no assessment trials are included in the present task, all 96
word pairs are employed in the attentional training trials.
4. Whereas Study 1 of MacLeod et al. included both
masked (short exposure) and unmasked (long exposure) trials, Study 2 involved
unmasked trials only. Therefore the present training task, which involves
unmasked trials only, is similar to Study 2.
5. While Study 1 of MacLeod et al. employed visual
analogue scales distributed throughout the attentional trials to measure
current mood state, Study 2 did not. Therefore the present program, which does
not include mood assessment measures, is more similar to Study 2.
Instructions for use of Attentional
Training Task
There are three task versions provided,
each of which presents a different training condition.
Conditions and relevant
filenames:
Unconstrained condition
[Train1.exe]
This can be employed as a control
condition. Probes are presented with equal frequency in the screen locations
vacated by threat and non-threat words.
Attend Neutral condition
[Train2.exe]
The intended function of this version is
to train attentional avoidance of threatening stimuli. All probes are presented
in the screen location vacated by the non-threat member of the word pair.
Attend Threat condition
[Train3.exe]
The intended function of this version is
to train attentional vigilance for threatening stimuli. All probes are
presented in the screen location vacated by the threat member of the word pair.
Setting
up the experimental session
We have created a shortcut for each task
version. Place these on the desktop by selecting and dragging the icons
software from the aTrain folder in which they are installed, onto the Desktop.
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Task icons appear as: |
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To open the required task version, simply
double click on it and follow the screen instructions.
We have found it helpful to label the two
response keys to indicate to participants which response key is to be pressed
for each of the two probe types. In the present software the left arrow key is
the response key when the probe is a line sloping upwards to the left (i.e. \),
and the right arrow key is the response key when the probe is a line sloping
upwards to the right (i.e. /).
It has not been possible for the software
to disenable the Windows icon key. If you have this key on your keyboard and it
is accidentally pressed by the participant, then you will need to click the
mouse button elsewhere on the screen to continue the task. You may wish to
instruct participants to avoid this key.
If you are using the software on a lap
top computer, then in order to avoid problems that may occur due to the dual
function of some keys on portable notebooks, you will need to check that there
are no other problematic keys that might be accidentally pressed by the
participant.
Each task version includes five
instruction assistance screens, located at the front of the program, that are
designed to accompany your instructions to
participants. In studies in which the
training is administered for more than one session, and it would be
unnecessarily tedious to repeat the instruction process once participants have
mastered the procedure, we suggest scrolling through these screens [using F1],
until the Display screen preceding the beginning of the task appears.
The points at which to display these
screens when giving instructions to participants, are indicated in square
brackets in the following text. Use F1 function key to scroll through these
pages. Use F2 function key to begin the task.
Instructions to be read to participants prior to
administration of the attentional training task
This task starts with the words NEXT
TRIAL which will appear in the centre of the screen as a focus point for you.
These words will disappear and be replaced by two words. [Instruction screen
1]. These two words will also disappear and a small probe will appear in the
space vacated by one of these words. Sometimes this probe will be a line
sloping upwards to the left [Instruction screen 2]. Sometimes this probe will
be a line sloping upwards to the right [Instruction screen 3]. [Instruction
screen 4] When the line is sloping upwards to the left you should press the
left arrow key (the key labelled \). [Instruction screen 5] When the line is
sloping upwards to the right you should press the right arrow key (the key
labelled /).
Please make your response as soon as you
can tell whether the line is sloping to the left or to the right. It is
important to respond as quickly as you can without making mistakes. You
should keep your fingers on the response keys throughout the session, to make
your responses. It is important to maintain your attention to the task because
your response will initiate the next trial. If you do make a mistake, just
continue with the next trial.
You will be given two rest breaks. These
will be given automatically by the program with a screen message instructing
you to pause. [Include here your instruction to the participant as to the
length of the break]. Press the F2 key to resume the task.
The program will indicate when all the
trials have been completed, by displaying the screen message 'Task complete.
Thankyou'. At that time you should "……" [The program does not specify
what action participants should take at the conclusion of the trials. You
should indicate this to them here, by your instruction. Quite probably you will
direct them to call you].
Exiting the program
To close the program click the X in the
top right hand corner of the screen. Once the task has been completed, if the
software is left inactive it will automatically shut down shortly after task
completion. It is possible to close the program while it is running by clicking
the X in the top right hand corner, however depending on the precise
configuration of your system, this may work only during the 'NEXT TRIAL' or the word pair displays, and not during the
probe display.
