The DOI matches its Crossref record; 35 of the 35 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The effects of modifying interpretation bias on worry in generalized anxiety disorder
Abstract
This study investigated whether facilitating a benign interpretive bias decreases negative thought intrusions in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Clients were randomly allocated to an interpretation modification condition in which they repeatedly accessed benign meanings of emotionally ambiguous homographs and scenarios, or to a control condition in which they accessed threat and benign meanings with equal frequency. Worry frequency was assessed using a breathing focus task that involved categorising the valence of thought intrusions before and after an instructed worry period. Interpretation bias was assessed during the modification tasks, and on a different measure of interpretation bias (sentence completion) following a period of worry. The experimental procedure modified interpretations made during training, and in the later sentence completion task. Furthermore, compared to the control group, the benign group showed fewer negative thought intrusions during breathing focus (as rated by both participants and an assessor). These findings show that it is possible to induce a more benign interpretive bias in GAD clients and that this reduces negative thought intrusions.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Sample size was calculated a priori to detect effects similar to those observed in previous studies that have used this self-referential worry task (e.g. Hayes et al., 2010: between-group difference on negative thought intrusions at post-test, f2 = 0.43).”
From Testing the differential effects of acceptance and attention-based psychological interventions on intrusive thoughts and worry (2017) · cites this paper as Hayes et al., 2010
In the citing paper
“This task has been widely used to examine thought intrusions and worry in non-clinical groups (Krebs, Hirsch, & Mathews, 2010), individuals with elevated worry, and generalized anxiety disorder (Hayes et al., 2010, Hirsch et al., 2009) and associated conditions (i.e. insomnia symptoms, Baker, Baldwin, & Garner, 2015).”
From Testing the differential effects of acceptance and attention-based psychological interventions on intrusive thoughts and worry (2017) · cites this paper as Hayes et al., 2010
Citations
Cites
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173 · Cited by 91,532
(1970) · Cited by 24,983
SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models
Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2004) · Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers · doi:10.3758/bf03206553 · Cited by 17,383
Development and validation of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire
Meyer, T. J., Miller, M. L., Metzger, R. L., & Borkovec, T. D. (1990) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/0005-7967(90)90135-6 · Cited by 5,099
Reliability Generalization of Scores on the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory
Barnes, L. L. B., Harp, D., & Jung, W. S. (2002) · Educational and Psychological Measurement · doi:10.1177/0013164402062004005 · Cited by 947
Why worry? The cognitive function of anxiety
Mathews, A. (1990) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/0005-7967(90)90132-3 · Cited by 827
Self-citationPsychometric properties of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire in a clinical anxiety disorders sample
Brown, T. A., Antony, M. M., & Barlow, D. H. (1992) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/0005-7967(92)90093-v · Cited by 812
The Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study: Reliability of Axis I and II Diagnoses
Zanarini, M. C., Skodol, A. E., Bender, D., Dolan, R., Sanislow, C., Schaefer, E., Morey, L. C., Grilo, C. M., Shea, M. T., McGlashan, T. H., et al. (2000) · Journal of Personality Disorders · doi:10.1521/pedi.2000.14.4.291 · Cited by 771
Induced emotional interpretation bias and anxiety.
Mathews, A., & Mackintosh, B. (2000) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-843x.109.4.602 · Cited by 739
Self-citationBorkovec, T. D., Newman, M. G., Pincus, A. L., & Lytle, R. (2002) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-006x.70.2.288 · Cited by 565
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 101–165 of 165
Parsons, C. E., Tollånes, L., Cella, M., Hirsch, C. R., & Young, K. S. (2024) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2024.104654 · Cited by 6
Self-citationSokół-Szawłowska, M., & Poleszczyk, A. (2018) · Postępy Psychiatrii i Neurologii · doi:10.5114/ppn.2018.77031 · Cited by 5
“U osób, którym prezentowano jedynie korzystne zakończenia po zakończeniu treningu występowało mniej zamartwiania się i niższy poziom lęku [28, 29].”
Kaiser, J., & Davey, G. C. L. (2017) · Consciousness and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.concog.2017.05.006 · Cited by 6
Induced worry increases risk aversion in patients with generalized anxiety
Sporrer, J. K., Johann, A., Chumbley, J. R., Robinson, O. J., & Bach, D. R. (2024) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115192 · Cited by 5
“When GAD and MDD patients are encouraged to adopt more benign interpretations, worry is attenuated [24,31,32].”
