An Investigation of Attentional Bias to Threat Using the Dot Probe Task: Relation to Social Anxiety and Psychometric Characteristics

Abstract

<p>Research utilizing the dot probe task to examine attentional bias to threat in social anxiety has yielded inconsistent findings. Many manipulations have been included across dot probe studies, perhaps contributing to the discrepant results. Alternatively, the psychometrics of the dot probe may play a role. Two studies that have examined the psychometric properties of the task found the task to be unreliable (Schmuckle, 2005; Staugaard, 2009).</p> <p>Prompted by the mixed findings, the present study had two overarching goals. The first was to replicate and extend the extant literature by incorporating a number of manipulations into the dot probe task and examining individual differences in social anxiety, and personality types associated with social avoidance and social approach, or shyness and sociability, respectively. The second goal was to investigate the psychometrics of the dot probe task by assessing its test-retest reliability and internal consistency. To address these goals, participants completed a dot probe task that involved manipulations of emotional valence (happy, angry), intensity (moderate, strong), and exposure time (100ms, 500ms) of facial stimuli on two occasions, separated approximately by a month. Additionally, participants were parsed into high and low groups of social anxiety, shyness, and sociability by way of median splits on two personality measures.</p> <p>Using attentional bias scores, a group difference was observed only in the sociability grouping at Time 1. In the low sociability group, a marginal (<em>p</em>=0.049) interaction between valence and intensity was found. This interaction, however, was not observed at Time 2. Additionally, poor test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the task were observed.</p> <p>These findings bring into question the nature of attentional bias in social anxiety, shyness, and sociability, and the psychometric soundness of the dot probe task. Conceptual and psychometric issues are discussed pertaining to the present study’s results and the extant dot probe literature.</p>