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Confusing procedures with process when appraising the impact of cognitive bias modification on emotional vulnerability
Open accessAbstract
Summary If meta-analysis is to provide valuable answers, then it is critical to ensure clarity about the questions being asked. Here, we distinguish two important questions concerning cognitive bias modification research that are not differentiated in the meta-analysis recently published by Cristea et al (2015) in this journal: (1) do the varying procedures that investigators have employed with the intention of modifying cognitive bias, on average, significantly impact emotional vulnerability?; and (2) does the process of successfully modifying cognitive bias, on average, significantly impact emotional vulnerability? We reanalyse the data from Cristea et al to address this latter question. Our new analyses demonstrate that successfully modifying cognitive bias does significantly alter emotional vulnerability. We revisit Cristea et al's conclusions in light of these findings.
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“Unfortunately, some projects have been limited by small sample sizes and poor trial methodology [20–23].”
From Acceptance and Commitment Therapy preceded by an experimental Attention Bias Modification procedure in recurrent depression: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial (2018) · cites this paper as [20]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn the citing paper
“Poor outcomes may be explained by deficient training procedures: if ABM threat-avoidance training fails to modify its target process (i.e., reduce pre-existing AB in orienting towards threat), this could explain its failure to reduce anxiety [5,8,16,17].”
From Anxiety and Threat-Related Attention: Cognitive-Motivational Framework and Treatment (2018) · cites this paper as [17]
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“Several studies have found that reductions in anxiety and AB measures co-occurred during ABM training, which is compatible with a causal role of AB in anxiety [5,8,17].”
From Anxiety and Threat-Related Attention: Cognitive-Motivational Framework and Treatment (2018) · cites this paper as [17]
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“Several studies have found that reductions in anxiety and AB measures co-occurred during ABM training, which is compatible with a causal role of AB in anxiety [5,8,17].”
From Anxiety and Threat-Related Attention: Cognitive-Motivational Framework and Treatment (2018) · cites this paper as [17]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Grafton, B., MacLeod, C., Rudaizky, D., Holmes, E. A., Salemink, E., Fox, E., & Notebaert, L.
- Affiliations
- The University of Western Australia (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Grafton, Ben
- ORCID
- Venue
- British Journal of Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Royal College of Psychiatrists
- Published
- 2017-11
- Volume
- 211
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 266-271
- ISSN
- 0007-1250 (ISSN-L)
- 1472-1465
- OpenAlex
- W2765605003
- Cited by
- 160
- References
- 40
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 55 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 25 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 4.53
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- The British Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UWA Profiles and Research Repository (University of Western Australia) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- UWA Profiles and Research Repository (UWA) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (submittedVersion)
- Adelaide Research & Scholarship (AR&S) (University of Adelaide) (submittedVersion)
- Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion)
- University of Birmingham Research Portal (University of Birmingham) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Autoritatea Natională pentru Cercetare Stiintifică (DP140103713, DP140104448)
- Unitatea Executiva pentru Finantarea Invatamantului Superior, a Cercetarii, Dezvoltarii si Inovarii (DP140104448, DP140103713)
- Medical Research Council (MRC-A060-5PR50)
- Australian Research Council (DP170104533)
- FP7 Ideas: European Research Council (324176)
- 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
- cognitive bias modification, emotional vulnerability, meta-analysis reanalysis, reanalysis critique
- MeSH terms
- Affective Symptoms, Humans, Psychotherapeutic Processes, Meta-Analysis as Topic, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
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