BackgroundThe role of worry and attentional control in mental imagery
Nagel, K. M., Grant, D. M., Kraft, J. D., Deros, D. E., & Hahn, B. J. (2021) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-021-02384-1 · Cited by 4
Mental Imagery and Interpretational Processing Biases
Blackwell, S. E. (2023) · CBT: science into practice · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-23650-1_6 · Cited by 4
Changing Metacognitive Appraisal Bias in High-Worriers Through Reappraisal Training
Ikani, N., Radix, A., Rinck, M., & Becker, E. (2022) · Cognitive Therapy and Research · doi:10.1007/s10608-022-10297-x · Cited by 4
“, the tendency to interpret ambiguous information in a negative manner), for example, have been shown to successfully facilitate more benign interpretations about potential future negativity in anxiety, and to ameliorate worry related to anxiety, as well as general repetitive negative thinking across different psychol…”
BackgroundDondzilo, L., Grafton, B., & MacLeod, C. (2020) · Cognitive Therapy and Research · doi:10.1007/s10608-020-10179-0 · Cited by 4
Williams, A. D., Pajak, R., O'Moore, K., Andrews, G., & Grisham, J. (2014) · Trials · doi:10.1186/1745-6215-15-193 · Cited by 2
“CBM-I interventions have demonstrated efficacy in modifying the key cognitive biases implicated in various anxious populations, including high trait anxiety [5,6], generalized anxiety [7], spider fear [8] and social anxiety [9-13].”
BackgroundDevelopment and Preliminary Validation of the Threat Appraisal Questionnaire for Children (TAQ-C)
Francis, R., Hawes, D. J., Abbott, M. J., & Costa, D. S. J. (2016) · Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment · doi:10.1007/s10862-016-9584-4 · Cited by 4
“First, it has been proposed that worry is the cognitive component of anxiety that is related to threat appraisal (Craske et al. 1989; Davey andWells 2006; Eysenck et al. 1991; Hayes et al. 2010; Hirsch et al. 2009; Mathews and Macleod 2005; Stapinski et al. 2010; Tallis and Eysenck 1994).”
Internet‐ and Computer‐Based Treatments of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
Becker, E., & Andersson, G. (2020) · Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Worrying · doi:10.1002/9781119189909.ch15 · Cited by 3
Tyson, G., Ferreira, V., Shoja-Assadi, P., & Hirsch, C. R. (2025) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2025.104851 · Cited by 3
Self-citationMordeno, I. G., Gallemit, I. M. J. S., & Dingding, D. L. L. (2023) · Psychiatric Quarterly · doi:10.1007/s11126-023-10024-z · Cited by 4
Yin, Q., Dong, W., Chen, A., Song, X., Hou, T., Cai, W., & Deng, G. (2020) · Medicine · doi:10.1097/md.0000000000023340 · Cited by 5
“has been proved, negative interpretation bias is an important character of people with general anxiety disorder, and it could mediate the relationship between social anxiety and the social anxiety symptoms pertaining to specific social situations.([4,13]) In real life, a lot of ambiguous scenarios present in the inter…”
BackgroundZhang, F., Zhang, X., Mao, X., Chen, A., Yin, Q., & Deng, G. (2020) · Medicine · doi:10.1097/md.0000000000018746 · Cited by 3
“Various of literatures have proved the key role of negative interpretation bias in social phobia and generalized anxiety disorder.([4,5]) Except for clinical anxiety disorder, anxious state or the proneness to be anxious can also lead to interpretation bias.”
BackgroundWatkins, P. C., & Pereira, A. J. (2016) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781118468197.ch14 · Cited by 3
Benoit, K. E. (2013) · VTechWorks (Virginia Tech) · Cited by 3
Pharmacotherapy and cognitive bias modification for the treatment of anxiety disorders
Kong, Q., & Han, B. (2024) · Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics · doi:10.1080/14737175.2024.2334847 · Cited by 2
Deng, W., Xie, H. W., Wang, P., Ortiz, J., Zhou, J. M., Cavanagh, T., & Lin, B. Y. (2025) · Sexuality Research and Social Policy · doi:10.1007/s13178-025-01115-6 · Cited by 3
“Nevertheless, improving the capacity to modify interpretations can lessen symptoms associated with mental health issues (Hayes et al., 2010).”