Download Attentional Training Task
The program and stimulus files are
downloadable and will run in Windows 95 and more recent (98, ME, and XP).
Although the files are in a zipped format, the installation process does not
require that you have Winzip software installed.
Depending on the configuration of your
system, you may be able to install the programs directly from this website by
selecting the 'open' or 'run' option [the available option will depend on your
system].
If the security on your system does not
permit this option, then you will need to select the save-to-disk option and install the files from the directory in which you save the
aTrain file, by double clicking on it.
The programs will be installed to a directory
called aTrain. Within that directory
there are shortcut files with filenames consistent with those provided in the Task versions section.
When you download the task, a readme file
will also download. This readme file is a copy of this website, provided to
ensure that you have ready access to methodological details and information
about the use of the tasks.
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.
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 University of Western Australia. (2002). Dot probe attentional training task [Downloadable software]. Available: http://www.psy.uwa.edu.au/user/cogemo/atrain.htm
To provide us with feedback, to obtain further information regarding this task, or to discuss possible future research collaboration please email: cog-emot@psy.uwa.edu.au
MacLeod, C., Rutherford, E., Campbell, L., Ebsworthy, G.,
& Holker, L. (2002). Selective attention and emotional vulnerability:
Assessing the causal basis of their association through the experimental
manipulation of attentional bias. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 111,
107-123.
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Threat |
Non-threat |
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Threat |
Non-threat |
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Suffer |
Parked |
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Grave |
Filed |
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Wound |
Dried |
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Cancer |
Saddle |
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Attacks |
Physics |
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Desperate |
Variables |
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Victims |
Smelled |
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Danger |
League |
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Tease |
Aisle |
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Defeat |
Museum |
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Discouraged |
Connections |
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Shot |
Cars |
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Gloomy |
Pastel |
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Trauma |
Enjoin |
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Tormented |
Mythology |
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Kill |
Shop |
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Panicky |
Clarets |
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Worried |
Context |
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Insecure |
Fetching |
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Powerless |
Multitude |
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Horror |
Wagons |
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Devastated |
Stagecoach |
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Dead |
Data |
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Angry |
Curve |
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Afraid |
Detail |
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Threat |
Varied |
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Bitter |
Handle |
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Severe |
Recall |
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Evil |
Hill |
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Sinister |
Integral |
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Fright |
Sipped |
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Assault |
Bottles |
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Disease |
Remarks |
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Lost |
Read |
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Worthless |
Batteries |
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Despised |
Tomatoes |
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Rejected |
Quantity |
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Humiliated |
Waterproof |
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Bomb |
Crew |
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Injury |
Holder |
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Worst |
Owned |
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Intimidated |
Coefficient |
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Catastrophe |
Approximate |
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Awful |
Tract |
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Lethal |
Racket |
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Mourn |
Scans |
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Ignored |
Lighted |
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Scared |
Planet |
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Tragic |
Rector |
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Conflict |
Detailed |
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Terror |
Pupils |
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Dull |
Flew |
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Trap |
Tent |
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Murder |
Junior |
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Hazard |
Ballot |
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Agitation |
Fireplace |
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Hopeless |
Feathers |
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Incurable |
Reclaimed |
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Inadequate |
Transition |
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Stress |
Cities |
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Forlorn |
Keyhole |
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Hostile |
Rolling |
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Coffin |
Edited |
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Pain |
Laws |
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Strangled |
Signature |
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Grieving |
Hallmark |
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Apprehension |
Instrumental |
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Sickly |
Tokens |
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Fear |
Note |
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Cry |
Via |
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Trouble |
Evening |
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Anxiety |
Journal |
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Worry |
Inner |
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Dying |
Lists |
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Enemy |
Check |
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Hurt |
Core |
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Distress |
Creature |
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Mutilated |
Decanting |
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Nausea |
Confer |
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Suffocating |
Constituent |
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Tragedy |
Request |
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Lonely |
Jersey |
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Sad |
Pat |
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Pathetic |
Cleaners |
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Suffered |
Recorded |
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Violent |
Thereby |
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Destroyed |
Furniture |
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Hatred |
Fitted |
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Damage |
Campus |
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Dismal |
Midway |
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Harm |
Pond |
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Futile |
Attire |
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Inferior |
Shearing |
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Deathbed |
Softener |
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Sluggish |
Textured |
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Unhappy |
Bridges |