Blankers, M., Salemink, E., & Wiers, R. W. H. J. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-59936-1_14 · Cited by 2
Deschênes, S. S., Dugas, M. J., & Gouin, J. (2015) · Journal of Experimental Psychopathology · doi:10.5127/jep.045214 · Cited by 3
L'approche transdiagnostique en psychopathologie
Baeyens, C. (2016) · Dunod eBooks · doi:10.3917/dunod.mones.2016.01.0101 · Cited by 2
A COMPUTATIONAL MODEL OF TEMPORAL DYNAMICS FOR ANXIETY IN INTERVIEWEE MENTAL STATE
Ajoge, N. S., Aziz, A. A., & Yusof, S. A. M. (2020) · Journal of Information and Communication Technology · doi:10.32890/jict2020.19.2.2 · Cited by 3
“Also, the high level of anxiety and worry are characterized by selective attention to the threatening signs corresponding to human body sensations, mental images or worrisome thoughts (Hayes et al., 2010).”
BackgroundSexton, K. A. (2011) · Spectrum Research Repository (Concordia University) · Cited by 1
Donegan, E. (2016) · Spectrum Research Repository (Concordia University) · Cited by 2
Short-Term Efficacy of a Worry Postponement Intervention for Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Tallon, K. (2021) · doi:10.32920/ryerson.14653938.v1 · Cited by 2
Tallon, K., Koerner, N., & Yang, L. (2022) · doi:10.32920/21440841 · Cited by 2
Wang, Y.-L., Young, K. S., Lau, J. Y. F., Hughes, A. M., & Hirsch, C. R. (2025) · Cognitive Therapy and Research · doi:10.1007/s10608-025-10585-2 · Cited by 2
“Participants with a score of 56 or above were classified as high worriers in the current study (Hirsch et al., 2009) and selected as participants.”
InfluentialSelf-citationInterpretation bias in emotional disorders: a selective review
Hirsch, C. R., & Mathews, A. (2025) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2025.104948 · Cited by 4
Self-citationThe Efficacy of Interpretation Bias Modification Program for Pain Outcomes
Park, H., & Cho, S. (2020) · Korean Journal of Stress Research · doi:10.17547/kjsr.2020.28.2.51 · Cited by 1
“, in press), IBM 이 훈련집단의 해석편향 수준을 감소시키는 데 효과가 있 다는 여러 선행연구들과 일치하는 결과이다(Lang et al., 2009; Hayes et al., 2010).”
Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, and Specific Phobia
Zinbarg, R. E., Williams, A. L., Kramer, A. M., & Schmidt, M. R. (2023) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/med-psych/9780197542521.003.0007 · Cited by 3
Cognitive Bias Modification Strategies for Anxious Children
Kuckertz, J. M., & Amir, N. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108235655.006 · Cited by 1
Shelfer, L. (2010) · UEA Digital Repository (University of East Anglia) · Cited by 1
1 Cognitieve verwerking en psychopathologie: theorie en onderzoek
Raes, F., Kindt, M., & Arntz, A. R. (2011) · Bohn Stafleu van Loghum eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-90-313-8310-8_1 · Cited by 1
Hirsch, C. R., Krahé, C., Whyte, J., Krzyzanowski, H., Meeten, F., Norton, S., & Mathews, A. (2021) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/ccp0000660 · Cited by 60
Self-citationThe Influence of Anger on Implicit Biases
Reiter, K. E. (2013) · e-Publications@Marquette (Marquette University)
White, L. K. (2013) · University Libraries (University of Maryland)
Anderson, K. G. (2010) · Spectrum Research Repository (Concordia University)
The Effect of Attentional Bias Modification on the Cardiovascular Stress Reactivity
段, 文. (2012) · Asian Case Reports in Vascular Medicine · doi:10.12677/acrvm.2012.11003
“物质成瘾、暴力攻击、慢性疼痛等患者对威胁信息的 注意分配与常人不同:相对于中性刺激,他们会更快、 更早对相应威胁或相关刺激表现出不同的注意分配, 即注意偏向(Attentional Bias),甚至先于意识([41-43])。进 一步的研究表明,注意偏向不仅仅是一些心理疾病所 伴随的现象或症状,而且是心理疾病产生、维持和复 发的原因([44-46])。对这一命题一致共识进行逻辑演绎, 我们认为:可以通过对个体注意偏向的修正改变其对 负面信息(如压力源)的认知加工过程,从而降低个体”
Siwiec, S. G. (2015) · Minds at UW (University of Wisconsin)
Affect dynamics : a focus on genes, stress, and an opportunity for change
Menne‐Lothmann, C. (2015) · Research Publications (Maastricht University) · doi:10.26481/dis.20150129cm
The effects of stress, threat/challenge appraisal, and coping flexibility on emotion
Chen, L. (2017) · DR-NTU (Nanyang Technological University) · doi:10.32657/10356/69618
The negative cognitive bias of self-schema in worriers
ShuaiYu, C. H. E. N., ZHANG, M., Zhuang, Q., YiJun, L. I. U., & Chen, A. (2018) · Scientia Sinica Vitae · doi:10.1360/n052017-00070
Hitting the right nerve: effects of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation on symptoms of anxiety
Burger, A. M. (2019) · Leiden Repository (Leiden University)
Looking on the Bright Side Reduces Worry in Pregnancy: Training Interpretations in Pregnant Women
Hirsch, C. R., Meeten, F., Newby, J. M., O’Halloran, S., Gordon, C., Krzyzanowski, H., & Moulds, M. L. (2021) · Research Portal (King's College London) · doi:10.23668/psycharchives.4788
Self-citation(2010) · Current Opinion in Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/yco.0b013e3283423055
Cognitieve verwerking en psychopathologie: theorie en onderzoek
Salemink, E., Kindt, M., & Raes, F. (2019) · Bohn Stafleu van Loghum eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-90-368-2021-9_1
Tallon, K., Koerner, N., & Yang, L. (2022) · doi:10.32920/21440841.v1
Wie, M. V. (2022) · MOspace Institutional Repository (University of Missouri) · doi:10.32469/10355/94194
Induced Worry Increases Risk Aversion in Patients with Generalized AnxietyPreprint
Sporrer, J. K., Johann, A., Chumbley, J. R., Robinson, O. J., & Bach, D. R. (2023) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/hszke
Lubbers, J., Geurts, D. E. M., Hanssen, I., Huijbers, M. J., Spijker, J., Speckens, A., & Cladder-Micus, M. B. (2022) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.20484844
Vrinzen, S., Everaert, J., & Salemink, E. (2026) · Behavior Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.beth.2026.01.004
Macit, B., Lipp, A., Zlomuzica, A., Engler, H., Blackwell, S. E., Würtz, F., Margraf, J., & Woud, M. L. (2026) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2026.103131
Can positive mental imagery help high worriers stop worrying? An experimental test
Sawjani, Y., Spyropoulou, S., Bougas, G., Bardi, G., Moulds, M. L., & Hirsch, C. R. (2026) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2026.102108
Self-citationPasanisi, E., White, R., Bowles, C., Wahl, K., & Hirsch, C. R. (2026) · Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jocrd.2026.101018
Self-citationCracking the Repetitive Negative Thinking Code: Keys to Understanding Anxiety and Depression
Aberback, R., & Ashbaugh, A. R. (2026) · Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy · doi:10.1891/jcp-2025-0047
Negative interpretation bias and emotional responses to positive contexts
Gawlik, E. A., & Coifman, K. G. (2026) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0353912
“The task was developed by this research team and modeled after established word association, or homograph-style, tasks [47].”
Examining Moderators of Outcomes in a Smartphone-Delivered Interpretation Bias Intervention
Shin, D. E., Silverman, A. L., Rotta, G. K., Ferguson, I., Tuck, A. B., & Beard, C. (2026) · The Behavior Therapist · doi:10.1016/j.beth.2026.08.002
L'approche transdiagnostique en psychopathologie
Baeyens, C. (2026) · Dunod eBooks · doi:10.3917/dunod.mones.2026.01.0091
Metadata
- Authors
- Hayes, S., Hirsch, C. R., Krebs, G., & Mathews, A.
- Affiliations
- King's College London (GB)
- The University of Western Australia (AU)
- University of California, Davis (US)
- Corresponding author
- Hayes, Sarra
- Venue
- Behaviour Research and Therapy
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2010-03
- Volume
- 48
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 171-178
- ISSN
- 0005-7967 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2092460488
- Cited by
- 167
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 12
- FWCI
- 10.98
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Behaviour Research and Therapy (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Medical Research Council
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychological Treatments and Assessments
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Keywords
- generalized anxiety disorder, interpretation bias modification, worry, homographs, sentence completion, cognitive bias modification
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Analysis of Variance, Anxiety Disorders, Emotions, Female, Humans, Interviews as Topic, Male, Perception, Psychological Tests, Surveys and Questionnaires, Thinking, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Treatment Outcome
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
